Following the guilty plea of the Most Rev. Raymond Lahey, former Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, the following statement has been issued by Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops: The Most Reverend Raymond Lahey, former Bishop of Antigonish, has pled guilty to possession of child pornography. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops condemns all forms of ...read more

Last Friday afternoon, I arrived at the 5th floor, resource Library of the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Toronto for a special book signing of Archbishop Thomas Collins’ new book, Pathway to our Hearts: A Simple Approach to Lectio Divina with the Sermon on the Mount. As many of you know, Archbishop Collins is a great fan of the tradition of praying with Scriptures. “Lectio divina” literally means “sacred reading” and in this book, Collins shares an accessible approach to and a fresh perspective on this ancient practice. Compiled from the transcripts of his first lectio series at St. Michael’s Cathedral, from 2007, the book invites readers to listen to the Word of God and ask what this word tells them about loving God with their mind, their heart and with their hands. The book is for anyone who wants to pray with the Word of God and develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. ...read more

In Ottawa, speculation is growing about a possible spring election. When the federal campaign officially begins, religious leaders want poverty reduction to be front and centre. On Monday and Tuesday, a coalition of faith leaders met with 15 Members of Parliament in Ottawa. Their ambitious goal was to launch a national conversation about poverty. The ...read more

As Christians in Pakistan mourn the killing of their boldest representative, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canada’s bishops are keeping his message alive. Shahbaz Bhatti was Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister before his assassination on Wednesday. He visited Ottawa in February, where he told Canadian Catholic News that he was “ready to die and sacrifice ...read more

For Said Musa, being publicly exposed as a Christian condemned him to death row. Yet his testimony of faith, spread throughout the world, may have also helped secure his liberation. As we reported on the S+L Blog and Perspectives, Musa worked for the Red Cross in Afghanistan when, due to a local television report, he ...read more

There’s been lots of changes in the last week on the Episcopal scene in Canada. Last Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI made two appointments involving Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Quebec. The first involved Bishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix.  He has been named the new Archbishop of Quebec City, succeeding Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who was appointed ...read more

Last week we told you about the plight of Sayed Musa, a Christian convert sentenced to die in Afghanistan. Apostasy remains a capital offense in that country. Writing on behalf of the Canadian bishops, as the chair of their Human Rights Committee, Archbishop Brendan O’Brien of Kingston asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to intervene ...read more

On New Year’s Day, Pope Benedict dedicated his message for the World Day of Peace to the cause of religious freedom. In his message, the Holy Father made headlines with his assertion that “Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith.” That statement may have surprised some, but ...read more

There are few better stewards of tradition than the Catholic Church. Even in matters unrelated to faith, morals or liturgy, precedence isn’t taken lightly. One example has been the practice of electing a president of the national bishops’ conference. These elections rarely garner much press because, following tradition, it is assumed that the vice-president will ...read more

The annual meeting of the Canadian bishops has come to a close. And just in time—the bishops are leaving Cornwall, Ontario for nearby Montreal to celebrate the Mass of Thanksgiving for the canonization of Brother André. (S+L will broadcast the Mass live in French at 1:30 pm ET, repeating in English at 9:30 pm ET.) ...read more