Category: BC Catholic

As mentioned in previous columns, I have been striving to live with Easter joy, from deliberately focusing on the everyday joys of life to truly pondering all that the Resurrection means. As with most stages of life, this Easter there have been some bittersweet stumbling blocks as I have attempted to notice and embrace joyful moments, rather than taking them for granted.

In fact, during a three-day period in this year’s Eastertide, I have participated in and completed a school musical with my students, attended my daughter’s final games as a varsity athlete at UBC, and—most significantly—I have faced the suffering and death of a dear friend.

I have been involved in musical productions at our elementary school for seventeen years. Rehearsing the music for months results in melodies and lyrics running through my head at random times throughout the day—and night. Working with children creates a wonderful bond, and witnessing individual and collective growth is an experience beyond words. The joy inherent in a musical is obvious on the outside, but it does not come without its share of anxiety, frustration, and exhaustion behind the scenes. However, after the adrenaline settles, the dreams are realized, and the final curtains close, sadness inevitably sets in. Shows consume us. We put energy into them, we anticipate their arrival, and like all things, they come to an end.

After the final show, children tearfully realized that this special experience is now part of the past. I must admit that I find this reality hard to swallow myself, but I do appreciate that the gifts of the experience make the stress and sadness worthwhile.

The day after the show, I attended our third child’s final games as a UBC varsity softball player. She began playing softball when she was just eight years old, and even though other sports and music have played roles in her life, she has spent a large part of the past fourteen years training and playing softball.

While life in sport has been busy and demanding, it has also been so much fun to watch her grow as an athlete and a person. She has built resilience, patience, and muscle, along with wisdom and friendships to last a lifetime. She has learned to speak up for herself and others, and to articulate and express difficult feelings with grace and respect.

Tears were shed as she gave her farewell speech at the reception following the games, reflecting on all her years as an athlete. Some of these tears were in recognition of challenges faced and overcome, some were sadness at the speed of time, and others were tears of joy for the blessings that softball life has brought upon our whole family.

When Father Dan Gurnick thinks about St. Francis of Assisi, he doesn’t think of birds, flowers, or sentimental images of the beloved saint. 

He begins with Christ. 

“Francis was very Christ-centred,” said Father Gurnick, a Franciscan friar and pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond. After St. Francis’ conversion, he saw “the crucified Christ in lepers,” and even in creation. “It’s more than just seeing trees, it’s seeing Christ in the trees,” Father Gurnick told The B.C. Catholic.

That vision is now shaping local observances of the Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.

The jubilee year runs from Jan. 10, 2026, to Jan. 10, 2027, and offers the faithful the opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence by making a pilgrimage to churches dedicated to St. Francis or served by Franciscan communities. The usual conditions apply: sacramental confession, Communion, prayer for the Pope’s intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin. The elderly, sick, and those unable to travel may participate spiritually by offering their prayers and sufferings.

In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Archbishop Richard Smith has highlighted three parishes for coordinated observances: St. Francis of Assisi in East Vancouver, which bears the saint’s name, and two parishes served by Franciscan friars — St. Joseph the Worker in Richmond and Immaculate Conception in Vancouver. 

In a pastoral letter, Archbishop Smith called the jubilee “a time of grace” and reminded the Church that renewal begins with conversion to Christ. 

“Every renewal begins with a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ,” he wrote. “A pilgrimage is a meaningful act of faith. It is a step away from routine and an intentional journey toward the Lord.”

The Archbishop said the jubilee is especially timely as the Archdiocese enters “our own time of renewal,” including in parishes and schools, infrastructure stewardship, clergy support, and the celebration of the liturgy.

Pope Leo XIV has framed the year as a response to a divided world. In a letter to Franciscan leaders, he said St. Francis continues to speak “in this era, marked by so many seemingly endless wars, by internal and social divisions that create distrust and fear,” because his life points to “the authentic source of peace.” 

The Pope added that Francis reminds the Church that “peace with God, peace among people, and peace with creation are inseparable dimensions of a single call to universal reconciliation.”

For the three local parishes, that global call is taking local form.

Last week’s launch of the MAiD at 10 series examined the scale and impact of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada. This week, reporter Terry O’Neill focuses on understanding how the country arrived at this point, and what those changes are beginning to reveal.

The 1970s are infamously known as the “Me Decade,” a term coined by writer Tom Wolfe, who described a cultural shift toward narcissism, self-fulfilment, and hedonism among the Baby Boomer generation.

Theologian and sociologist Germain McKenzie says a similar self-centred worldview can help explain why legalized euthanasia has proven to be so popular in Canada and threatens to continue expanding in other Western nations.

