An understandable reaction to an early August federal election call for an Oct. 19 vote is to declare a pox on all their houses and turn deaf ears to such an excruciatingly long campaign. Eleven weeks of insincere promises and attack ads. Who needs their summer sun darkened by those black clouds?

MANILA, Philippines - The head of the Philippine bishops' conference said helping the poor and getting rid of political dynasties should be front and centre in the months leading up to the country's May elections.

A new survey finds U.S. Catholics — like most Americans — are divided along political lines when it comes to the cause and urgency of climate change. And Pope Francis, in a leaked copy of a hotly anticipated encyclical, goes straight at it.

TORONTO - The walls of the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen’s Park are engraved with the names of former legislators from the province’s past. Not many of these names are female. It’s something a group of girls from Waterloo, Ont., wants to change.

TORONTO - The Toronto Focolare organization and its friends want to confront divisions within politics with ideals of unity and communion.

TORONTO - To Iain Benson, secularism in politics is comparable to a pair of yellow, spotted pyjamas.

LAGOS, Nigeria - Nigeria's bishops criticized Boko Haram insurgents' use of children to commit crimes such as suicide bombings.

They say all politics is local and that municipal politics is closer to our everyday lives than any level of government. It’s about water, sewage and garbage pickup. It’s about street-light repairs, safe pedestrian crosswalks and parks where our children can play. 

TORONTO - The spirit of Catholic apologist and author G.K. Chesterton will inspire debate once again in the Archdiocese of Toronto.