Michael Swan

In the wake of rising tensions in the Middle East which have seen the assassination of Iran’s top general and the downing of a civilian airliner, Canada can expect an escalation of refugee applications, say representative of aid agencies familiar with the region.

Changing the world an inch at a time with nothing but a word, a prayer, a hope or an intuition isn’t the sort of thing we very often notice, let alone celebrate.

An island nation that is more than 90 per cent Catholic is using the story of a shipwreck to remind Christians what ecumenism is really about — kindness, welcome and the bonds of our common humanity.

Whether Canada’s faith life is hidden, secret or just ignored, it represents a rich vein of news for any enterprising journalist, as far as Winnipeg Free Press columnist John Longhurst is concerned. 

A spike in attacks on Jews in North America and Europe has prompted the Sisters of Sion in Canada to speak out.

Alberta’s top court has sided with a pro-life group that claimed a security fee imposed by the University of Alberta violated its right to freedom of expression.

For sheer numbers, there has never been a decade like the 2010s for saint-making. That’s because Pope Francis canonized over 800 in one go when he declared St. Antonio Primaldo and his 812 companions (martyred in 1480 by an invading Ottoman army in Oranto, southern Italy) saints on May 12, 2013.

The crisis, the kairos moment, the crux of the matter, the hinge of history — none of these are easily discernible, usually. But for Catholics, this last decade has been unusual.

Fr. Pier Giorgio Di Cicco — Toronto’s former poet laureate, a writer and consultant on urban affairs, jazz trumpeter, ground-breaking literary critic and the author or editor of over 20 books — has died. He was 70.

For the nearly 6,000 children a year who find refuge and a new start with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, the fact the organization has a 125-year history probably doesn’t matter much.