As Canada approaches the 10th anniversary of the legalization of MAiD on June 17, McKenzie, who teaches at Catholic Pacific College in Langley, said in an interview that pro-life advocates need better strategies to loosen MAiD’s grip on the country. To do that, it’s important to understand how euthanasia has taken such a strong hold.

McKenzie sees five major cultural trends over the past few centuries that have propelled this country to the precipitous place it is now. Primary are the Enlightenment’s emphasis on autonomous reasoning and Romanticism’s celebration of self-fulfillment.

Those ideologies are thriving alongside capitalism’s utilitarian ethos, adverse impact of mass media, and advances in medical technology allowing previously unimaginable procedures such as gender reassignment. Together they have eroded the Christian values on which Western civilization was built, McKenzie said.

The Enlightenment and Romantic ideals alone have “radicalized” our times, he said. Where once a Christian ethos balanced them and “put some limits in place,” all of that crumbled in the turbulent years following the Second World War amid the rapid secularization of society.

Individuals now try to shape their own moral universe, as though society has reverted to an immature stage. “It’s like being a teenager,” he said.

The result is legalized medical killing, something unthinkable a generation ago outside of dystopian movies like Soylent Green (1973) and Logan’s Run (1976).

While few think Canada will become the 23rd-century society of Logan’s Run where individuals live in pleasure and comfort, but only until age 30, it’s hard to predict just what  future shocks will rock a society that has lost one of its core values—valuing the lives of the sick and the elderly. Medical deaths of willing patients have become commonplace to what St. Pope John Paul II called the culture of death.

Life “has been devalued,” said Mathew Schmalz, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Mass. “We need as a society to rethink our attitude to life,” being sensitive to “all its complexities,” joy as well as pain.

Recently I received an email from a friend—an email that immediately aroused suspicion. 

It was an appeal of the tear-jerker variety, designed to invoke a response through emotion-generating hooks and through a sense of urgency.

Like many such emails, it had an aspect of believability, along with warning signs. It even ended with a “God bless” sign-off, representative of the sender as I know the person.

None of it, of course, was true. It was quite an elaborate scam, although one which was dependent on a mistake by the ostensible sender.

I resisted immediately writing back with the typical “you’ve been hacked” or “you’ve been scammed,” opting to wait until I saw my friend in person two days later. Actually, I wouldn’t have used the expression “you’ve been hacked,” as my experience with these sorts of events is that nearly always it’s the victim who has “clicked somewhere” or used a fake site, believing it to be real and safe.

By the time I saw my friend, I had already learned from others in our mutual circle that they too had received the same email. What was surprising to me, in a good way, is that each of them immediately wrote off the message as being part of a scam. We’ve come a long way over the past decade or so when it comes to situational awareness and skepticism with technology.

When I saw my friend, he was already aware of the matter. Someone had indeed contacted him, via text message, to see if he was aware of the email in question. When another person reached him with the same concern, he took action which proved prescient under the circumstances.

He was actually out of the country at that point. He phoned the service provider. Amazingly, he reached someone who immediately guided him through changing the password for his webmail service. That action halted further use of the account by the scammer or scammers.

So, just what occurred here? Although my friend can’t specifically recall the trigger event, it is clear he was tricked onto either a fake version of his webmail sign-in page or onto a fake Wi-Fi node in the hotel where he was staying. No matter which of the two, his email credentials were compromised, and the scammer immediately harvested his entire contacts list—some 400 or so email addresses—spent a few minutes looking through his sent emails to get an idea of a typical sign-off he might use, and then sent out the emotional appeal to all those contacts.

In this case, the scammer did not change the webmail password or take any further action. When I was asked to look at my friend’s computer and webmail, I could find no evidence of tampering at the machine level.

After the healing of the lame beggar in Acts 3, Peter addresses the crowd. Acts 4 then begins with the arrival of the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees. 

The authorities were deeply disturbed “because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2). Their objection is twofold: a claim about Jesus himself and a claim about the destiny of humanity.

Theophylact also observes a shift in their behaviour after Christ’s passion. Before, they acted indirectly, relying on Judas to betray Jesus in secret; now they seize the apostles openly and personally, showing increased boldness and disregard. As he notes, sin often carries a sense of shame while it is still forming, but once it is fully developed, it makes those who commit it increasingly shameless.

Meanwhile, the number of believers rises to five thousand men. St. Bede sees symbolic meaning in this number, linking it to the feeding of the five thousand. He suggests that those fed in the wilderness represent a people formed under the Law and renewed by Christ. In the same way, those instructed by the apostles signify the nations who will come to embrace and live out these same divine mysteries.

