The idea that a pope, or any pastor, would call his flock to assess how their lives are impacting the earth, caused waves and turned heads last week. Barely a week later, the Vatican has released the working document, or “lineamenta” for the upcoming Synod on the Family. Scheduled for October 2015, the synod is ...read more

(Pope Francis greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Vatican gardens in 2014. With the publication of Laudato Si’, Francis has joined Benedict in issuing an encyclical that addresses the ecological crisis and integral human development. Caritas in Veritate was issued by Benedict in 2009. Photo courtesy of CNS.) With the release of Laudato Si’, Pope ...read more

The Catholic world is still a buzz over the release of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, more commonly known as his Encyclical on the environment. Not in a generation have the more obscure Papal activities such as Encyclicals and Synods been mainstream news. So in light of that, what is to come of these papal teachings ...read more

In preparation for Pope Francis’ new ecological encyclical, Laudato Si, which came out on June 18, 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, led by Bishop Donald Bolen, have released a series of videos and study guides on how Catholics are leading and participating in a new commitment to respect and protect. The series is based on a ...read more

(Fr. Bill Robins SJ, a Winnipeg native, sits by a Hindu shrine on the Pulchowki hilltop in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.  Fr. Bill is Socius to the Regional Superior of Nepal, and superior at Kamai Niwas Jesuit Training Center in Kathmandu. For the past few months he has been involved in the Nepal earthquake relief effort.) On April ...read more

In preparation for Pope Francis’ new ecological encyclical, Laudato Si, which came out on June 18, 2015, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, led by Bishop Donald Bolen, have released a series of videos and study guides on how Catholics are leading and participating in a new commitment to respect and protect. The series is based on a ...read more

Laudato Si is so complete and so radical that it will take years for us to unpack it fully. There is a lot there, but one of the themes that has most moved me (and this was not surprising) is encapsulated by this statement from the introduction: “The violence present in our hearts, wounded by ...read more

Apparently, one of the most subversive things you can do these days is plant a garden in your backyard. No kidding. And as much as I dream of this possibility one day; for those of us who live in tiny apartments in downtown Toronto and work erratic hours, well, its not really an option, yet. ...read more

In his newly released encyclical, Pope Francis warned that “people of all faiths must radically transform how we live or face ‘unprecedented destruction of ecosystem.'” CTV News in Edmonton reported on how the warning is playing out in the Alberta Oil Industry. See clip below. Video Courtesy of CTV Edmonton News. ...read more

While things in Rome have been causing a buzz, back home dioceses are heading into their summer schedule. Still, there’s plenty to talk and read about. Here’s a sample: In Ottawa, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, SJ, shares the life story of one of his conference who entered the Jesuits in 1944, just a boy from Winnipeg. ...read more