European Politics

Underdog, Catholic, champion… with a ‘sprinkle of Jesus’

The Google Canada and federal government standoff over Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is over. Links to Canadian media publications will continue to have domain on the world’s most popular search engine after the two sides came to an agreement Nov. 29.

It all started with a call from a friend. “Would you be able to meet with a relative of mine who is sleeping rough on the streets and into drugs?” I said that if he was willing, I would meet with him. We arranged to meet at “Ripples of Kindness,” the outreach program run out of Sacre Coeur Parish in downtown Toronto. Little did I know that the meeting would lead me deep into the Rock ’n’ Roll scene of the ’80s and ’90s.

It’s a condition that increases the risk of heart disease by 29 per cent, strokes by 32 per cent and premature death by 26 per cent. It has the same effect on the body as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People with this condition are more likely to catch viruses, contract respiratory illnesses and develop dementia, among many other ills.

I suppose I am one of the young, old. In January I will turn 65, and officially become a senior citizen.  Not long ago I spent a weekend with an old friend. During an evening of wonderful conversation he said, “you know Harry, we are in the prime of the rest of our lives.”  I thought his comment was noteworthy, so I wrote it down.

There he stood. Alone. Vulnerable. Attired as a Prince of the Church wielding spiritual power, he was unprotected from the risks of downtown Toronto street life.

Bishop Robert E. Barron said he is in “frank disagreement” with a section of a report from the Synod on Synodality indicating that scientific advances could prompt “rethinking” of the Church’s teaching on sexual morality.

At the brief meeting with participants in a seminar on the ethics of health care management, the pope said he was suffering from a "bronchial condition. Thank God it was not pneumonia," but he said it was a very serious bronchial infection.

Pope Francis told the prefects of Vatican dicasteries that he saw no reason for the Vatican to continue giving U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke a monthly salary and questioned why the Vatican should be providing him with a free apartment in Rome, various sources have confirmed.

A Montreal hospice is under pressure to perform medical assistance in dying (MAiD) contrary to the legal agreement between the Archdiocese of Montreal and the hospice, a source has told The Register.