On December 31, 2022, Pope Benedict XVI went to his reward. Despite his age and poor health, the reality of his death left many of us heartbroken. 

On that December morning, I looked at the website of the National Post, a paper where I worked for 15 years. Part my time there was covering religion and ethics and it was through my reporting that I was finally convinced to become a Catholic.

From the beginning of these columns, I have steered clear of publicly battling in the ecclesial or political realms, and I have been careful in my ministry to focus on being a friend to those who through misfortune or bad judgment have found themselves on the streets of the city. But I cannot stay silent any longer. 

The following is the text of Pope Francis’ “e-letter” released on Oct. 7 to mark the anniversary of Hamas’ murderous attack on Israel and the ensuing spiral of violence.

One question I regularly ask the young adults I minister to as a deacon at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine is Ottawa is: “What are you reading?” Many do not read a great deal beyond obligatory work for their courses in university, and almost all of it is non-fiction. Thankfully, many read devotional works and the Holy Scriptures, which is certainly laudable, but I press them: “When was the last time you read a novel or a collection of poetry?” Most reply “I cannot remember,” or, “I don’t like fiction or poetry.” 

International migration has become one of our most pressing issues with about 3.5 per cent of the world’s population (280 million people) currently considered to be migrants. The majority are people on the move seeking gainful employment, while a large minority are fleeing war, violence, persecution, climate change, food insecurity and increased global inequality. 

The obnoxious-gusting-to-toxic pro-Hamas mob, and even moderate people who support their cause but cringe at their conduct, might want to consider a salient fact about the movement’s dead leader, Yahya Sinwar.

“The game is over. Everyone repeat after me now, the game is over.” I speak with authority in a commanding voice. 40 high school students at the Catholic Leadership Camp in Huntsville repeat after me, “the game is over.” They calm down and we begin to debrief together the chaos of the last hour.

The duty to engage in politics is not negotiable in John McKay’s view. “You have the absolute right not to vote”, the Scarborough-Guildwood MP asserts with this warning to those politically asleep at the wheel, “and I have the absolute right to impose a $100 fine on your tax return.”

Discussions of family size have increased in political and religious discourse as North American birth rates hit historic lows. Catherine Pakaluk, an economist and associate professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., recently authored Hannah’s Children: The Women Quietly Defying the Birth Dearth.

As the long days of summer fade and autumn’s cool, crisp air starts to settle in, it’s hard not to feel a shift in our spirits, too. But there’s so much to praise about fall.