The anniversary is the columnist’s reliable friend. Nothing in the news today worthy of comment? How about the news of 10, 50 or 100 years ago?
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Lent gives us two solemn feasts, St. Joseph and the Annunciation of the Lord. Both fell in the last weeks of March, and it is likely that a majority of Canadian parishes did not celebrate both of them; a great many likely celebrated neither.
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Cardinal William H. Keeler was laid to rest on Tuesday in Baltimore, a mere 40 miles from Washington, D.C. The last cardinal from Baltimore – the first diocese of the United States – Keeler’s passing may also be a sign of the growing influence of the federal government in the life of the Church.
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On Lenten Sundays, Catholics might wonder why the Gospel readings are so long. They are long because they are intended to be a biblical course on baptism, preparing for which is the purpose of Lent.
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The question that occurs is why the accidents occurred in the first place. Whether the response was brilliant or botched, it would surely be preferable not to have these incidents at all.
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The anniversary week of Pope Francis has prompted many commentators to list the highlights of the pontificate. The pope's foreign policy - especially in Syria - should not be added to these lists. Vatican diplomacy has resulted in Assad being more secure in Damascus, with his staunch ally Putin playing a greater role in the Middle East.
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Shopify, for those who don’t know – and I would have been among them until recently – is a site that lets merchants sell their wares online. Not everybody is happy about the website Breitbart being one of those vendors.
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Pope Francis remains a fascinating story. He is non-judgmental when addressing the world on sexual matters, and extremely harsh in his judgments on other matters, from economics to immigration to climate change.
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The fiftieth anniversary of the death of General Georges Philias Vanier, Canada’s 19th Governor General, fell earlier this week. Having lived the great Canadian life, he died in Canada’s centennial year. He has lessons to teach us in this year of Canada 150.
Read MoreIt’s possible to consider that after the great Christian witness (martyria) of our time, St. John Paul II, and the profound teacher of the right worship of God (leitourgia), Benedict XVI, we now have a pope whose heart is manifestly open to the suffering through the practical ministry of charity (diakonia).
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Why do Catholics — and to be sure, other Christians, especially of the Eastern traditions, both Catholic and Orthodox — readily consider Lent to be the most spiritually fruitful time of the year?
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Horsesh–. That’s what came to mind when reading reports of the recent meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (Pass), convened to discuss “biological extinction” last week. It’s not that the learned scholars were talking horse dung, but that they weren’t.
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That Sunday morning 50 years ago, Vanier was too weak to attend Mass in the chapel and so he received Holy Communion in his bedroom. Madame Vanier went to Mass down the hall, and upon her return her husband died. Thus died the greatest Canadian in history.
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The resignation of the lone remaining survivor of clerical abuse from Pope Francis's anti-abuse commission raises questions about the pontiff's improvisational management style. If he really can't get what he wants from the Vatican bureaucracy, is it maybe time to try a different way of getting it?
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Five hundred years later, in Cardus’ little patch of the vineyard, Catholics and Reformed work together daily, not in a spirit of mere toleration, but of genuine flourishing. So how will we think about the Reformation this year, as we head toward Reformation Day on October 31st, five centuries after Luther published, as it were, his 95 Theses?
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In practice though, the carbon tax will change carbon consumption decisions only if set at the right level. If the cost of reducing carbon emissions is, say, $45/tonne for a particular producer, then Alberta’s carbon tax will have no effect on its energy consumption.
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I have a special affection for the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s. I was ordained a deacon there in 2001, and always stop to offer a prayer of thanksgiving whenever I am in Rome. So it was a blessing to be able to offer the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s this past Feb. 22.
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The news that Michael Novak had died Feb. 17 at age 83 was properly an occasion for celebrating his massively influential scholarship and writing. He lived a large life, and his even larger heart meant that a great many people had a place in it.
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