News/Canada

With Canadian speed skating legend Jeremy Wotherspoon as an older brother, national team member Jamie Gregg as a husband and two former Olympians as parents-in-law, Danielle Wotherspoon-Gregg has big skates to fill at her first Winter Olympics. But Wotherspoon-Gregg, who’ll represent Canada in 500-metre speedskating at the 2014 Winter Games, has faith to keep her calm.

TORONTO - Having faith helps Andy Kemp, a Toronto paramedic, make sense of the madness that is a regular part of the job.

TORONTO - Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald discovered the secret to Church unity when he was the episcopal bishop of Alaska.

Canadians gave $10.3 million to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace to rebuild storm-shattered communities in the Philippines in the month leading up to Christmas. While all $10.3 million will be matched by the federal government, that doesn’t mean Canada’s Catholic development agency now has $20.6 million to spend on building houses, planting trees, repairing boats and organizing communities devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops have assured their Ukrainian counterparts of their prayers and solidarity as demonstrations continue to rock the country.

TORONTO - A promotional video produced by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association (OCSTA) has been voluntarily removed from the association's YouTube channel after objections were raised from within the public school system. 

OTTAWA - Quebec’s Catholic bishops say Quebec’s euthanasia Bill-52, which will come to a vote later this month, “must not pass.”

OTTAWA - The federal government is suing Catholic entities involved in the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement over $1.5 million in contested funds.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of eight candidates, including the founder of the Sisters of Charity of Quebec.

LONDON, ONT. - My friend Jane Loptson died in the hallway outside of her subsidized apartment in the early afternoon of Dec. 27.