I won’t even pretend to have been aware of the 60th anniversary of the opening of the  Vatican II council (1962-1965) in April of this year. Pope (now Saint) John XXIII called Vatican II almost 100 years after the previous such council, to the surprise (and often shock) of CatholicsRead More

My initial reaction to the recent US Supreme Court decision rendering Roe v Wade unconstitutional and giving individual states the right to regulate abortion was, as it was for millions, anger at the fact that men had once again prevailed in depriving women of their right to decide whether orRead More

Recently, the deacons of Antigonish Diocese were honored on Mass For Shut-Ins for the generous and charitable services they perform in addition to their participation in religious services. The diaconate, as we have discovered since these ordained men were introduced into the diocese a few years ago, is open onlyRead More

One evening, years ago, I had had it after a day of argumentative and wailing kids and decided I was heading out as soon as supper was over. The bus arrived and I was aboard before I suddenly thought, “Where will I go?” After a few minutes, it hit me.Read More

The Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality (from the Greek “syn” meaning “a way of living and working together”) hasn’t received much media attention, but it is a first for the Church – a two-year synod that began in October 2021 and will run until 2023. Synods have been held fairlyRead More

I assumed my first 2022 contribution to the Spectator would be pretty upbeat, especially since New Year’s Eve was spent in a hilarious re-watching of various episodes of Father Ted that included a few I hadn’t seen before. And thanks to YouTube documentary introducing the actors, I got to seeRead More

The Cape Breton Spectator would be a shadow of itself were it not for the work of its regular contributors, each of whom writes with such clarity and focus and passion that reading, editing and formatting their work counts among the best parts of my job. I can’t thank themRead More

A recent celebrant on CTV’s local Mass for Shut-ins began his homily with this line: If you go out into the garage and stay there all day, it doesn’t make you a car. Similarly if you go to church every Sunday, it doesn’t make you a Christian. That statement threwRead More

I don’t know when I realized that former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi was a very different kind of politician — not only the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city, but one with some very progressive views. In an interesting and also entertaining interview with the host ofRead More

Does anyone go shopping for groceries these days without having at least one conversation with another shopper about the rising cost of what we are putting in our carts? Assuming, that is, we are among those who can continue to purchase the same items we have been using for years.Read More