You’ve likely now seen Beloved, Salt + Light’s documentary about the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia—better known as the Nashville Dominicans—who have developed a young, growing community through their charisms of contemplative focus, active apostolate, strong community life and love of the Church. Here is their 10-minute vocations video, created by S+L. ...read more

Five months since Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications of four Society of St. Pius X bishops, the traditionalist group continues to generate headlines by announcing priestly ordinations that the Holy See has called “illegitimate”. Yet, somehow, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the SSPX, passed through Toronto last week largely unnoticed by the media. He ...read more

Development and Peace, the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada, has been mired by accusations that some of its partner agencies have promoted abortion access using Canadian funds. On Thursday, the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops received the results of an investigation of five such organizations in ...read more

Every weekend, the revolving-door cast of 64 Days with the Ark would ritualize their changes with a short ceremony. New pilgrims joining the pilgrimage would receive navy portageur hoodies and red bandannas. Those who had to return home were presented with wooden crosses carved from sticks found along the route. My arrival in Trois-Rivières, Quebec ...read more

What sort of teenagers get involved in gangs? And what does a gang-plagued community look like? Before I began researching the issue for the S+L documentary Changing Course, my mind would conjure the usual stereotype of disaffected thugs congregating near austere social housing complexes. The most troubling aspect of this popular image of street life, ...read more

Four weeks ago I introduced you to Jerry Grzadka, organizer of the nine-week walking pilgrimage from Midland, Ontario to Quebec City featured in 64 Days with the Ark. One of Jerry’s most difficult tasks was finding people who were willing and able to complete the arduous trek. Though dozens signed up to carry the Ark ...read more

Leading to the first anniversary of the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City, S+L is rebroadcasting its five-part original reality series 64 Days with the Ark. Each week, the S+L Blog will bring you an update of what the pilgrimage participants are doing now. Jerry Grzadka accepted a monumental task when he agreed to organize ...read more

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has released more details about Pope Benedict’s meeting with Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and other representatives of Aboriginal and Catholic communities. Archbishop James Weisgerber, President of the CCCB, shared this firsthand account of the historic audience: His face spoke even louder than his ...read more

“Twitter can make you immoral” screamed one headline last week. “Does Facebook fixation lower grades?” queried another. It seems that online networking sites are now under the critical eye of social scientists, who are eager to learn how new technologies are affecting human relationships. Twitter, if you’re still unfamiliar, is a web-based message board where ...read more

Gang violence and intimidation are no longer confined to inner-city school—increasingly, they have infected suburban neighbourhoods. Residents of Malton, Ontario have been shocked to find their own youth getting caught in the crossfire. Nearby Fletcher’s Meadow, an area within Brampton, runs the risk of developing similar problems due to rapid construction that outpaces community services. ...read more