BLOG: Fr. Raphael Ma, CR
As anti-capitalism protests continue in Toronto’s St. James Park, a different kind of protest occupied the front lawn of the provincial legislature one week ago. Nearly 2,000 demonstrators gathered at Queen’s Park for the first ever Defund Abortion Rally. The event called on the province of Ontario to end the practice of subsidizing elective abortions. ...read more
One of the Church’s best messengers, Fr. Robert Barron was recently invited to Toronto to deliver the 2011 John M. Kelly Lecture in Theology. The lecture, sponsored by the University of St. Michael’s College, took place in St. Basil’s Church. Fr. Barron’s insightful talk is now streaming online. Fr. Barron is widely known as an ...read more
Nearly 100 Israeli, Palestinian and Italian runners put aside all differences as they participated in the 8th annual Pope John Paul II Bethlehem-Jerusalem Peace Run on October 24. The annual race is sponsored by Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican’s official travel agency, and the Israeli tourism ministry. The hope is that events like these will ...read more
I grew up in a trilingual household. My mother spoke to me in Spanish, my father spoke to me in Italian, and I spoke to them in English. This made for some interesting scenes when I was talking to my monolingual school friends. Often I would use words in English that didn’t quite make sense ...read more
Tonight on Perspectives: Leaders of different faiths gather in Assisi to pray for peace and justice. Plus, we take a look at what’s happening across the country. ...read more
“Violence and terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religions.” -Rt. Rev. Dr. Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land “We, humanists in dialogue with believers, commit ourselves together with all men and women of good will to building a new world in which respect for the ...read more
300 More than three hundred religious leaders from across the globe gathered in Assisi for the “Day of reflection, dialogue, and prayer for peace and justice in the world”. 25 We celebrate twenty-five years since the anniversary of the first Assisi interfaith prayer summit. 19 St. Francis of Assisi was nineteen years old when he ...read more
Here is Pope Benedict XVI’s speech in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, Italy, before representatives of the world’s religions and non-believers: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Distinguished Heads and Representatives of Churches, Ecclesial Communities and World Religions, Dear Friends, Twenty-five years have passed since Blessed Pope John Paul II first invited representatives ...read more
  Tonight on Perspectives: We look ahead to tomorrow’s live coverage of Assisi and officials at the Vatican talk global reform. ...read more
Twenty-five years ago, John Paul II joined leaders of other world religions for a historic encounter in Assisi, Italy. Tomorrow, his successor makes his own journey to the town of St. Francis for the “Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice”. Benedict XVI typically travels by plane, but tomorrow he will be ...read more