Fri, 24 Jan 2025 01:57:48 -0500 Website design by Concerto Designs concertodesigns.ca en-gb /columns/item/10754-peace-and-joy /columns/item/10754-peace-and-joy Every December the media runs stories on corporations or individuals who deliver bah-humbugs regarding the religious truth of Christmas. And without fail many Christians take the bait and allow anger and frustration to dilute their sense of peace and goodwill of the season.

As an example, this year a billboard battle has erupted on either side of the Lincoln tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City. On one side, a group calling itself American Atheists purchased space to declare: “You Know it������Ƶapp a Myth. This Season, Celebrate Reason.” Across the river, the Catholic League responded with a billboard that proclaims: “You Know it������Ƶapp Real. This season, Celebrate Jesus.” ]]> editor@catholicregister.org (Catholic Register Editorial) Editorial Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:11:51 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/10855-we-must-encounter-the-lord-in-advent /opinion/columnists/item/10855-we-must-encounter-the-lord-in-advent Each year at this time, Advent seems to get lost in the shuffle.

The weeks before Christmas are bustling with things to do. We shop for presents, make trips to visit friends and relatives, attend concerts of seasonal music, put in appearances at the usual round of office parties and other sociable events. There is only one thing wrong with this happy round of activities: It inevitably distracts us Christians from engaging creatively with the wonderful truth of Advent as the Catholic Church has traditionally understood it. ]]> johnbm@catholicregister.org (John Bentley Mays) John Bentley Mays Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:15:30 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/11053-john-lennons-imaginary-world /opinion/columnists/item/11053-john-lennons-imaginary-world Faithful readers will know that much energy has been expended these past years on combating the “new atheists” — militant, aggressive and very trendy. Atheism is of course not new, and even the new atheists not altogether new.

Thirty years ago, John Lennon was murdered, shot outside his Manhattan apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. The anniversary of Lennon������Ƶapp death brings an annual discussion of his significance, and due to his widow������Ƶapp prodigious efforts, various commemorations of the slain singer. This year there were more than usual. Invariably these involve a sentimental playing of “Imagine,” Lennon������Ƶapp anthem. ]]> fr_desouza@catholicregister.org (Fr. Raymond J. de Souza) Fr. Raymond de Souza Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:14:43 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/10919-giving-is-a-family-affair /opinion/columnists/item/10919-giving-is-a-family-affair The world of advocacy can be a depressing place much of the time. That is why this time of year is so enjoyable.

Despite the gravity of the issues we read and write about throughout the year, the Christmas season brings out powerful media messages and, perhaps more to the point, brings crowds into the streets and malls focused on the act and spirit of giving. ]]> joanne.mcgarry@ccrl.ca (Joanne McGarry) Joanne McGarry Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:13:48 -0500 /columns/item/10753-fix-the-system /columns/item/10753-fix-the-system Canada has a moral obligation to provide asylum to refugees fleeing persecution. And Parliament has a duty to enact tough laws to target smugglers and human traffickers who exploit these people.

On those broad points, Canada������Ƶapp Catholic immigration minister, Jason Kenney, and Canada������Ƶapp bishops are in agreement. So it is distressing to see them at odds over Bill C-49, proposed legislation that would hit smugglers with mandatory jail time and nail ship operators with strict penalties. ]]> editor@catholicregister.org (Catholic Register Editorial) Editorial Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:11:05 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/11052-pope-benedict-%E2%80%94-love-and-the-law /opinion/columnists/item/11052-pope-benedict-%E2%80%94-love-and-the-law What does the law have to do with love? Are they not antithetical? To follow the law is to be under a burden, to be compelled, to be constrained. To love, on the other hand, is to embrace the capacity to choose, to be creative, to be liberated. ]]> fr_desouza@catholicregister.org (Fr. Raymond J. de Souza) Fr. Raymond de Souza Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:26:21 -0500 /columns/item/10752-pray-for-life /columns/item/10752-pray-for-life It was a welcomed coincidence that the inaugural worldwide Prayer Vigil for All Nascent Human Life occurred as The Register was preparing our annual issue dedicated to Life and Family.

At the request of Pope Benedict XVI vigils were held Nov. 27 around the world. It was an extraordinary undertaking and many bishops commented that they could recall nothing like it in the history of the Church. ]]> editor@catholicregister.org (Catholic Register Editorial) Editorial Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:50:21 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/10854-radical-islam-despises-immoral-culture /opinion/columnists/item/10854-radical-islam-despises-immoral-culture Political Islam in the Middle East and western Asia comes in numerous colours.

On the peaceful, moderate end of the spectrum are groups such as Turkey������Ƶapp parliamentary Justice and Development Party. The more culturally radical Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned in Egypt, but its anti-Western message still manages to garner great popularity at the grass-roots. Farthest out of the moderate Islamist mainstream are such movements as Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda throughout the Arab world, which advocate the violent overthrow of Muslim-led moderate governments and terrorist acts against them. ]]> johnbm@catholicregister.org (John Bentley Mays) John Bentley Mays Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:58:26 -0500 /opinion/columnists/item/11051-christ-is-alive-in-his-church /opinion/columnists/item/11051-christ-is-alive-in-his-church At the recent consistory of cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to his red-robed brethren about the “logic of the Cross” which should animate their leadership in the Church.

A consistory of cardinals emphasizes the unity of the Church around Peter and the universality of the Church spread throughout the world; it also highlights some truly heroic pastors. Yet, just as weeds grow up amidst the wheat, there is also an off-putting dimension. It prompts some of the princes of the Church to act more like princes than churchmen. It is, for some, a moment of clerical ambition confirmed. The occasion can take on the aspect of being admitted to an elite club rather than undertaking anew the apostolic mission of preaching the Gospel. At its worst, the cardinalatial nomination crowns a career of bureaucratic longevity rather than evangelical service. ]]> fr_desouza@catholicregister.org (Fr. Raymond J. de Souza) Fr. Raymond de Souza Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:57:48 -0500 /opinion/guest-columnists/item/10279-we-must-defend-our-faith-in-the-public-square /opinion/guest-columnists/item/10279-we-must-defend-our-faith-in-the-public-square Recently I was speaking as part of a panel at a conference about how the media covers religion, and specifically the Catholic Church. It was sponsored by the archdiocese of Toronto so the audience was made up of mainly Roman Catholic university students.

During the question-and-answer period, three students mentioned how poorly equipped they felt to defend their faith in the public square, though they did not express it quite that way. ]]> Guest Columns Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:54:10 -0500