JOHN CONNELLY

I was once doing a conference with a well-known bishop. He challenged the people present and asked how many remembered the Mass readings from the past Sunday. A few raised their hands. He then asked how many would remember the readings if their life depended on it. Everybody raised their hands.more . . .

BOB MCKEON

Last Nov. 12 was an important day for human rights in Canada. On that day Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that the Government of Canada was endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. more . . .

In this Week of Prayer for Christianity, what is there to fuel our hope that this isn't all just an exercise in futility? What's to celebrate? more . . .

For a scientist in religious life, Galileo's troubles look like a warning. The conflict between him and the Church continues to elicit high passions: some years ago, Pope Benedict was rather rudely "exvited" by La Sapienza University in Rome. This was in response to the discovery of old remarks by him that, in the eyes of the physics faculty, unfairly criticized Galileo. more . . .

Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins will meet with abuse victims and lead a penitential service in the course of a two-week visit to the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly in Ireland.

Some people have PowerPoint presentations to illustrate their topics; Msgr. Richard Lavalley has windows.

Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Toronto are working to create "bottled water-free zones" within their schools.

Australia's Catholic bishops have issued an urgent call for prayers for those who have died and for material assistance for survivors of Queensland state flooding that, by mid-January, had claimed 13 lives.

Catholic officials in Pakistan expressed disappointment after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani reiterated there would be no amendment to the country's blasphemy law, which makes insulting the Prophet Mohammed or the Quran punishable by life imprisonment or death.

Purgatory is like a purifying fire burning inside a person, a painful experience of regret for one's sins, Pope Benedict said.