Barbara Turnbull, who died last week at age 50, impacted thousands through her charitable work, her writing, her advocacy for the disabled and quite simply by her indomitable spirit.

VATICAN CITY - Catholic charities around the world have no doubt about the reality of a "Francis effect" on their work.
Because of the ongoing global economic crisis, most of the 164 national Catholic charities that form the Caritas Internationalis confederation report no significant increase in donations. However, the secretary-general of the Vatican-based network says Pope Francis has had a huge impact on their programs and priorities, on the number of volunteers and, especially, on their sharing.

TORONTO - Blessed Sacrament, the school and parish, pulled together May 1 for a barbecue to mark the joint success in raising funds for the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Family of Faith campaign.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - Truckloads of relief material organized by church charities began moving across Nepal a week after the Himalayan nation was rocked by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake April 25.

Parishioners across the Archdiocese of Toronto have always been generous towards the needs of the greater community. Last fall, I noted that the archdiocese would be undertaking the Family of Faith campaign in parishes, and that it was important to maintain support for ShareLife while we contributed to this effort.

EDMONTON - Catholic charities are crying foul at the recent Alberta budget cut to the tax credit for charitable donations. 

Once among the highest in the country, the credit has been reduced to 12.75 per cent from 21 per cent for donations of more than $200 — meaning less incentive to give money to charity, including the Church.

Lent has a way of unsettling us, of shaking up our easy routines and making us question what more we should be doing as part of our Christian obedience.

Several years ago Jean Beliveau was asked to name the book he would select if he could own just one.

“The Bible,” he told the Montreal Gazette. “It’s a book I could read the rest of my life.”

NAIROBI, Kenya - Some church leaders are criticizing a British musicians’ charity group raising funds for the West African Ebola crisis, saying its new single reinforces negative stereotypes of Africa.

VATICAN CITY - Despite worries about the impact of millions of tourists on Michelangelo’s precious frescoes, the Sistine Chapel is opening its doors for the first time to a new kind of tourist to support Pope Francis’ charities.

TORONTO - Toronto’s Catholic school board made its second appearance at Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s annual dusk-to-dawn outdoor art exhibit, this year spreading a message of charity.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for the "globalization of charity" through an international network to fight human trafficking and ensure the rights of migrants and refugees.

Charity can exist without faith but faith without charity is illusory. That fundamental truth was underlined by Pope Benedict XVI in his message for Lent in which he said faith and charity are coupled and inseparable.

VATICAN CITY - Faith and charity can never be separated nor opposed to each other, just as faith by itself isn't genuine without charity, Pope Benedict XVI said.

VATICAN CITY - Deploring war, civil conflict and poverty around the world, Pope Benedict XVI told foreign ambassadors assembled at the Vatican that peace-building requires charity, religious liberty, a proper understanding of human rights and openness to divine love.