A simple country funeral Mass was all Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, desired, and that’s what he received Wednesday in the small rural church of St. Mary’s in Grayson, Sask. “Bishops bury bishops, not simple rural pastors,” mused St. Mary’s Pastor Father John Mock during his homily. “But Archbishop Adam wanted to keep it simple. No...
Category: Canada
Artsakh burns while Western leaders fiddle
In the pre-dawn hours of yet another tranquil Ottawa morning — Sept. 19 — my cell phone buzzed. With a sense of foreboding and apprehension I speed-read the message that popped up. “Azerbaijan is hitting Artsakh (as Nagorno-Karabakh is known in Armenian). It’s war again. Artillery in the capital (Stepanakert). Calls for Armenia to join. If...
Canadian bishops’ discussions to include euthanasia, Indigenous issues
Euthanasia and Indigenous issues will be on the plate of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops when they gather for their annual plenary in Toronto next week. The plenary gathering in Toronto from Sept. 25 to 28 will bring together 79 bishops for discussions on the life of the Church in Canada. The meeting includes a full...
Mentoring others strengthened their own marriage, couple says
When Megan and Nathan Rumohr agreed to be marriage mentors for Valery and Kevin Lam, they were expecting to offer some wisdom and help for a soon-to-be-married couple as they navigated the early years of their marriage. They didn’t expect to find peace and healing in their own relationship. Valerie and Kevin were parishioners at...
Fraser Health criticized for offering MAiD presentation to pensioners
Even as Fraser Health is under fire for covering up information on how it promotes euthanasia, the health authority is now offering information sessions to pensioners on how to access euthanasia. In June, Fraser Health, which denies it is promoting MAiD to patients, sent its regional MAiD leader to give a presentation to a meeting...
Pope ‘unites’ Quebec dioceses under one bishop
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Guy Boulanger as Bishop of both the Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda and the Diocese of Amos in northern Quebec, uniting the dioceses “in persona episcopi” under one bishop. The Pope on Sept. 16 accepted the resignation of Amos Bishop Gilles Lemay. On the same day, the Pope appointed Bishop Boulanger as...
Anti-trafficking committee pleased as court strikes down Charter challenge of sex-work law
The Anti-Human Trafficking Committee of the Archdiocese of Vancouver is praising a decision by Ontario’s Superior Court Monday that ruled Canada’s criminal laws on sex work are constitutional. In his 142-page decision, Justice Robert Goldstein dismissed a Charter challenge of Canada’s Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, saying the law balances the protection of...
Normal slowly returns as NWT bishop celebrates Mass again
Bishop Jon Hansen spoke to an “essentially full” St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral on Sept. 10, in front of Yellowknife Catholics eager to congregate after nearly a month of being deprived of their home and parish community due to the rampant wildfires. “It was wonderful to see everyone,” said Hansen, who returned to the Northwest Territories capital...
Healing collection will sow ‘seeds of understanding’: Archbishop
One year after a papal visit described as “a significant step on the road to healing and reconciliation, the Archdiocese of Vancouver is preparing to take the next step toward reconciliation with the Sept. 10 Healing and Reconciliation collection. In a Sept. 3 letter promoting the annual collection, Archbishop J. Michael Miller wrote that donors’...
Fraser Health ordered to turn over MAiD documents to B.C. Catholic
A provincial adjudicator has ruled in favour of The B.C. Catholic and ordered the Fraser Health Authority to take the wraps off additional sections of secret documents related to the development and implementation of its controversial assisted-suicide policies and practices. In a 26-page ruling dated Aug. 3, an adjudicator with the Office of Information and...