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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
I first heard of Mark Pickup, 10 years ago when we were working on Turning the Tide. At the time, it was not possible to interview Mark for the documentary. He would have been a great addition to the film. Mark was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 30. He is one of Canada’s most ...read more
Recently, while in Edmonton during the Every Life Matters series, I overheard someone say that the Catholic Church had two preferential options. I had heard of the preferential option for the poor but had never heard of the preferential option for life. Life is the one inalienable right upon which all the other inalienable rights ...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
By Carl Hétu, Canadian National Director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. With ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, the war in eastern Ukraine that started over two years ago is being overlooked by Western media. Many Canadians that I have spoken with recently have shared their assumptions that things are back to normal and that the ...read more
On April 8, 2016, Pope Francis released the long-awaited post-synodal exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (the Joy of Love), on the family. A few days later, Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton joined me to explore various themes from the document, as well as to share his experiences in journeying with families through the many challenges they face. We ...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