BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
  The following letter was sent to the Bishops of Canada this week by Archbishop Paul Andre Durocher, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. My dear Brother Bishops, Our hearts go out to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, particularly those of us who have many Philippino faithful in our ...read more
“Consult not your fears, but your hopes and dreams!” (Pope John XXIII, 1962)  On Sunday, November 10th, these words once again rang out at Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario as Sr. Mary Lou Wirtz, FCJM opened here talk on the theme “New Directions and New Relationships for Religious Life”.  Sr. Mary Lou is General Superior ...read more
Archbishop Paul Andre Durocher sent this letter to Archbishop Socrates Buenaventura Villegas, President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Tuesday, November 12. To the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Philippines, Since Friday, we have seen the increasingly devastating reports of the tragedy which hasbefallen your country. As President of ...read more
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the Papal Nuncio to the United States, gave this address to the general assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Your Eminence Cardinal Dolan, Your Eminences, my Brother Archbishops and Bishops, Monsignor Jenkins and staff of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, let me begin by saying a ...read more
Cardinal Timothy Dolan gave his final address to the general assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops this week during the USCCB Plenary Assembly. Below is the full text of his speech. Just last August, I had the honor of concelebrating the Mass of Dedication for the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Kiev. ...read more
On February 11 we remember the members of the armed forces who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Catholic Cemeteries  of Vancouver came across one Catholic man who served his country in and out of the armed forces as a medical doctor and psychiatrist. After the first World War he dedicated his ...read more
This week we look at the preparations for the Extraordinary Synod on the Pastoral Challenges to the Family. CNS brings us an interview with Cardinal Peter Erdo, the Relator General for the Synod. We look at the pope’s agenda, what Cardinal Dziwisz says about the Roman Curia, and we give you an in depth look ...read more
Asking what you do to strengthen your faith is a bit of a non-question. The answer is obvious: You pray, you go to the Sacraments, you read Scripture, you engage with a Parish community. But when your faith feels fragile, how do you strengthen it? Because most people who are struggling with faith and feeling ...read more
The local Church or diocese established in Rome was founded by the two Apostles Peter and Paul and sanctified by the lives of many martyrs. As the spiritual leader of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Pope is also the Bishop of Rome in the footsteps of St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope and Bishop ...read more