Published: Thursday, August 09, 2007

One of the most extraordinary, and improbable, religious figures of the 20th century will be laid to rest at Notre Dame in Paris tomorrow. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005, died on Sunday. Not missing an opportunity to stir up a little Catholic-Jewish tension, the Jerusalem Post headlined the news, “Apostate French Cardinal dead at 80.” Apostate? Cardinal Lustiger had in fact devoted his entire adult life to arguing just the opposite, that in converting from Judaism to Catholicism he remained what he was, and had not abandoned the faith of Israel.

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Published: Thursday, August 02, 2007

CALGARY – What makes a Calgarian? The city is now past the million mark, and is still growing. Those who live here are quick to complain about the problems of growth: traffic and sprawl and high housing costs and even, remarkably enough, high gas prices. But Calgarians are unusually proud of their city, and Calgary does seem singularly successful in forging a common identity out of people who have come from elsewhere to make this city their home.

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