AMMAN, Jordan -- The worsening coronavirus pandemic and economic conditions in Syria are further deepening poverty and hardship for Christians, who find themselves trapped in a political stalemate, religious freedom advocates say.

As Toronto and Peel Region officially went into lockdown on Nov. 23, they joined Good Shepherd volunteers who have already been in lockdown for 10 months.

It is late, dark and cold outside. Neve, our 97-pound dog, is standing in the middle of the road in front of our house. I think, silly dog, but just as quickly it occurs to me I am standing right beside her. As Neve and I look down Vincent Street I admire the Christmas lights which make our neighbourhood sparkle.

Truer words have never been spoken than Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix’s methodical castigation of the Quebec government failure to consult the province’s religious believers on COVID-19 planning.

WASHINGTON -- In a 5-4 decision issued just before midnight Nov. 25, the Supreme Court lifted the pandemic restrictions on congregation sizes at houses of worship imposed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

COVID-19 has triggered many things, some of them predictable, many not. Who, for example, would have guessed that the first major response to the virus would be panic buying of toilet paper? A rush on cellphone cases and Lego were two other unexpected results of the pandemic. Apparently, our behaviour has become so unusual that it is negatively impacting artificial intelligence algorithms, with one AI consultant claiming that “automation is in a tailspin.”

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has certainly not been kind to churches across Canada, with British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario public health agencies restricting in-person services for a second time due to the unrelenting second wave.

There was a headline on a story from a reputable Canadian website earlier this month that posed a rather startling question: “Will COVID-19 kill Christmas?”

The Archdiocese of Toronto has temporarily cancelled public Masses in Toronto and Peel Region in the wake of new restrictions announced Nov. 20 by the Ontario government to combat the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in those areas.

Cardinal Thomas Collins recognized the thousands of volunteers across the vast Archdiocese of Toronto who have ensured a safe re-opening of churches during the COVID-19 pandemic with a special Mass of gratitude Nov. 4.

If the COVID-era has left most Canadians a little more isolated, a little more cut-off from friends and family, the poor among us have experienced that loneliness more acutely than most.

There were more than 30,000 people gathered around the National War Memorial in Ottawa for Remembrance Day ceremonies last year. This Nov. 11 — with COVID-19 restrictions — there will be no more than 100.

VATICAN CITY -- As COVID-19-related deaths in Italy reached their highest daily level since early May and Italy began enacting new restrictions to slow the spread, the Vatican decided it will once again close its museums to the public.

MANCHESTER, England -- Catholic leaders in England are appealing to the government to reverse its decision to ban public Mass during a second national lockdown.

“I knew I had to quit when my 15-year-old daughter would say, ‘Mom, don’t go to work and cry again.’ ”