I first heard of Mark Pickup, 10 years ago when we were working on Turning the Tide. At the time, it was not possible to interview Mark for the documentary. He would have been a great addition to the film. Mark was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at age 30. He is one of Canada’s most ...read more

Recently, while in Edmonton during the Every Life Matters series, I overheard someone say that the Catholic Church had two preferential options. I had heard of the preferential option for the poor but had never heard of the preferential option for life. Life is the one inalienable right upon which all the other inalienable rights ...read more

In exploring the issues of end of life and medically assisted dying, we’ve looked at what the law says and at palliative care. But we can’t ignore the question of freedom and human rights since one of the basic arguments for euthanasia and assisted suicide is that of autonomy: “it’s my body; my choice.” In ...read more

Last week I wrote about the law as it stands in Canada and what the changes to allow for physician assisted dying may be. Since then, the Government has tabled a bill which is now going through the proper channels on its way to approval before June 7th, 2016. You can read the proposed bill: ...read more

You may know that I am currently in Edmonton taking part in the Every Life Matters series. This is an initiative by Archbishop Richard Smith to begin conversations on an important topic that is bound to touch all of us at some point in time. What precipitated the series is the fact that our legal landscape ...read more

Watch the Press Conference LIVE on Friday, April 8th 2016 at 5:30am ET. Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the family will be published on April 8th 2016. It is called, “Amoris Laetitia” latin for “The Joy of Love”. ...read more

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released their response to the call to action issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission . Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon is the head of the Canadian Bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission. He answers questions about the Church’s response to the TRC’s call to action, what it means, why ...read more

Can a Catholic marry a non-Catholic? This week, on the third of our mini-series on Marriage and Canon Law, Deacon Pedro speaks again with Fr. Alex Laschuk of the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Toronto. They speak about all the different possibilities there are to make sure that your Marriage is Catholic and share ...read more

Every Life Matters: an invitation from Archbishop Smith from Archdiocese of Edmonton on Vimeo. The issues of suffering and of preparing for death touch every one of us. How do we respond as followers of Jesus Christ? The Archdiocese of Edmonton is undertaking a special initiative to help us explore deeply our Catholic stance against ...read more

What is an annulment? Why is it not the same as divorce? Join Deacon Pedro again this Friday as he explores the beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church with regards to Marriage. This week, he speaks with Canon Lawyer, Fr. Alex Laschuk, of the Marriage Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Toronto about annulments and they outline ...read more