More than 250 bishops from around the world came together at the Vatican from October 3-28 for the XV Ordinary Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. Also invited to participate were 30 young people, chosen (one assumes) for their engagement with the faith, representatives of bothRead More

I‘ve been writing regularly about poverty, especially child poverty and especially in the CBRM, for over a year now — looking at the possibility of a guaranteed annual income (GAI), the grim local statistics and creative solutions to problems like hunger and homelessness that might work here, among other aspectsRead More

Nobody denies anymore the culture of secrecy and cover-up in the Catholic Church, but what if it is simply part and parcel of an even worse culture, one of pedophilia? How else to explain what has been revealed again and again as common practice among clergy? Especially as, hard onRead More

Summer is considered the best time for light reading, not for serious books that could actually destroy a beautiful sunny day on the beach or the deck, but I recently dove into Crimes of the Father, the 2015 novel by the prolific Irish-Australian author Thomas Keneally. Right off the bat,Read More

‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,’ is a line from Alexander Pope’s 1711 poem, “An Essay on Criticism,” although I first heard it as a line in a Johnny Mercer song recorded by Frank Sinatra. Perhaps I risk identifying myself as a fool by discussing a topic likeRead More

The smiling faces on the sold-out crowd leaving the Highland Arts Theatre (HAT) last Friday night were proof positive they had been part of something truly wonderful. The HAT’s Tribute to The Rotary Show was an energetic and enthusiastic look back at the Rotary productions that were musical staples in SydneyRead More

I‘ll not even pretend that I wasn’t aware of third-world sweat shops when I purchased and wore garments produced under horrible factory conditions by workers paid as little as $60 a month. Bangladesh, Malaysia, Cambodia, India and Indonesia are all home to such garment factories, and while China is certainlyRead More

Immigration is never an easy political discussion, but I believe that the Canadian government was moving in the right direction with its announcement in November 2017 that it was working to accept economic immigrants, families seeking reunification with relatives already in residence and refugees fleeing war and/or persecution in otherRead...

What do the Crusades, Slavery, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and the Sins of the Church have in common? All have been the subjects of apologies from popes on behalf of the Catholic Church. In Bolivia in July 2015, the current pope, Francis, apologized for “the grave sins committed against the nativeRead...

Sunday will mark the feast of Easter which, as we who call ourselves Catholic have always been taught, is the most important feast in the church calendar. Yes, more important than Christmas, since the cornerstone of the Catholic faith is the belief that Christ rose from the dead. Easter hasRead More