Where the Rubber Hits the Road

WATCH: Canada will descend ‘into the Maelstrom’ if euthanasia is legalized, warns Cardinal Collins | News | LifeSite

" Not controversial ?" I doubt that very much. The die is not yet cast when it comes to people's opinion on this issue, especially in light of recent statements reported by some in the mainstream media by some medical ethicists. They advocate that after reaching a certain age (75 Yrs was proposed) citizens should no longer have access to medications or procedures that are aimed to extend their life. Be kept pain-free and comfortable? Yes. But their argument asserts that once you hit a state established age you will be deemed to be no longer a "productive member" of that society. Thus, you should be denied any procedure or medication that would extend a life past that point.  The simple act of permitting what had been considered to be a major crime (the taking of a human life by another person) to now become accepted, state-sanctioned law will soon lead to it being declared mandatory for citizens down the road. It is wrong to give the government the power t...

Rise in new city churches bucks secular trend - Canada - CBC News

Here's an interesting story from the Holy Post discussing the fact that 1/3 of all Canadians state that they intend to go to Church this Christmas. A poster going by the handle of Whistlerskier responded with a different framing of this stat, pointing out that fully 2 in 3 Canadians didn't plan on going to Church. I wrote in response with how I viewed the issue as a Catholic priest. Do you agree with my answer? Whistlerskier Or to put it another way...." 2 in 3 Canadians don't plan on attending religious services this Christmas". Fr_ Tim Whistler: You are 100% correct. Let's also admit that of the 33% who will show up in a Church this Christmas that the majority of them are not regular church attenders. Personally I look upon such stats as both a challenge and an opportunity. A challenge in as much as it reminds me of the work of evangelization that needs to be accomplished by all serious Christians throughout the other 364 days of the year to bring peo...

I love being a Canadian... but some days that affinity is hard to hold on to... Here's a gallery of pics from Alberta in the wake of the latest snowstorm to hit that province. December blizzard blows into Alberta | CTV Calgary News

And now we begin paying the price for our inadequate birth rate as there are fewer and fewer people to pay into our social and pension programs. Who pays for longer lifespan at core of retirement debate - The Globe and Mail

Let's see... how did that go again? "States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world." (G.W. Bush: State of the Union Address, 2002) He was talking about Iraq, Iran and North Korea. We may need to remind our American neighbors that just because their national game gives every player 'three strikes' before they must 'step away from the plate' doesn't mean that they can assume that we Canadians will agree to give them another chance to come up to bat. We are a nation of hockey fans. We understand that a game can end 0-1, irrespective of whose considered the 'home team'. Most of us believe that the game has been played, and while we stand 1-0 in military terms, it was a Pyrrhic victory when we assess the real losses our team suffered in terms of 'career ending injuries and deaths.' It was like this weekend when poor, battered Vancouver won but got mugged when they played in...

Maybe there's hope for Canada yet! Moral dictatorship over abortion debate obscures range of Canadian opinion | Holy Post | National Post

We Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend. It also marks the opening of moose hunting season. So, if everything seem bleak and you can't think of anything to be thankful for... thank God that you were not born either a turkey or a moose!

You could call it religion's hallelujah. Though certain faiths remain in dire straits, a new report finds rumours of the death of Canadian churches to be greatly exaggerated -- particularly when it comes to Catholic and evangelical denominations, which are actually flourishing in light of recent immigration patterns. "Most observers assumed that religion in Canada would follow the European pattern of secularization, where religion would be practised by fewer and fewer people over time and eventually border on being extinct," says sociologist Reginald Bibby, a leading expert on religious life in Canada. Click on the link to read the rest of the story from the Ottawa Citizen. Gotta have faith: Findings show religion still vital to Canadians

It is important to ensure that we be open to the needs of our neighbors, friends and family members during these stressful financial times. Advice is often worth the price it costs and is usually in great supply. Prudence and wisdom are virtues that are perennially in short supply. All believers need to pray for those in financial trouble, especially the unemployed with families who are approving (or have reached) the end of their Employment Insurance benefits. I have witnessed the human cost of these times in the lives of local families, those with jobs tend to have at least one parent living and working in another part of the country. Stock Market falls like we witnessed today wipe billions (if not trillions) of dollars from the economy as the valuation of companies experienced a free-fall, dropping over 630 points by the end of trading. Things will not likely improve dramatically before the American's get their fiscal policies in order, something that is unlikely to happen gi...

An excellent analysis of the current economic challenges that confront the Americans, and by extension we here in Canada from David Frum. He demonstrates a clear understanding of the forces that affects corporate executives as they chart a path of financial survival if not success. Corporate profits are running stronger than they have been in years. The penultimate example being the recent report which stated that Apple Corp. held more cash resources than does the US government... resource and oil companies are running almost as well. Recessions are also times when weaker firms either fail or become sufficiently enfeebled that they are purchased by larger holding companies (such as the one that Mitt Romney ran) which usually break up the company and sell off its assets, making a quick profit for their shareholders but extinguishing the employment for entire communities.  This has been our experience here in Mattawa. Smaller, weaker mills were purchased by larger corporate comp...

Royals depart England for Canada Welcome to Canada 'Will & Kate'. It's nice to be able to get a visit from our future King and Queen. They are following in Queen Elizabeth's steps who also made Canada her first official visit after marrying Prince Philip. God save the Queen... and future King as well! GG: Royal visit will be 'historic event' - CTV News

It may be a few difficult days for the Canadian Catholic Church as this trial gets going in Ottawa. I'll post any relevant details. Trial set to begin for Canadian Catholic Bishop on child pornography charges - The Washington Post

Want to know who won where? Here's an interactive site from the CBC that gives all the information you could want. Canada Votes 2011 - CBC News

Fr. Ted Colleton - tireless worker for the unborn R.I.P. Fr. Ted. THANK YOU for your peaceful and persistent work in favor of the weakest among us... our unborn children. Canadian pro-life giant Fr. Ted Colleton dies | LifeSiteNews.com

Working as I do within the beauty of the Ottawa Valley, I see many cars pass by from “la belle province” emblazoned with the phrase “je me souviens” imprinted on each license plate. These words are a testament to the desire of this francophone people to always “remember” the struggles of “la révolution tranquille” (the Quiet Revolution) which transformed the Quebec society into a modern secular state. Under  vigorous new secular leadership, and faced with a wholesale ecclesiastical retreat from public affairs, the francophone population of the past 50 years, seemingly all at once, turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Quebec Church within their culture. They've chosen instead to consider only the siren cry of the  secularist project and modern consumerism. The church's counsel is no longer welcome in the public square. This sudden shift rendered the Catholic Church  both impotent and irrelevant in the minds of the overwhelming majority of the Quebec population. In just on...

Canada's demographic time bomb

  This is exactly what the Canadian Bishops said would happen once we opened the door to same sex marriages. First, it will be those who are exclusively civil officers of marriage that will be forced to perform same-sex ceremonies. Soon the courts will be asked to force the Churches to do the same. We are headed to a European style of marriage ceremony. I predict that soon clergy will soon begin to renounce their civil license to marry and couples will then go through two ceremonies: one civil for the State and (if desired) a religious ceremony to solemnize the union. Maybe this is a good thing? What do you think? Opting out of marrying same-sex couples unconstitutional: Sask. court | Posted | National Post