It’s sad to think of a church in ruins.

Land and Sea, the entertaining CBC television documentary show that chronicles the joys and struggles of Atlantic Canadians, recently had an interesting feature on churches in the region that have fallen into disrepair.

Like most Canadians, the thought of travelling to the Caribbean during the dead cold of winter has always had magical appeal. That appeal has been reinforced by two teenagers who have done a pretty good job over the years of reminding me that almost “everyone we know” had taken one of those all-inclusive trips to the sun.

I am nearing the end of an interesting project — helping Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion with her memoirs — and one of the most enjoyable parts of it is something I never expected.

April 2 was the ninth anniversary of the death of Blessed John Paul II and the first “Pope John Paul II Day” in the province of Ontario. A private member’s bill passed by the Ontario legislature last month designated April 2 as a day to honour the soon to be saint. It’s a worthy initiative and a timely reminder to remember the late pontiff’s teachings.

Parliament was presented recently with two visions of how a civilized society can respond to the emotional and physical needs of an aging nation. One is to permit caregivers to end the life, or help end the life, of a terminally sick or disabled consenting adult. The other is to provide the terminally ill with support and care to the end of their natural days.