Pope Francis famously asserted his preference for a Church that is “bruised, hurting, dirty” and has the mud of the street on her shoes.

The Roman Catholic Church today has nearly 3,000 dioceses and archdioceses, each with at least one bishop.

I understand those who do not want to dismiss the letter written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò out of hand, given his high regard in the Church. His allegations that Pope Francis did nothing after being made aware five years ago of the sexual misconduct of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick are serious and should raise concerns. 

One of my favourite bloopers from a church bulletin reads like this: “Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.” 

After Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trials and convictions, Canada’s great comedian Norm Macdonald delivered a piercing bit about public refusal to acknowledge the heinousness of the crimes.

It was a made-in-Ontario experiment based on a concept put forth by such thinkers as Conservative Canadian Hugh Segal and American free-market advocate Milton Friedman: a basic income guarantee, something like Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement. 

Like too many baby boomers, I probably spend too much time on Facebook. The other day, a friend posted a short video from a Lutheran pastor in the United States with this simple note: “This makes a lot of sense.”

Jesus told His apostles who had just returned from a missionary trip, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).

Pesto tastes like summertime to me.

Thanks to the excellent coverage by Salt + Light Television, I was able to follow the “Catholica 200” celebrations in St. Boniface, Man., marking the bicentennial of the arrival of the first French missionaries in the Canadian West.