I was appalled to learn, with the whole excitement of the “Super Bowl” commercials, that there is an dating agency called Ashley Madison, that specializes in extra-marital sexual encounters (they call them “married dating and affairs”). After watching some of their ads, with the catchy phrase, “life is short, have an affair,” I think it’s ...read more

If you’ve seen the Salt + Light documentary Mission to the UN, you’ll know that the Holy See and Italy signed the Lateran Accord 80 years ago (on February 11th, to be exact). The treaty settled the longstanding territorial dispute called the “Roman question”, which began in 1870 when Italy overwhelmed the French garrison protecting ...read more

Whenever I walk past St. Peter’s Basilica at night, I look up to see whether the lights are on in the papal apartment. As of 11:30 on Friday night, someone was still awake. I wondered whether the Pope was then tending to the Society of Saint Pius X affair, a controversy that has gathered the ...read more

At least 40 participants had filled Sant’Agnese in Agone–a relatively small, but still magnificent church on the city’s famous Piazza Navona. Even though Holy Mass was advertised to begin 9 PM, the congregation of mostly young adults was only mid-way through a rosary. (The lax schedule is of particular benefit if you get lost in ...read more

This past January 24, 2009 at 10:00pm ET, Salt + Light Television took to the airways to spread our Catholic message of hope and inspiration to listeners of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio. When New York’s Cardinal Egan first spoke to our CEO, Fr. Thomas Rosica about the possibility of our partnership with the Catholic ...read more

On my first day back in Rome since October, I was reminded of the many small details that differentiate this part of the world from Toronto. Even from the plane I could see the statuesque stone pines, a variety so graceful that they can be used in bonsai. I also delight in the tiny cars ...read more

According to most economic forecasters the prognosis in 2009 is pretty dismal. Everday we are greeted with newspaper headlines informing us about massive layoffs, falling stock prices, and gut wrenching stories of young people unable to find work and retirees facing the loss of their life savings. The Catholic Church is not exempt from the ...read more

On February 1st, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was enthroned as the new leader of the 150-million member Russian Orthodox Church. The 62-year old Kirill was elected last week by a council made up of 700 priests, monks, and laypeople representing the dioceses and foreign missions of the Russian Orthodox Church from more than ...read more

I was outraged today when I read the comments of Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the UK’s Sustainable Development Commission, who said in an interview that families should be limited to two children in order to battle Global warming. According to Porritt families with more than two children are “irresponsible”. His commission is set to unveil ...read more

This past weekend, January 31st, was the fest of St. John Bosco, founder of the Salesian order of priests. I have a soft spot for Don Bosco, as he is commonly known. I grew up in a parish run by Scalabrinian fathers. The Scalabrinians were founded by Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini, who was close friends ...read more