Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
30 March, 2013
Alberta's 'King Ralph' remembered - Calgary - CBC News
Love him or hate him as Alberta premier... Ralph Klein was 'one of a kind' indeed.
Rest in peace old cowboy.
Alberta's 'King Ralph' remembered - Calgary - CBC News
Rest in peace old cowboy.
Alberta's 'King Ralph' remembered - Calgary - CBC News
Dear Rightwing Catholic Islamophobes: Pope Francis just washed the feet of a Poor Muslim | Informed Comment
I post this article as a counter-weight to the article about the Christian pastor arrested in Iran. A substantial conversation was inspired by that first article and it seemed appropriate to present an article that presents a second perspective on the issue of Muslim/Christian relations.
Your thoughts?
Dear Rightwing Catholic Islamophobes: Pope Francis just washed the feet of a Poor Muslim | Informed Comment
Your thoughts?
Dear Rightwing Catholic Islamophobes: Pope Francis just washed the feet of a Poor Muslim | Informed Comment
29 March, 2013
Pope Francis and the Reform of the Priesthood | Daily News | NCRegister.com
Pope Francis and the Reform of the Priesthood | Daily News | NCRegister.com: COMMENTARY
If there were any doubt that Pope Francis was elected by the cardinals to lead the…
If there were any doubt that Pope Francis was elected by the cardinals to lead the…
28 March, 2013
Wife of imprisoned pastor speaks out – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs
Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was arrested and charged in Iran last June during a visit. Abedini, 32, converted to Christianity from Islam and then became a pastor, living in Boise, Idaho. He has reportedly been detained in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison since late September. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, a Muslim who converts to another faith can face the death penalty."They've charged him with Christian gatherings, and they're saying it is a threat to the national security," Naghmeh Abedini said.
Saeed Abedini and his wife, Naghmeh Abedini and children in happier times |
The tiny Christian communities in Iran and Iraq can trace their roots back to the earliest days of the faith. It was the apostles themselves who journeyed to those lands in response to Jesus' command to bring his gospel to every corner of the world. Surely to God a community of faith that predates any other faith currently practiced in the Persian region must be granted the right to worship and pray as a pre-condition of Iran being allowed to participate in international organizations.
To fail to stand up now on issues such as this will create great problems for us down the road as a society. While Catholics are currently the fastest growing Church worldwide, it is not the case in North America and Europe when demographic trends have reversed what was the 'baby boom' into a baby bust. To maintain the economic capacity to fund our social and medical programs, these western countries are importing more and more Islamic followers as additional taxpayers. If trends hold as they are now, countries like France and England will count a majority of Muslims among their citizens. If we fail to negotiate now the appropriate set of rules for dealing with minority rights for countries to follow, it will be too late when we find ourselves among that minority in a generation or two.
So, do you want your kids and grandkids to have the same rights and freedoms that we enjoy now as the majority group? Then pick up a pen, a phone, or hit the keyboard and demand that the Canadian government intervene on Saeed Abedini's behalf.
Thank you.
Wife of imprisoned pastor speaks out – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs
7 Things You Can’t Say in Canada | Reader's Digest
While I may agree with one or two of the points Margaret Wente makes with this list, at the end I couldn't help wondering... who would want to even discuss most of her subjects offered!
What do you think?
7 Things You Can’t Say in Canada | Reader's Digest
What do you think?
7 Things You Can’t Say in Canada | Reader's Digest
27 March, 2013
26 March, 2013
Abortion debate: Conservative MPs say Harper muzzling them | Canadian Politics | Canada | News | National Post
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said Warawa’s point of privilege is one of the most important she has heard.“It cuts to the core of what is wrong with parliamentary democracy,” said May.“We are not here as teams. The principle of Westminster parliamentary democracy is that we are here are representatives of our constituencies and our constituents. Incidentally, we are merely members of political parties.”
Abortion debate: Conservative MPs say Harper muzzling them | Canadian Politics | Canada | News | National Post
25 March, 2013
24 March, 2013
23 March, 2013
22 March, 2013
A summary of the challenges facing the new Pope by the secular trends in the West
Mary Eberstadt, of the EPPC think-tank in Washington reflects upon the challenges that Pope Francis faces from secularist mentality in the West.
Click on the following link to read her article:
Home > Publications >
Click on the following link to read her article:
Home > Publications >
Another interview with my friend George Weigel on the election of Pope Francis
LOPEZ: People are asking me: "So when do Vatican heads roll"? It that the wrong way to look at this? The wrong question to ask?
Click on following link to read entire article:WEIGEL: Change in personnel is essential and it's coming: The most important decision the new pope has made thus far is to extend the terms of the heads of Vatican departments only provisionally -- meaning, I assume, that he is going to assess the situation carefully and then make serious changes. When I spoke at some length with Cardinal Bergoglio in Buenos Aires last May, he had a very clear idea of what was wrong in the curia, and what needed to be changed so that the many good people who work there can make the contribution they want to make to the new evangelization.Just as important, though, is a change in institutional culture in the Church's Roman engine room. On several occasions since his election, Pope Francis has warned against the dangers of clerical careerism. If he brings that concern to the reform of the curia, things will look very different over time -- and not only in terms of structure and personnel, but of organizational culture. I know a lot of good people in the curia, and they are eager to make their contributions to the evangelical Catholicism of the future. I'm hopeful that this pontificate will unleash that energy even as it swabs the deck in the engine room and changes more than a few of the chief petty officers who have been in charge.
