When comparing long-term travel plans among Christian friends, the one country on everyone’s list, without exception, is Israel. But obstacles like cost — a typical return flight from Toronto to Tel Aviv will run well over $1000 — mean that many pilgrims tend to make the journey later in life. Looking back on my own ...read more

On Good Friday, the Pope asks every parish in the world to take up a collection for the Church in the Holy Land. Which raises the question, what exactly does the Church in the Holy Land do with this? Among the most prominent Catholic institutions in the region is the Franciscan Custody of the Holy ...read more

On a recent episode of Catholic Focus, we tackled the issue of prostitution and the ongoing legal challenge to Ontario’s laws related to the sex trade. Today, a Court of Appeal reaffirmed parts of Justice Susan Himel’s controversial 2010 ruling that struck down three of those laws. In summary, the court agreed with Justice Himel ...read more

To much fanfare throughout Canada, the Archbishop of Toronto was recently made a Cardinal by Benedict XVI. Last night, Cardinal Thomas Collins returned to where it all began: his hometown parish in Guelph, Ontario, where he had been baptized. The faithful filled the Church of Our Lady Immaculate for a celebration of Evening Prayer. He ...read more

If you could celebrate Easter anywhere in the world, where would you go? For many Christians like myself, the answer is obvious: the Holy Land, where Jesus experienced his passion, death, and resurrection. Israel’s Ministry of Tourism is making this possible for two fortunate people. Holyland-pilgrimage.org is inviting would-be pilgrims to create a one-minute Youtube ...read more

S+L’s documentary “Across the Divide” hasn’t been released yet, but already our trailer has been generating buzz. Michael Swan from the Catholic Register visited our broadcast centre recently to learn more about the project. At the end of his article, he revealed some exciting plans that we’ve been quietly on: before its broadcast debut, we ...read more

As Mass began in Toronto’s Cathedral this morning, more than a few familiar faces lined the pews. The mayors of Toronto and its neighbouring municipalities were in attendance, seated alongside an MPP from the Ontario government, the provincial leader of the opposition, and the Lieutenant Governor. They came to welcome back one of their own. ...read more

It’s been only nine months since S+L filmed at St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton, but in that short period of time the sounds emanating from its chapel have become notably richer. This can be partly attributed to the new voices — as we reported on the S+L blog, enrollment of seminarians increased by 50% for ...read more

Most projects that land on my desk are easy to get excited about. Covering a two-day conference on clergy sex abuse was frankly not one of them. While it’s an unquestionably important topic, I, like most Catholics, am simply tired of the demoralizing news. Sr. Nuala Kenny, one of the organizers of the “Trauma & ...read more

You’ll be seeing a lot of Fr. James Mallon on S+L this week. He’s the current pastor of St. Benedict parish in Halifax, a new church that resulted from the amalgamation of three churches in downtown Halifax. This Friday on Perspectives Weekly, he speaks about how his community was able to make the most of ...read more