For nearly 500 years, Bolivia has been a cheap source of natural resources for colonial powers. Every time some mineral is mined to extinction, a new metal is discovered to be extracted at bargain basement prices. During the 16th century, silver was the hot commodity and Potosi was one of the richest cities in the Americas. Today, the Potosi region is the poorest section of the poorest country on the American continent.

Jesus said that we are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the Earth. But to be honest, some evenings on the street I just feel lightly salted. 

One Friday last August a Swedish schoolgirl decided not to attend her classes. Clutching her handwritten sign “School strike for climate,” she instead stood outside Sweden’s Parliament, a one-child protest against the damage humankind has wrought on the environment.

During the federal election I wrote about the unfair treatment Andrew Scheer received in the media.

I was admiring a friend’s potted plant recently when she noted that I had just missed the flowering. “I forgot to water it,” she noted, “and it just bloomed.” 

Wrong decision

Re: Toronto Catholic board votes to include gender terms (Nov. 17):

Thou shalt not commit ecocide.

Traditionally, November is the time when we especially remember to pray for departed family members, friends and (maybe) enemies. 

The fall meeting of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops brought with it an unexpected invitation. The group SNAP (Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests) organized a viewing in Cornwall of the documentary Prey, a film that sheds light on the predatory actions of Hod Marshall, a now-deceased Basilian priest who was convicted for sexually abusing minors.

Alberta MP Garnett Genuis was right when he blamed “anti-Catholic bigotry” for the current attacks on Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.