Peter initially addressed the Sanhedrin with respect. Once he began his defence, however, he did not hold back from a fitting rebuke. He reminded them that what they were prosecuting was a healing—a “good deed done to a crippled man” (Acts 4:9). The charge is absurd, and Peter made sure they feel it.

Peter then cites Psalm 118:22 and identifies the “cornerstone” as Christ himself. St. Bede explains that the Jewish people, who continually studied the Law and the Prophets, encountered in those Scriptures the promise of a cornerstone uniting two walls—that is, Christ, who would join two peoples into one through his coming in the flesh. Yet, choosing to remain within only one side, they rejected this stone.

Peter then proclaims: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Reflecting on this, St. Bede notes that if salvation is found in Christ alone, then even the fathers of the Old Testament were saved through the same Redeemer’s incarnation and passion. Though the outward signs and rituals differed across times, the underlying faith was the same: through the prophets, they looked forward to the coming of Christ, while through the apostles, we look back on what he has accomplished.

What astonishes the Sanhedrin most is not the words but the speakers. St. John Chrysostom sees in Peter not merely courage, but transformation—from the man who “could not even endure questioning by a servant girl” to one who proclaimed Christ before the highest court in Jerusalem—“another miracle no less great than the earlier one.”

Father Ian Charles Stuart passed away on April 9 in Victoria, leaving behind an enduring legacy of welcome, courage, caring, and kindness to all who knew him.

Long before his ordination, Father Ian’s gift for connecting with people was already evident in his work as a young principal of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in North Vancouver. Martin Dale, one of his students at the time and now a school principal himself, remembers “Mr. Stuart” as a favourite among students and staff alike.

Dale recalled one particularly memorable adventure in the spring of 1977, when Ian served as teacher-chaperone for a two-week voyage to Alaska aboard a tugboat. Thirty students took shifts in various seafaring jobs, gaining hands-on experience under the guidance of a man who treated each of them with genuine kindness, humour, and dedication.

Those same qualities were front and centre when Father Ian answered the call to the priesthood. Ordained in 1987, he served as assistant pastor at Holy Rosary Cathedral and St. Mary’s in Chilliwack before being named pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Vancouver. His priestly vocation was filled with joy and strength, and he was always willing to travel to visit those in need, whether in a jail, a hospital, or at a sickbed.

Father Stanley Galvon fondly recalled the many trips and pilgrimages they shared, including visits to the Passion Play in Oberammergau and the Holy Land, as well as many trips to shrines in Europe such as Fatima and Lourdes. “He greatly enjoyed travelling with others,” Father Galvon said, and wherever his friend travelled, he remained faithful to his life of prayer and encouraged mutual respect and goodwill with everyone he met.

Near and dear to his heart were the islands of Hawaii, and the “spirit of aloha” may be one of the best ways to describe his character (and one he’d deeply appreciate). He organized pilgrimages to Molokai and even brought a work crew of young men from Vancouver to paint and repair the aging Catholic church there.

For Father Ian, everyone was family, and no one was unimportant. He had a remarkable ability to converse with anyone, aided by a natural gift for languages. He remembered people’s family ties, their cultural traditions, their favourite foods, the songs that mattered to them, and who among their loved ones needed prayer.

Father Ian later became pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in West Vancouver before returning to Victoria in 2009 to care for his aging mother.

Laila Maravillas, who served as elementary school principal at both St. Francis of Assisi and St. Anthony’s during his tenure, saw firsthand how Father Ian “lived his life in a way that pleased God.” 

Recently a friend asked me how I cope when I’m anxious. The first response I gave was to pray. Praying for healing, for comfort, and for relief from pain or stress is a good way to support mental health.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) 

It doesn’t mean you should leave all the other supports behind. With the mental illness I live with, I need to make sure that I’m taking my medication daily, that I’m getting enough sleep and eating healthy. I exercise and regularly see my doctor. Treatment needs to be followed and not replaced with prayer.

“Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth, you will again bring me up. You will increase my honour and comfort me once again.” (Psalm 71:20-21)

I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t believe in a loving God who came to save me. He is the only one who knows my mind, heart and soul. He is the only one whom I can rely on without any doubt that he will deliver.

God’s promises of a future full of hope and that he will supply the grace for each day bring comfort to my mental and emotional suffering. I pray daily, but sometimes my strongest prayers are when I am desiring a weight to be lifted off my shoulders and heart.

