Amy Coney Barrett, who will likely soon be confirmed as a justice of the United States Supreme Court, is the nightmare selection that America’s progressive elites hoped was no longer possible. A Catholic mother of seven who subscribes to the judicial philosophy of originalism must, in the progressive view, be someone afraid of change and especially of the future.

It doesn’t diminish Pope Francis’ message on the urgency of climate change action to wish he had put a little less of the Church’s faith on what is commonly meant by “science” today.

The United States is in the midst of political crisis; divisions among Americans are at a fever pitch. I do not think the country has been this polarized since the Vietnam War era.

After effectively dying briefly three weeks ago, I’ve been thinking whether my survival really means God wants me to remain on Earth for a while yet.

Thank you to Winnipeg’s Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, for daring to state that that a malaise is affecting the Church in this country because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes, even the obvious does not become real until it is named, and Archbishop Gagnon has done that in comments published in last week’s Catholic Register.

Dictionaries offer two definitions for the word beatify. The first is “to make supremely happy.” The second is “a declaration of blessedness” and, for Catholics, this is the step before canonization.

This autumn brings a trifecta of anniversaries for those of us devoted to St. John Henry Newman.

I gave a talk some years ago to the Thomas More Lawyers’ Guild of Toronto. It was about the media and religion but because it was the hot issue of the day I spoke in part about the need for the Catholic Church as an institution to do more to combat the then proposed legalization of euthanasia.

We all want to be known for something. In moments of self-doubt and weakness we look back on our lives and ask ourselves, “Did my life have meaning to anyone? What will people remember me for?” Pastoral care is the ability to walk with others and to assist them in uncovering within themselves the Gospel that they have written through their lives.

Canadians are collectively holding their breath as they brace for the so-called “second wave” of COVID-19. As infection numbers inch up, speculation is rife as to whether we’re entering this next phase and how we’re going to deal with another round of the virus.