Dear Friends, I have wanted to be with you today. I want to tell you that you are not alone. In these weeks and months, you have endured much suffering in your search for a better life. Many of you felt forced to flee situations of conflict and persecution for the sake, above all, of ...read more

On April 16, 2016, Pope Francis was welcomed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Holiness Bartholomew, and His Beatitude Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens in Lesbos, Greece. Below you will find the full text of his address: It is with unique joy that we welcome today to Lesvos the Head of the Roman-Catholic Church, Pope Francis. We consider ...read more

Written by Joe O’Conner, The National Post. Gaetano Gagliano, who has died at the age of 98, would often tell his children the story of what he had missed in life. A man of deep Catholic faith, he was by any measure incredibly successful. He arrived in Toronto from Italy in the 1950s at age ...read more

Most papal trips are planned months, sometimes years in advance and involve several visits by vatican delegations to sort out the logistical intricacies. This weekend’s papal visit to the Greek Island of Lesbos was put together in record time and announced just one week before the scheduled departure date. Pope Francis will land on the ...read more

In this special Jubilee Year, we are invited to remember the corporal works of mercy. One of them is to feed the hungry. Every day, all over the world, people have been doing this and the Church has been doing it for 2000 years. In Toronto, Sr. Margaret Patterson of the Congregation of Notre Dame ...read more

On April 14, 2016, the federal government introduced legislation that, if passed, will amend the criminal code to make euthanasia/assisted suicide legal in Canada. At a time when our priority should be fostering a culture of love, and enhancing resources for those suffering and facing death, assisted suicide leads us down a dark path. At first sight it ...read more

We shall be forever grateful to Gaetano Gagliano who gave us faith and hope, boldness and courage, roots and wings. May he rest in peace and intercede for us. ...read more

(S+L’s Sebastian Gomes interviewed Senator Bernie Sanders during Pope Francis’ trip to the United States last fall.  See more interviews here.) Widespread speculation about a possible meeting between Pope Francis and American presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at the Vatican on Friday is flooding the internet.  While no official meeting is planned, that’s never restricted Francis from ...read more

Pedro J. de Rezende and Ketty A. Rezende of the University of Campinas, Brazil were lay auditors at the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.  In that capacity they had the opportunity to address the Synod and participate in the small language groups which laid the foundation for the Final Relatio that was approved and given ...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