{mosimage}Editor’s note: To mark the 150th anniversary of Mary’s appearance to St. Bernadette Soubirous near Lourdes, France, Pope Benedict XVI has authorized a special indulgence to encourage renewed holiness. Pilgrims visiting the Massabielle grotto, where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette, can receive the indulgence during the Lourdes jubilee year, which runs from Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, until Dec. 8, 2008. Pilgrims who visit any public sanctuary, shrine or other worthy place dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes may receive the indulgence Feb. 2-11. Feb. 11 is the day the first of 18 apparitions occurred and is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Feb. 2 is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The following is a reflection on the deeper meaning of the great shrine at Lourdes.

There are few pilgrimage places on Earth where one can experience the mystery of the cross and the meaning of redemptive suffering at the heart of the Christian life. Lourdes is one of those places.

JANUARY

• Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi criticizes the execution of Iraq’s deposed leader, Saddam Hussein, saying it could ignite more violence in the wartorn nation.


• The Ontario Court of Appeal accords equal rights to three parents in a child custody case — the biological parents and the mother’s lesbian partner. The Alliance for Marriage and Family says the ruling is the latest step to redefine traditional understandings of family.


• Kingston Archbishop Anthony Meagher dies after his courageous four-year battle against cancer. Bishops, clergy and Catholics heap praise and admiration upon Archbishop Meagher after hearing the news.


• The federal government announces $270 million in funding over the next two years for the fight against homelessness, the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative, as well as $256 million for repairs to housing for low-income earners and the disabled.

{mosimage}Christmas does not bring out the best in the popular press. Every December we have to slog through articles about the commercialization of Christmas, sly digs against Christians and tips on how to avoid the tyranny of the Christian Christmas. Then, when we move to the Life sections, we see colour photographs of gift ideas, beginning at $100. Worse, though, are the articles of the alternative press accusing Christmas of miserable memories of unhappy families or impoverished childhoods. Snide remarks are made at the expense of the happy.

{mosimage}While the original Santa Claus has been morphed into the secularized patron saint of shopping malls, some people are trying to peel away the layers of gift wrap to reveal the true St. Nick.

{mosimage}TORONTO - “To legalize euthanasia changes the way we understand ourselves, human life and its meaning,” said Margaret Somerville.

TORONTO - The movement against euthanasia and assisted suicide will have the greatest impact if a secular face replaces a religious one, say advocates.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Doctors, politicians, Christian clergy, disability rights activists and medical students among others from across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia are joining forces to reverse the growing push to legalize euthanasia and assisted-suicide.

{mosimage}Twice a week Margaret Aitken can be found praying at 2 a.m. in a small stone church in the village of Rockwood, Ont.

GUELPH, Ont. - Jesuit Father Jim Profit wants everyone to have a merry, metric Christmas. He’s selling square metres of Christmas spirit for $20.

{mosimage}Editor's note: Canada's Catholic bishops have waded into the national debate over global warming. On March 7, the social affairs commission of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released its new statement called Our Relationship with the Environment: The Need for Conversion. In this document, the bishops insist that Christians must lead a global effort to curb mass consumption and our governments must develop concrete plans to reduce pollution.

For the complete text of the statement can be downloaded in pdf format here. For our own report on the issue, read below.