Selflessness. That most admirable quality seems to be fighting extinction in our me-first society.

A few years ago I interviewed then Bloc Quebecois MP Francine LeBlanc. In 2010 she introduced a bill in Parliament to legalize euthanasia. At that time there didn’t seem a snowball������Ƶapp chance in hell of it passing, but the introduction of the bill was at least a chance to talk about the issue.

In his Songs of Innocence William Blake wrote: “The strongest poison ever known / Comes from Caesar������Ƶapp laurel crown.”

During a mid-1970s election campaign in Great Britain, William Whitelaw, the Conservative opposition leader, famously accused Harold Wilson, then Labour prime minister, of going round the country stirring up apathy. 

One of the capital sins recognized in the medieval Church was acedie (or accidie, the older spelling) which the Catechism misleadingly equates with sloth. Actually, acedie is worse than sloth. The Oxford dictionary defines sloth as “laziness or indolence” but defines acedie as “spiritual torpor” or “black despair.”

One of the capital sins recognized in the medieval Church was acedie (or accidie, the older spelling) which the Catechism misleadingly equates with sloth. Actually, acedie is worse than sloth. The Oxford dictionary defines sloth as “laziness or indolence” but defines acedie as “spiritual torpor” or “black despair.”

Pope Francis has been in the news following a three-part interview in which he commented on moral issues that have always generated much heat — homosexual relationships, abortion and contraception.

Francis of Assisi is one of the saints in the Catholic calendar honoured by different religions around the world. And with the election of our new Pope, people everywhere are hearing the name Francis now more than ever.

A heavenly joy filled my heart during a Mass last month at Toronto������Ƶapp Holy Angels Church. My family had arranged our schedules to be there as Fr. Peter Gioppato, the pastor, celebrated 50 years in religious life.

The Kenyan city of Mombasa is an ancient metropolis that bears the marks of its long history as a melting pot of civilizations, religions, cultures, races and nationalities. It is the gateway to East Africa and the coastal city of choice for many tourists from Asia, Europe and North America.