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.

Next week, Pope Francis will issue a new encyclical which will add to a train of teaching that can be traced back to the Second Vatican Council or, if you can imagine it, to the eighth century BC.

Ensure equality

Canada is not a racist country. This is so obvious that it feels wrong to have to say it. Yet we saw this charge, of systemic racism, in The Register’s Sept. 6 issue.

As Canada’s bishops gathered on computer screens this past week, bypassing the “norm” of their usual annual plenary, the old saying “what a difference a year makes” was probably uttered more than once.

The ever-deepening crisis of authentic fatherhood (doing the tough job of being a father/parent and not just a buddy) and fatherlessness in families today is taking a steep toll.

Every year, as my children got older, the return-to-school routine got less exciting.

The contested renaming of Montreal’s Lionel Groulx Metro station testifies to the power of Catholic history to shape our politics even as Catholic cultural memory dims.

Awkward floated to my lips a few times last week before I saw the pattern. The stumbling and crashing of growing children and adolescents finding themselves in bigger bodies than the days before. Constant adjustments during mask practice sessions. Remembering the diapers and the keys and the shoes, only to forget to pack lunch in a new season’s morning routine. We are making it through, but it is painfully awkward.

Loving enemies

Re: Tabernacle stolen from St. Catharines cathedral:

It is rather interesting that the discarded tabernacle was found on Sept. 9, and the very next day the Gospel reading from Luke (Ch. 6: 27-38) was as if Jesus came out to speak to anyone who might be feeling angry and hateful towards the criminals who did such a disrespectful act: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who abuse you.”  When I read the article I did feel very angry and wanted to exchange with family and friends all kinds of hateful words about the criminals, just making my assumption who they might be.

The Pope’s first official trip outside Rome in more than seven months couldn’t come at a better, or more critical, time.