We must offer social, spiritual support for the sick
{mosimage}The prayers of the Holy Father for the 15th World Day of the Sick in 2007 were expressed in his message written on Dec. 8, 2006. He reminded us that, “Despite the advances of science, a cure cannot be found for every illness, and thus in hospitals, hospices and homes throughout the world we encounter the sufferings of our many brothers and sisters who are incurably and often terminally ill.”
Restoring integrity of RCMP is essential
{mosimage}The debate over whether the new commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police should have risen from the ranks, or even be allowed to wear the red serge, is beside the point. The real objective should be to restore integrity to the RCMP and William Elliott should be judged on his ability to do so.
Find real solutions to fight against crime
{mosimage}It is disappointing to see church groups responding to the political debate in Canada by seriously debating whether minimum sentences for gun crime are too long or not. They will never win. Debating in the arbitrary ether about what is a fair penalty will always lead to increases in punishment — to the cost of taxpayers and little benefit to our safety.
Denis Leary provides gritty portrayal of angry Catholic
{mosimage}Gone are the days when Catholic themes on either a network or specialty channel, television drama or sitcom series would have garnered a measure of respectful fascination, bemused interest or benign mystification.
Seeking mutual understanding
Editor’s note: Below is an excerpt from a speech by Fr. Bill Ryan, S.J., founder of the Center of Concern in Washington, a former general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and longtime social justice advocate. It was presented to a gathering of Canadian Muslims at the Congress Centre in Ottawa on May 20.
Once more into the breach for Hitchens
{mosimage}There’s a joke about Christopher Hitchens circulating around the Internet: “What’s the difference between Christopher Hitchens and God? God doesn’t think He is Christopher Hitchens.”
Difficult dialogue
The Anglican Church of Canada dodged a bullet last month. By the tiniest of margins, it failed to approve the blessing of same-sex couples. Yet the manner in which it did so suggests that the issue will continue to plague Anglicans worldwide, along with Roman Catholics, who are far from disinterested observers.
Amnesty International responds
Editor’s note: The following article is a response by Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, to the June 3 Catholic Register editorial, The wrong road, in which we criticized the adoption by Amnesty International of a policy of defending a woman’s access to abortion as a right.
Let parents make religious decision for kids
Editor’s note: In September 2008 the Quebec government will replace the options in religious and moral education in public schools by the imposition of a single multi-religious course of ethics and religious culture along with the forbiddance, in public but not private schools, of all confessional religious education. This commentary on the issue is written by Jean Morse-Chevrier, president of the Catholic Parents Association of Quebec and first published in Le Devoir on June 4 in French. The author provided this English translation to The Catholic Register.
We must do more to share the wealth
Forget not the widow, the orphan, and slave
O God please remember the helpless today
Call on Your children repairing the breach
There is no place too far that Your mercy can’t reach.
- Charlie Hall , recording artist
This week’s mail brought the annual status report on the child we support through Christian Child Care International (CCCI) . She lives in Haiti, the poorest and most densely populated country in the Western Hemisphere.
O God please remember the helpless today
Call on Your children repairing the breach
There is no place too far that Your mercy can’t reach.
- Charlie Hall , recording artist
This week’s mail brought the annual status report on the child we support through Christian Child Care International (CCCI) . She lives in Haiti, the poorest and most densely populated country in the Western Hemisphere.
- By Lisa Petsche
Church architecture out of the ordinary
{mosimage}Though design is an important part of it, Toronto’s 21st century wave of new cultural buildings is about more than just architecture. It’s also about city-building: how best to create an urban complex that is beautiful and liveable, and that serves the millions who live here. Each of the new structures we see going up suggests a different approach to this crucial task.