With his time at Castel Gandolfo behind him, Pope Benedict prepares for a busy fall. In this week’s Catholic News Service, Carol Glatz and John Thavis look at what’s upcoming for the Holy Father. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

“Do Canadians work too much?” We took to the streets of Winnipeg, Manitoba (and to the virtual streets of Facebook) to chase down public opinion surrounding this very question. We were surprised at the responses, and we think you will be, too! This week join Matthew Harrison (sitting in this week for Pedro Guevara Mann) ...read more

October 1st!  The mornings here in Toronto are crisp and cool, the days are still warm and welcoming, the leaves are changing colour.  It’s a favourite time of year for me.  And as I’ve written in the past, liturgically it’s a great time for saintly celebrations: we’ve got the Archangels, the Guardian Angels, St. Jerome, ...read more

The ‘Right to Die with Dignity’ issue regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide has created much debate and division in Canada. The province of Quebec began its public hearings earlier in September. The Bishops of Quebec presented their opinions today to the Special Commission on the issue of dying with dignity. They submitted a ten page ...read more

Earlier this year, Archbishop Michael Miller, of Vancouver, wrote: I urge you to recommit yourselves to the sacred cause of life and to help financially equip pro-life organizations, such as crisis pregnancy centres, to serve our communities. Even more, I urge you to become personally involved. Let us act in small and large ways – ...read more

The census is back in the news with the government potentially voting on keeping or scrapping the mandatory long-form. Several years ago (either 1991 or 1995), I was fairly unemployed and Fr. Bert Foliot, SJ, my pastor at the time, hooked me up to work for the Census Canada. All I had to do was ...read more

In less than three weeks, our first male Canadian-born saint will be canonized!  As you know, the energy is up, and so are ideas for celebrating! Salt + Light Television is giving away (yes, giving away, just like that) three DVDs of God’s Doorkeeper:  St. André of Montreal.  All you have to do is this: ...read more

Just over a year ago I was handed a DVD by a friend and told, “you need to watch this.” It was a documentary film called “The Price of Sugar.” The protagonist in the film is Fr. Christopher Hartley, a half British, half Spanish priest who ended up serving as the pastor of a parish ...read more

Welcome to the fifth of a series of blogs on the legacy of Brother André! We are three weeks away from the Canonization of Brother André Bessette, and the excitement is mounting! It is now time to introduce to you Brother Fernand Bessette, CSC, a distant relative of Brother André. During the pre-production stage of ...read more

John Paul II biographer George Weigel called him “the best English-language Vatican reporter in history.” His objectivity has even been described as “maddening.” John Allen Jr. will be in Toronto on Tuesday, September 28th, to offer the lecture: Covering the Vatican and the Church — A Vaticanista Reflects on Challenges Facing the Church Today. An ...read more