Unofficially, it’s called the “state of the world” address. Officially, it’s Pope Benedict XVI’s annual talk to the diplomatic corps. And representatives from the 178 states that have diplomatic ties to the Holy See gathered this morning at the Vatican for the address. Religious freedom was the key issue that the Holy Father discussed. He ...read more

2010 was a monumental year for the Catholic Church and for its Shepherd. We saw Pope Benedict’s five International voyages, one “insider” exclusive papal Q & A released in book form, painful abuse scandal exposés, the first Canadian male saint, an Irish apostolic visitation and martyrdoms in the Middle East. All of these are just ...read more

When I was little, my mom’s side of the family would gather for a reunion almost every summer. At the time, it felt like a whirlwind of confusing introductions of second-cousins and great-aunts and uncles (many with the same, passed-down names) and my memories were made up of watered-down orange juice, group pictures, and spilling ...read more

Today is January 6th, and I am thinking of the three wise men. And the three wise men make me think of distances. I was always intrigued about distances in Israel. When I read that Mary and Joseph walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem, or that Mary rode on a donkey, it’s hard to appreciate how ...read more

The Papal intentions reported on the Tuesday, January 4th edition of Perspectives were the incorrect intentions for this month.  Please see the correct intentions for January 2011 below: Every January we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  The week begins on January 18th, and extends to January 25th, the feast of the conversion ...read more

As a proud mom, I would like to say with pride and excitement that my not-quite-two-year-old son can read. When we pull out his favourite books, he happily finishes the sentences for us, correctly filling in the last one or two words. The truth is, of course, that he’s not reading but spouting off the ...read more

As our viewers know, Salt + Light Television presents a French daily Mass live from St. Joseph’s Oratory Crypt Church at 8:30am ET. This Thursday afternoon, December 30th, Salt + Light will present an additional Mass. Catholic Christian Outreach, CCO, is holding their annual young adult conference Rise Up in Montreal this year. Appropriately, Canada’s ...read more

A year ago I visited Bethlehem, where residents can claim to celebrate Christmas every day. For those who have never traveled to the region, the city holds a number of surprises. For one, Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity (believed to be the place where Jesus was born) and the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (containing the ...read more

In the latest encounter of Nothing More Beautiful, Hamilton, Ontario’s Bishop Douglas Crosby, OMI, offers the catechesis talk.  He shares a story from a retreat he was directing for students and professors at a university in Eastern Canada.  The story begins: At noon we celebrated Mass in the boardroom. The room was packed, people standing ...read more

Whether we like it or not, gift-giving has become characteristic of how we celebrate Christmas. When someone asks us “are you ready for Christmas?”, we automatically translate this to “do you have all of your shopping done?” Somehow, the message behind giving a gift has been lost in the exchange; the language has been distorted ...read more