Last week Pope Francis and the Vatican played host to one of the single most influential people on the planet in Vladimir Putin. Love or hate the man, his effect on international affairs is unparalleled. This is probably why the Vatican quickly adjusted Francis’ schedule upon receiving the 11th hour request for a meeting with ...read more

Today on Perspectives, Pope’s Angelus Address, Archbishop and Auxiliary of St. Paul and Minneapolis resign, a former Nuncio is set to go on trial, a basilica goes up in flames in France and a look to a new Salt + Light series. ...read more

On Monday, June 15, 2015, Cardinal Donald Wuerl gave the keynote address at the AFL-CIO Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on the Catholic Ideal of Solidarity and the New Evangelization. Read the full text of his address below: I have been asked to speak about the Catholic ideal of solidarity in our contemporary world and the need ...read more

“A real friend stabs you in the front…” is one of the memorable lines from last month’s revue show, Friendship: A Challenge & a Gift, put on by Vancouver’s very own DASH Girl’s Club. The club’s name stands for Determined Actions Serving Humanity – and that’s just what they do! Every Friday fifteen plus girls gather ...read more

Very few of us would argue that we have to care for the environment, in fact Pope Francis has said that it is our moral duty to care for Creation (Morning Homily from Feb 9, 2015). How does this notion square with the idea that Scripture tells us to dominate and subdue the earth? I ...read more

In preparation for Pope Francis’ new ecological encyclical set to come out June 18, 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, led by Bishop Donald Bolen, have released a series of videos and study guides on how Catholics are leading and participating in a new commitment to respect and protect. The series is based on a recent ...read more

Here’s what we’ve been reading about this week across the country: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission submitted its final report on the effect of native residential schools. Here are the full 94 recommendations and here is some of the reaction. In Winnipeg, the chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs had this to say about ...read more

The Vatican received a who’s-who of international leaders, each one bringing their own agenda and a unique assortment of gifts. In the span of three days, leaders from Argentina, Russia, and Canada came to visit, with a delegation of bishops from Latvia and Estonia squeezing in for an Ad Limina visit. Russian leader Vladamir Putin ...read more

The name Medjugorje once again returned to the surface, not surprisingly days after Pope Francis’ visit to Sarajevo which is only 160 km from the sanctuary. On his flight back to Ciampino, as usual, the Holy Father did not recoil from reporters’ questions and the issue of Medjugorje came up in a timely fashion. The ...read more

(Romeo Maione, the first Executive Director of Development and Peace and a lifelong social activist died on May 12th, 2015.  Photo courtesy of Development and Peace.) It’s often said of the major developments in the history of the Catholic Church that it takes decades, even centuries, to fully comprehend their significance and put them into ...read more