This past Saturday evening in Toronto, to celebrate Palm Sunday and World Youth Day, St. Michael’s Cathedral held likely its largest crowd since Archbishop Collins’ installation. The remarkable congregation consisted mostly of teenagers, making me feel like the old guy at my mere 27 years. In one sense, I cherish those years that separate me ...read more

I was speaking with a friend of mine today about herpes transmission. (Yes, these are the kind of conversations one gets into when finishing a program on Catholic School Sex-Ed.) A well educated guy, he was certain that he couldn’t get this virus unless a partner had visible symptoms. But you can—it’s called asymptomatic transmission. ...read more

What do you complain about over coffee after Mass? While we try to be positive people, let’s humbly admit that we bemoan familiar topics again and again. Sometimes it’s a closing hymn we find atrocious. Often it’s the state of the parish hall coffee itself. (The very term “church coffee” now connotes watery flavourlessness more ...read more

“Je me souviens,” the license plates read. Do you really? The question applies to both Quebecers and those living outside la belle province: Just what is your knowledge of the Quebec Church and its religious history? Most people will tell you one of two contradictory narratives. The first is that Quebec remains an uncompromisingly Catholic ...read more

As Ash Wednesday approaches, you’ve probably been pondering habits to abstain for Lent. Will it be carping about fellow drivers? Pressing the snooze button? Sudoku? Whatever the sacrifice, don’t give up be television, on weekends or otherwise, as Matthew Harrison suggested on this same blog. For a television employee, Mr. Harrison, this is an even ...read more

In one unforgettable week, Archbishop Thomas Collins’ installation brought visits to S+L from Halifax’s Archbishop Prendergast and Denver’s Archbishop Chaput (who was interviewed for an upcoming Witness). The installation itself was heavenly—and not just for the Catholic press. Collins impressed with his accessibility and candidness to print, radio and television. But there was another installation ...read more

Pardon the tardiness of the post, but my thoughts are still fixated on January 31st. The 31st marked the Feast of St. John Bosco, as well as my encounter with a man who bore extraordinary spiritual resemblance to the saint. I was riding the westbound Dundas streetcar late Wednesday night when, as we passed Spadina, ...read more

Isn’t direct confrontation mesmerizing? If there is any significance to the Donald Trump vs. Rosie O’Donnell feud, it is our fascination with the forthright. We’re just so accustomed to sharing grievances with confidantes, not the actual source of our frustrations. What if they don’t like me if I say something? So I nearly fell out ...read more