At 08:15, 6 August 1945, Feast of the Transfiguration, the atomic bomb nicknamed the Little Boy was dropped by a B-29 bomber, and detonated at a height of 450 m over the city of Hiroshima to maximize its destructive effect. At that very instant, people’s faces were not transfigured but transformed. History was rewritten, not ...read more

The Director of Jesuit Refugee Services in Syria, Fr. Nawras Sammour, SJ visited Toronto last week to speak about the ongoing civil war and refugee crisis plaguing his home country. The event, which was co-hosted by Canadian Jesuits International and Development and Peace, was held at the Jesuit parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in ...read more

Once told in black and white imagery, Canada’s war history now includes vivid scenes from contemporary Afghanistan. From a Catholic perspective, host Kris Dmytrenko examines a nation at war. ...read more

“The Canadian soldier is another breed altogether.” These were the words from Major Joseph Nonato as he offered us some anecdotes from on the ground in Afghanistan where he served in 2008. Major Joseph told us about his moments of overwhelming gratitude on the ground. Once, while sitting in a plane with a dozen or ...read more

In a previous Catholic Focus, we looked at the little-known ministry of Canada’s military chaplains. While I learned much from preparing that program, particularly from Bishop Donald Thériault, the head of the Catholic military ordinariate, I don’t think I properly understood the dangers chaplains faced. That awareness came with the news that U.S. Army chaplain ...read more

“Today our hearts are bursting, such is the gift of love.” Those are the words Jim and Carol Collier used to express their emotions at their son’s funeral. Sapper Brian Collier was killed last week in Afghanistan by an improvised explosive device. His funeral was held yesterday at Holy Martyrs of Japan parish in Bradford, ...read more