The Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, O.M.I., Bishop of Hamilton and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), has videotaped his message for Christmas and the New Year. Entitled Goodness abounds, Bishop Crosby refers similarly to the theme of mercy which the Church celebrates this month and throughout the coming year as the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. The production of this video has been made possible thanks to the collaboration with Salt + Light Television.

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops and the Canadian Rabbinic Caucus are asking the Canadian government to make helping persecuted Christians in the Middle East and Africa, whom Pope Francis and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks say face genocide, a priority.

Catholics should be guided by mercy, not fear, in the wake of the Paris terror attack, said Hamilton Bishop Douglas Crosby three days after co-ordinated terrorist attacks killed at least 129 and sent 415 people to hospital.

The Catholic fight to keep doctors from administering lethal drugs to patients who say they want to die continues as the deadline nears for a Supreme Court of Canada mandate that physician-assisted suicide become legal as of Feb. 6, 2016.

VATICAN CITY - The presidents of the U.S. and Canadian bishops' conferences joined leaders of the regional bishops' conferences of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and Europe in signing an appeal for government leaders to reach a "fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement" at a summit in Paris.

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops called unanimously Sept. 18 for the federal government to invoke the notwithstanding clause in response to the Supreme Court’s Feb. 6 Carter decision on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

CORNWALL, ONT. - Bishops need to speak out to emphasize that euthanasia and assisted suicide are “morally reprehensible,” Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith told colleagues at the annual meeting of Canadian bishops.

OTTAWA- Bishop Raymond Poisson has been named by Pope Francis as new bishop of the Joliette diocese in Quebec.

The Canadian Catholic Organizations for Development and Peace will model its statement of principles on the “CRS Guiding Principles” developed by the American Catholic aid agency Catholic Relief Services.

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops have released a pamphlet to promote understanding and dialogue with Muslims meant to coincide with Id al-Fitr, the July 18 feast marking the end of Ramadan.

The churches and religious orders who ran Indian Residential Schools up until the 1970s have responded to the final 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a promise to do more.

Attack ads rule the airwaves. Sponsored Facebook posts are trying to flush out political supporters with a click. The twitterverse is dividing up by hashtags. The 2015 vote may be four months away, but political parties are already in election mode.

Churches are also warming up for the coming vote.

Romeo Maione was all talk but it was glorious talk, talk that made things happen. Mr. Maione used every podium and platform he could find to make the Church real and alive in the world.

OTTAWA - The Canadian Council of Churches in an open letter to Prime Minister Harper has urging a broader response to the crisis in Iraq and Syria than military intervention.

Twenty of the 70 Catholic dioceses in Canada are using their web sites to ask Catholics for opinions about family life — questions that range from how the Church can welcome families with gay members to how economics and media are shaping family life.