- in Jerusalem –
Israelis went to bed on Monday night expecting that the Knesset would authorize early elections to be held in September, some 18 months ahead of schedule. They awoke Tuesday morning to discover a new super-majority, national-unity government. What was done in those nocturnal hours might herald a new dawn for Israeli politics and national identity. Read the rest of this article »
A new Knesset – for a new Israel?
May 11th, 2012New statutes for Caritas may have far-reaching consequences for the new evangelization
May 8th, 2012-in Rome-
Much of the recent news from Rome deals with matters that, though important, will have minimal effect on the life of the Church as a whole. The negotiations with the Society of St. Pius X, the admission of former Anglicans to full communion, even the doctrinal assessment of one of the leadership associations of American women religious — all of these items are at the margins, rather than the centre, of the universal Church. The Society of St. Pius X has a significant presence in only a few countries, the former Anglicans in even fewer and the congregational leadership subject to doctrinal assessment represents an aging and rapidly diminishing component of American religious life. Read the rest of this article »
Afshin-Jam MacKay and the freedom to commit
May 3rd, 2012- in Ottawa –
Between Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay and me, there really is no contest. Most people would prefer to listen to her speak, and I would share that view. Mercifully, then, the organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast did not force a choice; Nazanin spoke on Monday evening, and I spoke on Tuesday morning. Read the rest of this article »
Politics needs faith’s blessedness
May 1st, 2012- in Ottawa –
On May 1 in Ottawa I had the pleasure of delivering a speech to politicians and others at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. Below is an abridged version of that address.
My topic is “Faith in our Common Life: Why Politics Needs Religion.” But permit me to say a few words first about why politicians need religion.
Exactly one year ago, many of you were in the final moments of a federal election campaign. It was a Sunday and the people’s verdict was to be rendered the next day. On a typical Sunday morning I am found in my parish on Wolfe Island, in the St. Lawrence River across from Kingston, but a year ago I was in Rome awaiting the pronunciation of a rather different judgment. Pope John Paul II was declared blessed.
It was an occasion of immense joy, and Pope Benedict XVI took as the theme for his preaching the blessedness of faith. John Paul II is in heaven not because of the mighty works he accomplished on Earth, but because of the gift of faith, which justifies us in the sight of the Father. Benedict — whose name itself means “blessed” — said that his predecessor “is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith.” Read the rest of this article »
An abortion ‘consensus’ that never existed
April 26th, 2012Canada’s “consensus” on our unlimited abortion licence — any time, for any reason, fully funded by tax dollars — is a strange one. First of all, it’s not really a consensus, as only a minority of Canadians, when polled, support the extreme position we currently have.
Yet the faux-consensus is apparently so essential that any attempt to moderate Canada’s abortion enthusiasm is thought to be unpatriotic, as if adopting, say, French or German abortion policies would be to accede to the most retrograde social policies imaginable. At the same time, the faux-consensus is so fragile that every attempt must be made to prevent any discussion about it. Read the rest of this article »