This week we’re unpacking the souvenirs from Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to the Holy Land, including the pending prayer meeting with Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres. We speak to Fr. Thomas Rosica about the symbolism of the papal itinerary and the significance of his gestures during the visit. Late Breaking Update: Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas ...read more

Pope Francis met, on Sunday, with children from various refugee camps who use the services of the Phoenix Centre. The children shared with Pope Francis their hopes for the future and how they experience their living conditions. ...read more

What if you were in Gaza today, and you couldn’t leave? To what lengths would you go to get out? This question has been on the minds of the people of Gaza long before the latest escalation of violence (which, for the moment, has abated thanks to a ceasefire). Unemployment stands at 31.5%. A tightly ...read more

Has their moment finally come? After this weekend, many Christians in the Middle East must feel their hope renewed. Pope Benedict arrived in Lebanon on Friday, at a time when other foreign leaders might have cancelled their travel plans to the volatile region. Though civil wars and protests still dominate the headlines, the pontiff’s three-day ...read more

This Wednesday, September 19 at St. Paul’s University, S+L presents the Ottawa premiere of its latest documentary Across the Divide. The film takes viewers to Bethlehem University, depicting the struggles of the students, as well as the religious brothers who administer the only Catholic university in the Holy Land. Following the screening, there will be ...read more

S+L fans in the GTA, the long-awaited Toronto premiere of Across the Divide is upon us. The screening takes place tonight at 7 pm at St. Michael’s College School Theatre at 1515 Bathurst Street. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased the Across the Divide website. Proceeds from this special event will go toward Salt ...read more

Last month, S+L held two sold-out screenings of Across the Divide, our new documentary that’s got people talking. The most recent screening (sponsored by CNEWA Canada, the Canada-Atlantic Lieutenancy of the EOHSJ and the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth) was held at Halifax’s Empire Cinemas — alongside the summer blockbusters one would expect at such a venue. ...read more

In anticipation of the world premiere of “Across the Divide” this Sunday, June 3 in Vancouver, the creators take you behind-the-scenes of the making of the new S+L documentary. Yesterday on the blog, we heard from Kris Dmytrenko, the writer and one of the co-directors. Today we meet the editor and second co-director, Richard Valenti, ...read more

Across the Divide takes viewers to Bethlehem University, the only Catholic university in the Holy Land. Throughout its history, the campus has been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict. In the first of our series of behind the scenes interviews, we hear from the documentary’s writer/co-director, Kris Dmytrenko (who you might already recognize ...read more

Could you forgive someone who killed your child? I suspect most of you would say yes, you would at least try, if only because the alternative would be a lifetime of anger. But would you ever be able to accept that this murderer could avoid punishment, so long as he confessed to his crime? And ...read more