Some weeks ago, I mentioned an inevitable goodbye that would take place with a dear friend whom I met on the first day of Grade 9 at Neil McNeil High School in Toronto’s east end 40 years ago next week.

The pollster Gallup reports Pope Francis’ popularity in the United States has dropped significantly over the past year, fueled by his writings and teachings surrounding the environment, capitalism, income inequality and other issues.

The other day I was feeling sad. I had just heard the worst possible news about the health of a dear, old friend.

We’ve heard a lot about forgiveness lately, especially the immediate forgiveness from victims’ families to the shooter in the heinous murders in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

A Facebook friend took it upon himself to post on my home page for all my other friends to see an article entitled: “Religion is disappearing. That’s great for politics.”

The immediate repercussions from the Irish referendum where voters overwhelmingly supported same-sex marriage were obvious, but the long-term impact on the Church may come beginning this October.

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.

While reading through former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s convocation speech at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia on May 3, it was as if he was talking about a modern-day Pope Francis leadership style.

With his wire-to-wire win at the Masters golf tournament this month, Jordan Spieth proved an old adage wrong: Nice guys don’t have to finish last.