The Pope’s encyclical is about far more than the environment
Not since Humane Vitae has a papal encyclical attracted as much attention as Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, On Care For Our Common Home, which calls us to rethink and transform the “outdated criteria which continue to rule the world.” From the first page, Laudato Si’ grabbed me, and not because I am an…
But Truth and Reconciliation Commission report doesn’t reflect today’s reality
For six years, the Indian Residential School (IRS) system has been on trial. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has listened to thousands of witnesses, hearing their stories in an effort to uncover and make known the truth. There can be no doubt that the IRS system was an assault on human dignity. The government-mandated and…
His organization, L’Arche, is demonstrates that people of different cultures, religions and abilities can live together in peace
At the end of a steep hill in the neighbourhood where I grew up stood a house shrouded in mystery. Adults whispered about a “retarded” child who lived there and who was confined to a room. They argued about whether his parents should put him in a “home”. I was both fascinated and afraid when…
Both sides in the Saguenay, QC dispute more intent on proclaiming a creed than reaching a workable solution
It’s time to make compromises when it comes to freedom of conscience and religion, as a nine-year legal battle over a prayer in Saguenay, Que., demonstrates. Briefly, Jean Tremblay, the Catholic mayor of Saguenay, and his council began their meetings with the traditional Catholic sign of the cross, followed by a prayer. This made Alain…
Without a concrete plan beyond airstrikes, we could find ourselves mired in war for years to come
Initially, I was convinced that the war against ISIS could be morally justified. ISIS, after all, is a malevolent force from which neither Iraq nor Syria is able to protect their people. The international community, therefore, had a responsibility to intervene. But beyond that, the moral waters get muddy. Both Catholic “just war” theory, with…
Church and state can work together for the common good
The Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in the case of a private Catholic high school in Montreal only confirms the obvious: a faith-based education is not incompatible with the goals of a secular, democratic society. In 2008, as part of the continued secularization of the Quebec school system, the province adopted a mandatory Ethics…
Disabled son inspired his "drop box" for abandoned babies
He is a man with a mission – a mission to save abandoned babies. He is Pastor Lee Jong-rak of Seoul, South Korea. The documentary film The Drop Box tells his story. In 2009, after a mother left her baby on his doorstep one cold night, Lee created a system to safely receive abandoned babies.…
It is false to equate suffering arising from disease, illness or disability with a loss of dignity
It is eloquent, persuasive and based in law; it almost had me convinced that physician-assisted dying is the correct response to suffering. In the Carter decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a competent adult who consents to death, and has a “grievous and irremediable medical condition (including illness, disease or disability) that causes…
Francis is not asking any more of his cardinals, or us, than he asks of himself
The Christmas greeting that Pope Francis delivered to members of the Roman Curia was anything but “have yourself a merry little Christmas.” Described in the press as a “blistering attack”, a “public rebuke”, and a “scathing critique” of the Curia, Francis called his brother bishops to account for 15 “curial diseases”. While the Curia was…