In what could prove to be a landmark case for religious and conscience rights in Canada, Montreal’s Archbishop Christian Lépine has taken on the Attorney General of Quebec. In an appeal for judicial review submitted to the Quebec Superior Court on Feb. 5, Archbishop Lépine asked for an immediate stay of the application of an...
Category: Canada
Lawyer hopes Emergencies Act victory inspires Canadians to defend their rights
The president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms hopes Canadians will better protect their civil liberties if there is another global health emergency in the wake of the Federal Court of Canada’s ruling against the Trudeau government’s use of the Emergencies Act in 2022. John Carpay said that when a small number of people...
MAiD for mental illness must be stopped, not paused, Catholic and legal experts say
Catholic and anti-euthanasia observers across Canada are welcoming the federal government’s decision to pause the introduction of assisted dying for individuals suffering from mental illness, but expressing dismay that it still intends to expand access in the future. Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller said he was disappointed by an announcement by federal Health Minister Mark...
A one-woman abortion crusade influenced Ottawa’s Summer Jobs program; will MAiD be next?
It was Joyce Arthur and her Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) who convinced the Trudeau government to kick pro-life organizations out of the Canada Summer Jobs program seven years ago. Now, the British Columbia atheist-humanist is pressing to open MAiD eligibility further — and do away with “paternalistic, unethical” faith-based health care. Arthur’s Abortion...
Quebec’s 350th: Jubilee year will mark historic past but also its shortcomings
As the Archdiocese of Quebec embarks on a jubilee year to mark its 350th anniversary, it hopes to strike the right balance between celebrating the significant historical role played by the archdiocese while acknowledging the sober realities facing the modern Church. On Dec. 8, 2023, the Archdiocese inaugurated the jubilee year by opening the Holy...
Attawapiskat eager for rebuilding of church destroyed by fire
By Luke Mandato St. Francis Xavier Church in Attawapiskat, one of the churches destroyed in a rash of fires across the nation in 2021, is set to rise from the ashes. A new church is to be built in the northern Ontario community on the site of the previous church destroyed by a fire ruled...
In pastoral letter, Canadian bishops praise those who witness on social media, but warn ‘don’t be naive’
Catholic institutions and media outlets must hold themselves to the highest standards, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a Jan. 24 pastoral letter that focuses on social media. As a communication tool, social media has great potential to “serve a fundamental human good: the building of bridges among people by the sharing of...
Nightfever invites guests into Christ’s presence
By Luke Mandato The Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth is hosting the youth-driven initiative Nightfever Sunday evening at Halifax’s St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, offering passersby an invitation to join in prayer. Nightfever is aimed at young people 16-35 who are passing by who will be invited to spend some time in prayer inside the downtown cathedral. Those...
Media buy-in drove graves’ social panic
Media buy-in drove graves’ social panic BY ANNA FARROW Montreal Correspondent In the newly published Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools), C.P Champion and Tom Flanagan have assembled 18 essays that delve into the truth behind the widely adopted assumptions that followed the so-called May 2021 “discovery” of...
Canadian Catholic Journalism Course Getting Some American Attention
A project to reshape the future of Catholic journalism in Canada has just taken an unexpected turn. In the third iteration of the course, there are as many Americans as Canadians signed up. Dominic Chan, director of technology and photo services for Canadian Catholic News, said on Monday that at the start of the 12-week...