This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Last week I shared a bit of my WYD experience and how this event can (and does) change so many people’s lives. But many are ...read more

This blog post is part of a 6-part series on World Youth Day. Read them all: Deacon-structing WYD: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 Often, when I speak to young people, I’ll start by asking where they are from: Is there anyone here from Ottawa or Quebec? How about ...read more

Deacon Pedro is ordained by Bishop Vincent Nguyen on May 26, 2012. Last week we looked, very briefly, at the basics of the Sacrament of Ordination. One of the common challenges to the idea of Sacraments as “a visible sign of an invisible Grace, instituted by Christ” is the “instituted by Christ” part. With Ordination, ...read more

In light of the fact that last week everyone became aware that the early Church had women in the role of deacons or deaconesses (or both, we’re not sure what exactly these roles were), I have begun to deaconstructing the diaconate. But before, let’s take a little detour and look at Ordination. It seems appropriate that as ...read more

Almost three months ago I ended this column by mentioning that someone had sent me a comment about another post. I had said something about the permanency of doctrine and that person was challenging (I think) my use of the word doctrine. Perhaps (I surmise) I should have used the word “dogma.” At any rate, since then, ...read more

A reflection for the 6th Sunday in Easter, Year C. The readings are Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Revelation 21:10-14; 22-23 and John 14:23-29. Whoever loves me will keep my word and my Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them… (Jn 14:23) Let’s get this straight: If you ...read more

In exploring the issues of end of life and medically assisted dying, we’ve looked at what the law says and at palliative care. But we can’t ignore the question of freedom and human rights since one of the basic arguments for euthanasia and assisted suicide is that of autonomy: “it’s my body; my choice.” In ...read more

Last week I wrote about the law as it stands in Canada and what the changes to allow for physician assisted dying may be. Since then, the Government has tabled a bill which is now going through the proper channels on its way to approval before June 7th, 2016. You can read the proposed bill: ...read more

You may know that I am currently in Edmonton taking part in the Every Life Matters series. This is an initiative by Archbishop Richard Smith to begin conversations on an important topic that is bound to touch all of us at some point in time. What precipitated the series is the fact that our legal landscape ...read more

Referring to the night of the Easter Vigil, in the Easter Proclamation (the Exsutet) we pray that “This is the night, when once you led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt.” The Easter Proclamation also says that “This is the night, when Christ broke the prison-bars of death and rose victorious from the ...read more