A protest against assisted suicide in Maryland in February. Canada’s bishops have written a letter to the Canadian government saying the killing of patients with mental-health challenges “reneges on the collective social responsibility to provide treatment, support, and hope.” (OSV News photo/Kevin J. Parks, Catholic Review)
In the letter released May 9, the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops says that by enabling or assisting in suicide for these patients it “reneges on our collective social responsibility to provide persons living with mental-health challenges with treatment, support and hope through therapeutic interventions.”
Michelle Lui with her daughter Avery, who spent the first two weeks of her life in hospital after being growth restricted in the womb. The Canadian Martyrs parishioner says the message behind her new book is that “babies all thrive in their own ways, and life is beautiful as it is.” (Contributed photo).
Lui’s passion to write was inspired by her experiences with her daughter, Avery, who was growth restricted in the womb and spent the first two weeks of her life in the BC Women’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. Lui hopes the colourful, animated story will help people – young and old – appreciate the sanctity of life as well as the importance of not making comparisons between children.
Women and families struggling with financial challenges because of pro-life choices they’ve made are receiving a helping hand from North Shore Pro-Life. The organization wants to expand its financial aid program, which offers $500 a month to help individuals with struggles as a result of choosing not to use abortion or euthanasia. (Adobe photos)
A North Shore Pro-Life financial aid program that helps mothers and families make difficult life-affirming decisions is approaching its first anniversary, with organizers saying they want to make it available to more people in need.
The Life Affirmation Program helps lessen the financial burden faced by mothers and families who choose life, either for their children or elderly relatives at risk of euthanasia.
Players and supporters of the Simon Fraser University football team at an April 13 rally at the Vancouver Law Courts to save the SFU football program. (Contributed photo)
By Nicholas Elbers The April 4 announcement by Simon Fraser University to discontinue its football program effective immediately has Catholic school students, parents, and coaches upset that the decision will limit playing opportunities that past students have had. Since 2019 dozens of athletes from Notre Dame, Vancouver College, and St. Thomas More high schools have...
Cardinals Jean-Claude Hollerich and Mario Grech present the changes to the Synod composition at the Holy See Press Office Wednesday. A synodal Church is an opportunity to repair damaged trust, says Barb Dowding, the Vancouver contributor to the final North America document for the 2021-to-2024 synod. (Vatican Media)
Although the changes to the Synod of Bishops introduced Wednesday by Pope Francis to allow lay people, including women, to enjoy voting rights at the assembly are of interest to Dowding, she’s more passionate about the final document’s emphasis on baptismal calling and dignity in a more synodal Church as an opportunity to repair damaged trust.
Argentine theologian Emilce Cuda, known as “the woman who knows how to read Pope Francis,” will speak at next week’s St. Mark’s College conference on the Pope’s legacy. More than 45 scholars from around the world will take part. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The first international forum to explore Pope Francis’ papacy in a Canadian context will be held in Vancouver next week, drawing more than 45 speakers from around the world.
Catholic doctors are concerned that B.C.’s new Health Professions and Occupations Act could criminalize any medical advice that is not sanctioned by the government or regulators. (Adobe)
Catholic physicians in B.C. are sounding the alarm about a contentious piece of legislation that they fear has opened the door to ideological coercion and possible religious discrimination.
Sleep Out participants prepare to brave the night cold. The event featured what may be one of the last Comfort Coats as the ministry that produces the rugged coats for the homeless struggles to find volunteers. (Nicholas Elbers photos)
For the last 21 years, the Comfort Coats have been made by the Helpers of St. Anne and St. Joachim at Star of the Sea Parish in Surrey In the past year, Carolyn Wharton and her hard-working volunteers produced 25-30 coats.
Bishop Francis Leo is installed as Archbishop of Toronto at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica in Toronto, March 25, 2023. (Michael Swan)
By Peter Stockland His Grace Francis Leo offered up gratitude to Christ as he was made Archbishop of Toronto at today’s Mass in a packed St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica that was equally filled with the spirit of the Annunciation. “The most important thing is gratefulness to Jesus Christ … gratitude for our salvation, for the...
Archbishop Miller speaks to Circles of Support and Accountability volunteers. Their work with former sex offenders is “a magnificent manifestation of what we are called to as people of God,” he said at the organization’s 20th-anniversary banquet. (Nicholas Elbers photos)
By Nicholas Elders Convicted sex offenders struggling to find a place in the world outside of prison often wonder if it’s even possible, and many don’t shy away from difficult conversations about their pain with what they have done, or how they ended up in prison. At the Circles of Support and Accountability’s 20th-anniversary banquet,...
