The Supreme Court decision legalizing assisted suicide in Canada is a repeat of the original sin in which men and women believed they can be like gods, says Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve "surrendered to the lie" that they could be "something other than what they were created to be," Smith said in a Feb. 12 interview. "God is eclipsed and his supremacy and sovereignty is replaced with that of the individual," the archbishop said. That human decision in Eden has been the root of all sin and disharmony in the world ever since, he said.

On Friday, February 6th, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a landmark decision granting legal permission for physician-assisted death in our country. In so doing it agreed with claims that a human person faced with suffering has the right to determine when and how to end one's life, and that the legal prohibition against assisted suicide impeded the exercise of this right and infringed upon their liberty. In its ruling, the Supreme Court outlines the conditions within which the provision or administration of lethal medication to a patient who has requested it would be permissible.

Disappointment, sadness and calls to invoke the notwithstanding clause greeted the Supreme Court of Canada's Feb. 6 decision striking down laws against physician-assisted suicide. "Catholics are called by their faith to assist all those in need, particularly the poor, the suffering and the dying," said Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Comforting the dying and accompanying them in love and solidarity has been considered by the Church since its beginning a principal expression of Christian mercy," Durocher said.

Jo-Anne Paquette's three-month journey with Martha Shephard as she died from a brain tumour was both physically draining and a spiritual gift for Paquette. "Martha lived in a house in Ottawa, and I really grew to respect her, thought of her as a mentor," said Paquette. "When I was dropped into the pool of caring for her and journeying with her, it was a sudden thing. It felt like a whole lifetime to me."

God wants those working in Catholic schools to experience shalom so they can be ministers of shalom to Catholic students, an Oregon theologian told staff of Edmonton Catholic Schools. "It's God's will that we are in shalom relationships with one another," Father Raymond Carey told about 3,200 employees of the Edmonton Catholic School District. "Let's be ministers of shalom one to another." The priest said shalom refers not only to peace but to wholeness, perfection in Christ and balance with God in one's personal life and in the many roles one may have in Catholic education.

OTTAWA – Speculation is mounting on the approach the federal government will take in response to the Supreme Court decision striking down the law against assisted suicide. Some, including members of the Tory caucus, are calling for the government to invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in order to suspend the court's decision for five years.

The love of a man and a woman committed to an exclusive and permanent relationship is a powerful witness to the love and presence of God. That's what Kevin and Mona Lee Feehan demonstrated during the celebration of World Marriage Day 2015 at St. Albert Church Feb. 8. The couple shared parts of their lives together to bring alive the theme of the celebration: Wherever You Go, I Will Go.

ST. ALBERT – Divorce statistics aside, Christians still see marriage as a tremendous gift in their lives. Ed and Mary Kieftenbeld from Riviere Qui Barre, one of several couples marking World Marriage Day Feb. 8, said they are delighted with their marriage. They have been married for 25 years and have four children. According to Mary, marriage is two imperfect people making a choice to never give up.

OTTAWA –Poverty is the most important issue facing Canada and should be an election issue, say two groups who released their anti-poverty plan Feb. 3. Canada has to "share a vision that includes everybody," Joe Gunn, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, told a breakfast on Parliament Hill. CPJ and Canada Without Poverty say poverty violates the human rights of Canada's 4.8 million poor.

The way a married man becomes holy is by making his wife and his children holy, says American evangelist Dan DeMatte. "We have this mission to help our wives and children be saved and enter the promised land of heaven," DeMatte told about 400 Catholic men Feb. 7. "In the process of doing that, we are raising saints." DeMatte, 30, is a youth minister, speaker, evangelist, television personality and father of three from Columbus, Ohio.