The Lord is all I want and I need him more than anything else. Healthy or not, Jesus Christ is my friend and he can turn everything into victory. In every season, he restores what the anxiety and illness stole. His love makes me whole.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46:1-3 

All he asks is that we trust in his power and love for us. My life becomes prayer — my heart seeking his mercy and strength. I turn to him for guidance and encouragement. I offer up my work, play and suffering to his Sacred Heart.

“… And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 

I am confident that Jesus keeps his word and he fights my battles for me. I will always have bipolar disorder, but I will never be alone as I know that Jesus is with me.

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
First Reading: Acts 6:1–7
Second Reading: 1 Pt 2:4–9
Gospel Reading: Jn 14:1–12

In his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (“God Is Love”), Pope Benedict XVI said that “the entire activity of the Church is an expression of a love that seeks the integral good of man”—that is, the good of the whole of each person, body and soul.

Accordingly, the Church’s love for humans takes the forms of 1) “evangelization through word and sacrament” and 2) promotion of human life and activity in its “various arenas.”

In this Sunday’s First Reading, we see both these forms of love. The apostles realized that their own task was to pray and preach God’s word, but they appointed deacons to “wait on tables.” They were obeying both of God’s commands: to love God with our whole being and to love our neighbours as ourselves.

The two commands are related, Pope Benedict noted. When we obey God, the communion between our will and his develops into a communion of thought and feeling. God’s will becomes no longer “alien,” something imposed from outside; it becomes our own. Then, the Pope said, “in God and with God,” we love people we do not like or even know, for we look on them not simply with our own eyes and feelings, but from Christ’s perspective: his friend is our friend.

Thus we see the interplay between love of God and love of neighbour, the Pope said. If we have no contact with God in our lives, we cannot see his image in other people. For example, our society condemns slavery, abuse, and unjust discrimination, yet murders unborn babies and old people because it has neglected love of God, who gives all persons their objective value and their inalienable rights. On the other hand, if we have no contact with other people, our relationship with God becomes dry and loveless.

The Pope praised saints who “constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbour from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord,” and described how “this encounter acquired its realism and depth in their service to others.”

Love of God and love of neighbour are “inseparable,” the Pope said; “they form a single commandment.” Love “is divine because it comes from God and unites us to God,” but “it makes us a ‘we’ which transcends our divisions and makes us one, until in the end God is all in all.”

As members of what St. Peter, in the Second Reading, calls “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” we have the duty to “proclaim the mighty acts” of him who called us “out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

TORONTO – Catholic Conscience is launching a new annual conference, “Building a Culture of Life & Dignity,” with its inaugural 2026 gathering set to tackle one of the deepest problems in contemporary society: the breakdown of our shared social covenant and the erosion of human dignity from conception to natural death.

The 2026 conference, “Restoring the Covenant: Catholic Social Teaching as Common Social Ground,” will take place on Saturday, May 30, at De La Salle Oaklands College in Toronto.

The gathering is rooted in Catholic social doctrine and inspired by Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, in which he says, “Since the end of society is to make people better, the chief good that society can possess is virtue,” said Matthew Marquardt, executive director of Catholic Conscience.

Open to Catholics and all people of good will, the aim is to offer Catholic Social Teaching as a roadmap for renewing public life, he said.

In a world marked by radical individualism, moral relativism, and what organizers describe as “a culture indifferent to the dignity of life,” the conference proposes CST as a unifying framework for rebuilding the bonds that make us a true covenant people.

For example, CST offers a Catholic lens for evaluating and interpretating governmental wellness indexes, such as the Quality of Life Framework recently adopted by the Government of Canada. 

“Our social covenant is broken and needs to be restored, said Marquardt, who is also president of Canadian Catholic News. “And the responsibility for doing that is one everyone one of us. We belong to one another and each have a role to play in society.”

The conference grew out of months of discussions about the fragile state of Catholic apostolates in Canada and the surprising appetite among young Catholics for serious engagement, he said.

“If you go to church in Toronto since the pandemic, attendance is up a lot,” Marquardt said. “The difference is a lot of young people who are very ardent. They say they want things to do.”

Organizers say the event is intended to:

• Advance civic conversation on restoring a shared social covenant grounded in common principles and values, as an alternative to the social currents pulling people away from God and one another. 
• Bring together Canadian Catholic social and civic initiatives – along with other groups of goodwill – to increase awareness and promote cooperation among them. 
• Promote volunteer, employment, and fundraising opportunities for these initiatives, helping them find the skills and support they need to survive and grow. 

The vision goes beyond theory. In recent years, small Catholic organizations such as Catholic Insight, Catholic Conscience, and Canadian Catholic News have struggled with increasingly complex regulatory demands, especially those affecting interactions with agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency, and the practical burden of running lean operations with minimal staff.