When it comes to apologizing, Canadians need not be modest. Of course, we have competition because we live in a global village of apologies.

Australians have apologized to aboriginal peoples for having taken their land. Brits have apologized to half the world for colonialization. Canada has not only apologized for the experiment known as residential schools, but (at a cost of billions) has created a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is currently parading around the country hearing tales of abuse from both those who suffered and from those who recognize the sound of a bandwagon passing by.

They were exciting times. Pope John XXIII, just months after being elected as Pope, called for an Ecumenical Council. The sorrows, suffering, hopes and joys of the human family were to be those of the Church as well. Bishops, theologians and others from all over the world gathered in Rome from 1962-65 to debate the issues of the day and their relationship to the faith and sacramental life of the Church. One could almost say that the Church saw herself now as part of a global village.

Pope John XXIII also asked the Church of the global north to be concerned about the struggles of the global south. Many religious orders and dioceses responded. These were inspirational times and brought the issues of the human family world wide into the consciousness of Catholics here in Canada

My mother has always said that many Catholics “go looking” for specific penances to perform during Lent although God Himself will bring opportunities for sanctification right to our doorstep.

She has often suggested that rather than pre-determining specific resolutions, prayers, sacrifices or donations, why not approach the grace-filled season of Lent with openness and a commitment to lovingly respond to that which God brings? Her basic premise is this: while someone is spending time searching how to best serve God, they might be overlooking an opportunity to serve Him that lies right in front of them.

When I became a Catholic several years ago I understood that I was joining a family. I knew what that meant intellectually, I understood it in theory, but I did not feel it in my bones — even though at the time I thought I did.

Now I feel it in my bones and in my heart, and the feeling will never escape me.

Like Elijah, I found God’s still voice but in a different way than the grand Old Testament prophet.

In a time of high unemployment, jittery stock markets and worrying news about the European and American fiscal crises, many Canadians have been lowering their debt loads.

Their federal government is planning to do the same. Its challenge is to implement cuts without stalling a fragile recovery while also making the investments necessary to protect the next generation of Canadians.

It’s not often I get to exchange thoughts with a prominent Catholic philosopher and theologian, but since writing my book Motherhood Matters I have done exactly that. Getting to know Dr. Alice von Hildebrand has had a dramatic impact on my life. 

Von Hildebrand, 89, spent 37 years as a professor of philosophy at Hunter College in New York, where she authored several books. Her husband, Dietrich von Hildebrand, was considered among the great Catholic philosophers of the 20th century. In retirement, she became a sought-after lecturer and TV commentator who speaks passionately about true Catholic femininity.

There has been a strange silence from the top of the Dalton McGuinty government on the  contentious issue of gay-straight alliance clubs.


The Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association gave its response to the government’s proposal on Jan. 25. Catholic schools will respect differences but will not go against Church teaching, the OCSTA document said.
The document was a challenge to the government’s attempt to steamroll over Catholic schools but also a strong affirmation of religious freedom and the constitutional right of Catholics to run their own education system.

There is a new social phenomenon affecting thousands of families. For many, it is bewildering, even infuriating. For others, it’s addictive.

I call this new phenomenon Together but Texting — people socializing through text messaging. We’ve all seen it and, quite likely, been with people while they’ve had their eyes, minds and fingers focussed on their cellphone, Blackberry or iPad. Sometimes it’s as if their very soul is immersed.

QUEBEC CITY - It used to be that Quebecers who wanted to hear good preaching or be instructed on right and wrong went to Mass on Sunday and listened to their priest. The clergy were the principle arbiters of public and private morality in all spheres of life in Quebec. They preached on everything from how to dress, who to consort with (or not) and what to read, think vote and so on.

One famous saying from this era — “heaven is blue and hell is red” — was a not-so-veiled reference to  vote Conservative in elections. The Church believed the “red” Liberals stood for secular reform and social change that would lead people away from their faith. And that’s what happened, people eventually voted red in order to hasten improvements in material living standards and, as predicted, what eventually followed was a widespread abandonment of faith in Quebec.

One thing the “great gay divorce crisis of January 2012” has shown is that our government can move fast when it feels a need to get something important done. The same-sex marriage debacle lasted all of about three days and ended with the government assuring all gay couples who married here, but do not reside here, that not only is their marriage valid but they can come here any time to enjoy the weather, curling and get a divorce.

Meantime, the government’s office of religious freedom, promised almost a year ago during the federal election campaign, still sits in limbo with no details being released to the public about what such an office would look like or when it might open.