On this 150th birthday of Canada, it befits us as Canadians to stop and reflect upon the year that was, as the Dominion reaches ripe old hobbit age. Alas, unlike Bilbo and Frodo, Canada does not seem to be entering a greater state of senectitudinal maturity and wisdom after a more reckless youth. Quite the […]
On this solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, celebrating their respective life and martyrdom, it is beneficial to dwell a moment upon the papacy (and by extension, the episcopacy), as we make our way towards eternity in these confusing times. It is no secret to readers of these columns that I share with many […]
Another day, and more bad news. One becomes benumbed after a time, which is not a good thing. Would that I could write on something uplifting, and I will, soon. But the culture of death marches on, almost unabated, from victory to victory, and I wonder how much they need further to ‘win’, with the […]
Already the effects of the Brexit are rippling through the world: The British currency has taken a record nosedive, the stock market is a, and wee bonnie Scotland now wants independence from Britain, to stay cuddled up with the EU. Now our own Quebec wants to break free, once again: Justin Trudeau was booed for […]
Britain is voting as I write on whether or not to stay within the ‘European Union’, with pundits widely divided on the effects of departure, on Britain, Europe and the world. Financial disaster, riots in the street, or improved stability and increased national fervour. When questions like this arise, it is wise to go […]
Today we commemorate Saint Thomas More, husband, father, lawyer, sometime chancellor of England, marytyred in 1535 with his compatriot Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and cardinal of the Church. More was actually put to death on July 6, with Fisher being beheaded on this day, when they are both remembered. Both saints are […]
I thought the Star Wars franchise, so successful and cinema-transforming in the late seventies and early eighties, was ruined by the three prequels in the early years of this millennium, all of which were phenomenally bad, the last one on a galactic scale. The blond Canadian Anakin deserved an anti-Oscar for his bathos. I had […]
The Canadian Senate has capitulated, passing into law Bill C-14 legalizing ‘Medical Aid in Dying’, or, more properly, murder-assisted suicide. It will now be legal, even binding in some jurisdictions we may presume, for physicians and other health personnel, to kill their patients. The Senate wanted to broaden the scope of the law, permitting murder-suicide […]
There is much talk nowadays about conscience, freedom of conscience, good and bad conscience, yet with little awareness, from what I can tell, of what conscience actually is. So, a definition: Conscience is an act, specifically an act of the practical intellect, judging the moral quality of an act that we have done, are doing, […]
Well, another evening CBC episode, dedicated this time to the flying of the rainbow flag in various locales, the most controversial being the American embassy in Jamaica, where homosexuality is, shall we say, less than tolerated. We must clear the air here, and allow me a final distinction before we leave this subject alone […]