Today the Pope landed in Lebanon to release his highly-anticipated message about the Christians of the Middle East. Why are the Christians struggling? And how can the Pope help them? On Catholic Focus, we interview the Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church and an Armenian Orthodox peace activist. We ask them what they expect the ...read more

The long-suffering Christians of the Holy Land are rarely discussed in the West. However, for one night in Toronto, they were the focus of over 350 guests at the St. Michael’s College School Centre for the Arts. The diverse audience came to see the Toronto premiere of Across the Divide. This S+L documentary takes viewers ...read more

Last month, S+L held two sold-out screenings of Across the Divide, our new documentary that’s got people talking. The most recent screening (sponsored by CNEWA Canada, the Canada-Atlantic Lieutenancy of the EOHSJ and the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth) was held at Halifax’s Empire Cinemas — alongside the summer blockbusters one would expect at such a venue. ...read more

S+L’s highly-anticipated documentary Across the Divide airs on TV for the first time tonight, Sunday, June 24 at 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT, repeating at 1:00 am ET / 10:00 pm PT. There will also be a public screening of the film in Halifax on Monday, June 25, followed by a discussion panel ...read more

In anticipation of the world premiere of “Across the Divide” this Sunday, June 3 in Vancouver, the creators take you behind-the-scenes of the making of the new S+L documentary. Yesterday on the blog, we heard from Kris Dmytrenko, the writer and one of the co-directors. Today we meet the editor and second co-director, Richard Valenti, ...read more

Can a Catholic university bring peace to the Holy Land? The upcoming Salt + Light documentary Across the Divide tells the story of Bethlehem University and its students. They include Berlanty Azzam, who was deported to Gaza as she tried to complete her degree. Perspectives host Pedro Guevara-Mann speaks with Berlanty, along with the writer ...read more

Across the Divide takes viewers to Bethlehem University, the only Catholic university in the Holy Land. Throughout its history, the campus has been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict. In the first of our series of behind the scenes interviews, we hear from the documentary’s writer/co-director, Kris Dmytrenko (who you might already recognize ...read more

A trip to Israel is more than a vacation. It’s a tour through biblical history, as well as an inner journey to meet Jesus. The people and places of the Holy Land testify to Him as a living Gospel account. On Catholic Focus, we take a pilgrimage to Israel. There, we go behind the scenes ...read more

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