Mr. René Laprise has been appointed Director of Media Relations for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Mr. Laprise, who has acted as director of communications for the Archdiocese of Gatineau for the past 21 years, is a seasoned professional in Church communications. In 2001 and 2002, he worked for the organizing committee of World ...read more

Last Friday afternoon, I arrived at the 5th floor, resource Library of the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Toronto for a special book signing of Archbishop Thomas Collins’ new book, Pathway to our Hearts: A Simple Approach to Lectio Divina with the Sermon on the Mount. As many of you know, Archbishop Collins is a great fan of the tradition of praying with Scriptures. “Lectio divina” literally means “sacred reading” and in this book, Collins shares an accessible approach to and a fresh perspective on this ancient practice. Compiled from the transcripts of his first lectio series at St. Michael’s Cathedral, from 2007, the book invites readers to listen to the Word of God and ask what this word tells them about loving God with their mind, their heart and with their hands. The book is for anyone who wants to pray with the Word of God and develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. ...read more

Avoid being alone. Well, at least avoid the word “alone” when it comes to some theological arguments. That from Archbishop Thomas Collins in this month’s Lectio Divina. He’s speaking in the context of the Scripture passage that deals with faith and works: But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me ...read more

Does anyone have time for book clubs anymore?  While the idea is quaint, I can’t tell you how many times a group of friends and I have “committed” to reading numerous must-reads only to have them turn into “should-have” reads. Throughout the past week, though, a few of my colleagues and I had the privilege ...read more

In Ottawa, speculation is growing about a possible spring election. When the federal campaign officially begins, religious leaders want poverty reduction to be front and centre. On Monday and Tuesday, a coalition of faith leaders met with 15 Members of Parliament in Ottawa. Their ambitious goal was to launch a national conversation about poverty. The ...read more

It was unfathomable that one idea could change how the world interacts. And then you signed up for Facebook. While watching the three-time Oscar winner The Social Network, I was struck by how this invention — motivated, if the film is to believed, by the insecurities of its co-founder — has impacted the lives of ...read more

As we mentioned on Monday, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins has been in Rome as part of the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. While he was there, Catholic News Service caught up with him to ask about his new book Pathway to our Hearts: A Simple Approach to Lectio Divina with the ...read more

As Christians in Pakistan mourn the killing of their boldest representative, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canada’s bishops are keeping his message alive. Shahbaz Bhatti was Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister before his assassination on Wednesday. He visited Ottawa in February, where he told Canadian Catholic News that he was “ready to die and sacrifice ...read more

February might become the new month of Mary. Within the past month, she has been making regular appearances in my life. No, not those kind of appearances. Instead, as is her habit, her appearances are often quiet suggestions of beauty, gentleness and humility. Such is her way. This  “re-awakening” to the beauty of Mary within ...read more

For Said Musa, being publicly exposed as a Christian condemned him to death row. Yet his testimony of faith, spread throughout the world, may have also helped secure his liberation. As we reported on the S+L Blog and Perspectives, Musa worked for the Red Cross in Afghanistan when, due to a local television report, he ...read more