Home > News & Updates > Life With Pope Francis
21 March, 2013
Two Catholic Men and a Blog: Metaphysical Quote of the Day
I read the book referenced in this article during my recent vacation. I found it to be outstanding!!
Two Catholic Men and a Blog: Metaphysical Quote of the Day
Two Catholic Men and a Blog: Metaphysical Quote of the Day
20 March, 2013
Get Ready for Catholicism 2.0
Interview of George Weigel by Michael Novak on the subject of George's latest book, Evangelical Catholicism.
Get Ready for Catholicism 2.0
Get Ready for Catholicism 2.0
19 March, 2013
17 March, 2013
16 March, 2013
Pope Francis would like to see ‘a poor church and a church for the poor’ | World | News | National Post
What do you know? Finally Mattawa is ahead of the curve! We've been a poor parish ever since the collapse of the local logging industry about five years ago.
Somehow though, I think that this isn't entirely what Pope Francis means when he calls for a 'poor church'. Still, it's nice to be in the vanguard for a change!
Pope Francis would like to see ‘a poor church and a church for the poor’ | World | News | National Post
Somehow though, I think that this isn't entirely what Pope Francis means when he calls for a 'poor church'. Still, it's nice to be in the vanguard for a change!
Pope Francis would like to see ‘a poor church and a church for the poor’ | World | News | National Post
15 March, 2013
14 March, 2013
13 March, 2013
New pope chosen: Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio who becomes Pope Francis I | CTV News
“This is a man who goes into the shantytowns and cooks with the people," said Gerard O’Connell, CTV Vatican specialist. "I think the world is going to discover a very new style of being pope."THANK YOU HOLY SPIRIT!!!
New pope chosen: Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio who becomes Pope Francis I | CTV News
Addendum:
Bergoglio often rode the bus to work, cooked his own meals and regularly visited the slums that ring Argentina’s capital. He considers social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, to be the essential business of the church.He accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy and forgetting that Jesus Christ bathed lepers and ate with prostitutes.“Jesus teaches us another way: Go out. Go out and share your testimony, go out and interact with your brothers, go out and share, go out and ask. Become the Word in body as well as spirit,” Bergoglio told Argentina’s priests last year.
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Bergoglio may be basically conservative on many issues, but he's no defender of clerical privilege, or insensitive to pastoral realities. In September 2012, he delivered a blistering attack on priests who refuse to baptize children born out of wedlock, calling it a form of "rigorous and hypocritical neo-clericalism."
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He's also seen as a successful evangelist."We have to avoid the spiritual sickness of a self-referential church," Bergoglio said recently. "It's true that when you get out into the street, as happens to every man and woman, there can be accidents. However, if the church remains closed in on itself, self-referential, it gets old. Between a church that suffers accidents in the street, and a church that's sick because it's self-referential, I have no doubts about preferring the former."
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YES!!! Thank you Holy Spirit indeed!!
12 March, 2013
11 March, 2013
R.I.P. Fr. R. Murray Tardiff - Diocese of Pembroke
I ask your prayers for the repose of soul of Fr. Murray Tardiff of our Pembroke Diocese. Murray has been a good friend for almost 30 years and his death has come as a surprise. He replaced me in Mattawa during my vacation over the past two weeks - and upon returning home, he went to the doctor as he was feeling under the weather. Evidently he was suffering for an advance cancer that had metastasized throughout his body and died three days after being admitted to the hospital last week.
Please keep his sister and brother in your prayers during this time of bereavement.
Fr. Tim
Please keep his sister and brother in your prayers during this time of bereavement.
Fr. Tim
08 March, 2013
07 March, 2013
USCCB Blog: The Papal Transition: All The Cardinals Are In Pla...
USCCB Blog: The Papal Transition: All The Cardinals Are In Pla...: By Sister Mary Ann Walsh The leaks at the Vatican continue. The morning La Repubblica newspaper ran a story claiming revelations fr...
06 March, 2013
A credible candidate for Pope who understands how to use cultural references as a medium for evangelization.
A credible candidate for Pope who understands how to use cultural references as a medium for evangelization. Cardinal Scola reminds me of Alberto Luciani who was elected as John Paul I who, even though pontiff for only one month demonstrated the efficacy of using such a pastoral approach. If the future Bishop of Rome chosen by the Cardinals in upcoming conclave has any hope of stemming the tide currently running against the Church in the West, he will need to be able to preach and teach in a manner that resonates with them. On the whole, they are bereft of any catechetical instruction and unable to comprehend the heavily theological laden teachings of recent popes. The capacity to reformulate the truths of faith using modern cultural references would seem to be the only way to reach those who have turned away from the Church.
http://www.wtop.com/289/3241459/Scola-reaches-youth-through-Kerouac-and-McCarthy
http://www.wtop.com/289/3241459/Scola-reaches-youth-through-Kerouac-and-McCarthy
05 March, 2013
04 March, 2013
03 March, 2013
02 March, 2013
01 March, 2013
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- Mary Hynes: What do you believe? - Canada - CBC News
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