BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
(Photo: loyola.ca) The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Quebec’s Minister of Education infringed upon the religious freedom of Loyola, a private Catholic high school in Montreal, by requiring the school to teach all aspects of the province’s Ethics and Religious Culture Program (ERC) from a neutral perspective, i.e. from a non-confessional, or specifically ...read more
Welcome to S+L’s Weekly News Round-Up. As the Director of Marketing and Communications here at S+L, many interesting Catholic news stories and articles come across my desk on a daily basis. Some of them we’ll cover on our different television programs and others I’d like to share with you on this blog. This blog column ...read more
Today on Perspectives, Pope Francis’ weekly General Audience, condolences for flight crash victims in France, Ontario doctor’s take College of Physicians and Surgeons to court to fight for their conscience rights and a Catholic Church comes under attack in Pakistan. ...read more
Today on Perspectives, the Vatican invites the homeless of Rome to visit the Sistine Chapel and Catholic News Service goes to spring training for God’s sport in Arizona. ...read more
Freedom of religion, it is something that generally speaking, Canadians take for granted. You can wake-up on Sunday mornings, and drive/walk/ride to the local parish. The music plays, the congregation prays, the priest offers the sacrifice of the mass. For most, the conversation ends right there, freedom of religion delivered, your social contract with the ...read more
World Water Day, calls all of us to a water management and resource distribution ethic that must be guided by considerations for the common good of the people of the world and the natural systems of the planet itself. ...read more
Here’s what’s been happening across the country: In Vancouver, the city’s Archbishop slept in a cardboard box last week to raise awareness, money and be in solidarity with the homeless. In Alberta, the Catholic school board has welcomed revised legislation on gay-straight alliances. In Saskatoon, a woman with MS shares her thoughts on the Canadian Supreme ...read more
On Saturday, March 21, Pope Francis is set to spend a day visiting Pompeii and Naples. Though short, this trip is yet another reminder of the pontiff’s preferential option for the poor and marginalized. Aside from a visit to a sanctuary in Pompeii and a meeting with the sick at Basilica of Gesu Nuovo, the ...read more
Perhaps we should be used to the “element of surprise” in the pontificate of Pope Francis.  He was at it again last Friday, March 13 on the second anniversary of his election, when he unexpectedly announced a “Jubilee Year of Mercy” to take place in the Church and around the world from December 2015 to ...read more
Today is 70th anniversary of death of Blessed Marcel Callo who was one of the patron blesseds and saints of World Youth Day 2002. Marcel Callo was born on December 6, 1921, in Rennes, France, being one of nine children. He was a happy child, who was known to be a leader and a perfectionist. ...read more