I just returned from St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the Eucharist with the international cast of the Synod of Bishops.  While the Vatican might have otherwise exhibited a festive atmosphere, the Holy Father reminded us of those who could not be present. During both the homily and the post-Mass Angelus, the Pope issued calls ...read more

On Saturday morning, the Synod of Bishops voted to approve the full list of 55 recommendations for Pope Benedict XVI.  During a midday press conference, the synod’s Relator General Cardinal Marc Ouellet characterized the three-week assembly as “rediscovering the Bible as the book of everyone and for everyone.” “The Church has again found its foundation, ...read more

Everyday at the Synod of Bishops, journalists are offered but one opportunity to observe the participants when they’re gathered in Paul VI Hall.  Accredited media are told to arrive outside the aula at 8:30 AM.  Then we wait for twenty minutes before being herded upstairs into the auditorium. A reporter is left no time to ...read more

It’s a busy weekend for us here at Salt + Light. A group is heading down to Los Angeles to collect our Gabriel Award for Television Station of the Year. Check the blog next week for their thoughts on the experience. Meanwhile, in Rome, as the Synod of Bishops draws to a close Fr. Rosica ...read more

“You are ethically bound to help a drowning person, even if you can not swim.” Those were among the last words Irena Sendler’s father said to her as he lay on his death bed, suffering of Typhoid Fever. This was the same disease that brought many Jewish patients to seek his help, his door being ...read more

It’s hard to believe that many Catholics in Toronto are not aware of one of our greatest treasures: The St. Michael’s Choir School. I would say that the Choir School is not just a treasure of the Church, but a treasure of our city. Dating back to the early 1900s, with the St. Michael’s Parish ...read more

Tonight, October 21st, at 8pm ET, the season premiere of “The World I Know: Virtues in Action” airs. The target audience is elementary and high school students, and this has been a year in the making, so I’m excited to see this happen! The first episode is on the virtue of fairness, and I have ...read more

I don’t know when it was that I realized I love working with children. Maybe it was that year teaching kindergarten. Maybe it’s because that at some parties I go to, I end up playing games with the kids and leaving the adults to do all their talking! Regardless, I’ve been able to indulge in ...read more

In the midst of all the hard work and writing, an event of biblical proportions took place on Thursday evening. It took place not in the synod hall, but at a building known to us as “the Biblicum” in Rome’s Piazza della Pilotta, near the Trevi Fountain. It was a reunion and festive dinner at ...read more

Sadly for a lone tourist, much of Rome is either indecipherable or inaccessible.  Unlike Canada, where every hundred-year old building gets a commemorative plaque, even the magnificent churches typically lack explanations of their features. And the city is full of so many notable religious sites that a guide book would weigh more than a traveller ...read more