At some point in our lives we’ve all heard the saying, “We make plans and God laughs.” God has laughed at me a few times. He’s still laughing at me and my plans. As I’ve mentioned in some of my previous blogs, I grew up in Vancouver and lived in Rome for several years. For ...read more

I could hear the roar of the crowd even before I stepped out of my apartment building. The celebration for Canada’s final gold medal was in full swing on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. I could hardly contain my own excitement as I rushed towards Dundas Square, camera in hand, to join the revelry that ...read more

They seem at odds, don’t they? Christianity that encourages us to foster virtue – everything that’s nice and sweet, gentle and kind; versus Olympic ambition (supplemented by the Own the Podium program) that encourages our athletes to go for gold, to win, win, win! Own the Podium has been criticized as un-Canadian, as rude, as ...read more

Pope Benedict XVI offered prayers at his Sunday Angelus Address yesterday for Chile. A 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit the South American nation on Saturday.  At least 700 have been killed, half-a-million homes destroyed, and 1.5 million people affected. “My thought goes out to Chile and the populations affected by the earthquake, which caused numerous losses ...read more

Since Perspectives’ debut last month, a painstaking amount of thought has gone into each Question of the Week. In fact, as soon as we are finished filming the Friday show, we conduct an office-wide poll on which question should be featured on the next week’s episode. I am always surprised by how much discussion is ...read more

The Pope has been participating in spiritual exercises with the Roman Curia this week.  Catholic News Service’s Cindy Wooden and John Thavis report on the Holy Father’s annual Lenten retreat. To download Flash Player please click here ...read more

If you have this question, then the Ottawa event on Monday, March 8th, may be just the thing for you.  Cardinal William Joseph Levada will be speaking at Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica on Sussex Drive in Ottawa.  True to his role as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, his talk is ...read more

On Sunday, February 28th, Dr. Yury Monczak, PhD, will be speaking about the first-ever Chair in Bioethics at the Ukrainian Catholic University.  Dr. Monczak is the Director of Molecular Pathology at the SMBD Jewish General Hospital and Assistant Professor at McGill University in Montreal.  He will be speaking at the residence of the Ukrainian Church ...read more

As I mentioned in my blog post this past Friday, this weekend marked the start of the 2010 Clericus Cup soccer tournament in Rome, a unique tournament for seminarians and priests living in Rome. On Saturday morning, on the field of the Pontifical Oratory of St. Peter, the team from the Neocatcechumenal Way’s Redemptoris Mater ...read more

As I mentioned in my January 20th blog on the Open House of Fountain of Love and Life, I’m working on a Catholic Focus episode on this great Chinese programming ministry featured on Salt + Light Television. In this episode, you’ll see clips on the history, impact, and joy-filled message behind the work that this ...read more