We Canadians like our summer long weekends.  Once May arrives, we indulge in a monthly long weekend until October! (With the exception of June outside of Quebec.) In an attempt to satiate our long weekend desires, five provinces have a long weekend in February.  Three of those provinces — Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan — celebrate ...read more

The Vatican is among those watching the crisis unfold in Egypt. Nearly 100 people have been killed in a week of political demonstrations. But Catholic News Service’s John Thavis explains the Holy See isn’t likely to offer any immediate comment on the situation: To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI proposed a Christian way for engaging the online world with his message for the 45th World Day of Communications. The message, which was released this week, takes the theme Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age. Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden and John Thavis have the details. To download ...read more

The bible is full of passages exhorting us to care for the widows and orphans and it seems that quite often we think that only applied to the people of Israel, way back when. Did you know that, while there may not be any orphanages in Canada anymore, there are some 80,000 children under the protection of child and family service agencies? These children need families. They need a place to belong. Whether it is for adoption or for temporary placement, Canada needs families to help care for these children. ...read more

Yesterday I attended the pre-release media screening of the new exorcism movie The Rite. After reading the synopsis of the book it was based on, I went in with fairly high hopes, thinking that this might be a little more educational or insightful than past Hollywood takes on the subject. As I entered the theatre ...read more

On Tuesday we told you about the new pastoral letter from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Living Chastity Today.  The letter can be downloaded from cccb.ca, or you can view it in video form, presented by seven young people.  The video will also be available as a DVD that can be used in the ...read more

MADRID – Out of the nearly two million pilgrims expected to attend World Youth Day in Madrid in August, about five thousand of those pilgrims will have some sort of disability. The WYD organization has partnered with a Spanish organization to make sure those pilgrims will be able to get the full WYD experience just ...read more

Just the other night I was with friends and ended up having a conversation about… guess what? Chastity! Well, love, marriage, sex and relationships. One of my friends explained that he didn’t want to get married because for it to end up in divorce would be a failure. Even though he did not see marriage ...read more

While in Canada our national March for Life isn’t until May, in the United States thousands of Americans gathered yesterday in Washington for their annual March. Catholic News Service files this report from Washington. To download Flash Player please click here For more insight into Washington’s March for Life, see some of the news briefs ...read more

Last week, the Downtown Chapel in Portland, Oregon, made a special announcement:  they’re changing their parish name.  A recent degree by the Archbishop of Portland will change the Church’s patronage from St. Vincent de Paul to the Congregation of Holy Cross’ first saint, St. André Bessette. For any of you who have seen the documentary ...read more