The wounded who heal broken hearts
At lunchtime on a beautiful summerƵapp day many years ago, I walked downtown in the heart of Toronto. A makeshift stage had been set up, and a woman was singing one of my favourite songs from the world of musicals, “On My Own” from Les Miserables, about romantic rejection and hopelessness. But there was something wrong. It took me a little while to figure out what the problem was, but gradually it dawned on me. She had no passion! Technically, she hit every note perfectly, yet it was as though she had never felt the pain of loneliness. There was no conviction that she had ever in her lifetime experienced being on her own, deserted, and heartbroken.
Turning social doctrine into society transformed
On Sept. 17, a virtual event will launch a new Canada-wide chapter of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) Foundation, established in 1993 by St. John Paul II.
Letter from the Editor
To all subscribers and even occasional readers of The Catholic Register: This is a call from us to hear from you.
Editorial: We need to talk
This week, our magazine Penance and Progress that commemorates and explores Pope Francis’ penitential pilgrimage to Canada is off the press.
Repenting past means repaying with memory
When Ukrainians first began arriving in Canada, 131 years ago, they weren’t recognized for who they were, instead being called “Ruthenians” or by regional terms like “Galicians” or “Bukovynians.” Lured with promises of freedom and free land, they were not always appreciated.
Spare the moon our economic lunacy
The world may have to hold its breath a few weeks longer for the successful launch of NASAƵapp Artemis I moon mission, originally scheduled to occur in late August and then early September.
Editorial: Reconciliation hope
Whatever else the Holy FatherƵapp summer visit to Canada produced, hard data show he created fertile ground on which the process of Indigenous-non Indigenous reconciliation can ably proceed.
Readers Speak Out: September 11, 2022
State of distortion
The Catholic RegisterƵapp Aug. 21 editorial explains how euphemistically named Medical Aid in Dying is rapidly expanding in Canada.
Simply not enough medicine or food
Ethiopians, especially poor families in the war-devastated parts of the northern Tigray region, have been experiencing immense suffering from a conflict that remains largely unknown to Canadians. War started in the Tigray region in November 2020 between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Tigray Defence Forces, and the conflict continues to this day.
Leadership and common ground vital for reconciliation
Pope Francis has fulfilled his mission in Canada. He has apologized in Canada “to survivors, their families and communities for the Roman Catholic ChurchƵapp role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools.” That was Call to Action 58 in the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Pope did not come here within one year of the reportƵapp release, as the call to action specifies, but he did get here, apologized sincerely several times and met with groups of survivors from the schools.
- By Glen Argan
Papal visit inspired hope for Catholics
How would you describe the effect of Pope Francis’ July visit to Canada on your faith? We have waited in anticipation over the past few months for Pope Francis to make his “penitential pilgrimage” to Canada this summer. The Pope decided to prioritize his ministry of caring for those who have been hurt by the Church. He chose to “set his face to go to” (Luke 9: 51) Canada “in the name of Jesus to meet and embrace the Indigenous Peoples.”