Category: BC Catholic

Assessing a Pope—his life, his legacy—is fraught with risk, especially within days of his passing.

The obvious has already been said by those who were prepared well in advance. But some of us need time to assess him in the light of the void—the interregnum—that now confronts us. The Holy Spirit often works in silence, so this time before the conclave can offer a rich opportunity for reflection and discernment.

This raises a deeper question: Should we even assess? Rushing to evaluate, we risk getting caught in the swirl of instant analysis—in the currents of the day. But getting into those currents might not always be a bad thing. Pope Francis was often caught in them. And what’s the difference between being caught in a current and reading the signs of the times? G.K. Chesterton said that only a living thing can swim against a  current. Francis often seemed to get into these cultural eddies, and then come out with something generated by the Holy Spirit. It was in those eddies that he was defined by many, by how he was perceived—by both his critics and his supporters.

Eddies form when the main flow hits resistance—rocks, riverbanks, sudden turns—and the water circles back on itself. They can look like traps, places where momentum is lost. But they can also be pockets of stillness in an otherwise relentless current. In many ways, Francis’s eddies were often just that—resting places where something deeper could form.

Name 10 things Francis is most known for, and I’d suggest many were produced in eddies, not currents: “Who am I to judge?”, the residential school genocide comments in Canada, and the Pachamama statues controversy. Each of these became opportunities for him to be assessed, while something was being forged in the struggle of eddies.

Francis pushed me out of my comfort zone more than once. As a communications director, it was a constant challenge trying to keep up with his latest unscripted moments and then explain what he was actually trying to say. More often than not, a quick source check revealed there was far less controversy than people assumed.

Over time, I had to surrender my Benedictine left brain and make room for the Francis right brain—drawn less to argument and more to listening. It’s still a work in progress. I even had to step back from engaging in social media, which has little room for listening. I began asking myself: “Would Pope Francis post this?” And more often than not, the answer was no—he would simply listen.

And maybe that’s the most honest assessment I can offer right now. He’s been called many things: the People’s Pope, the speak-off-the-cuff-and-let-the-world-sort-it-out Pope, the Messy Pope, the Field Hospital Pope.

Three Vancouver Catholics—Archbishop J. Michael Miller, Paralympian Aaron Wong-Sing, and Ukrainian Catholic priest Father Mykhailo Ozorovych—have received King Charles III Coronation Medals in recognition of their exceptional service to Church, country, and community.

The medal honours Canadians who have made significant contributions to society or achieved accomplishments abroad that bring credit to the country. Thirty thousand medals were created for distribution across Canada.

Archbishop Miller was nominated by the Canadian Interfaith Conversation (CIC), a national coalition of faith-based organizations that promotes religious freedom and cooperation.

The organization recognized the Archbishop for his “outstanding service in fostering respect and understanding of religious traditions in Canada” and for his contributions to “the positive role faith communities make in Canadian civil society.”

Archbishop Miller was honoured for his pastoral work with diverse Catholic communities, including Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, and Syro-Malabar Catholics; his support for national reconciliation efforts through Bill C-15, the federal legislation endorsing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; and his leadership in promoting interfaith clinical pastoral education.

The CIC noted the Archbishop’s service at the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant, and his establishing of offices for First Nations Ministry, Hispanic Ministry, Filipino Ministry, Chinese Ministry, and Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations.

The CIC also recognized his public stance against racism and anti-Semitism and his work with other faith leaders and the City of Vancouver  mayor to address Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside challenges.

The CIC also noted that Archbishop Miller was a founding member of the Multifaith Summit Council of British Columbia and, in 2024, entered into a Sacred Covenant with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc people on behalf of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

A new Vatican-commissioned sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz titled “Be Welcoming” was installed in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday in the hopes of inspiring people to open their hearts to the poor.

Schmalz’s bronze statue — located near the Showers for the Poor and the Mother of Mercy Clinic in the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square — depicts a man seated on a bench “who appears to be a homeless person” carrying only two possessions: a full backpack on his shoulder and a stick in one hand.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Service of Charity said on Tuesday: “This stranger turns into an angel when you look at the other side of the sculpture: the roughness of his clothes becomes smooth, the bag he carries turns into wings and the hood turns into hair.”

Known for creating artworks that interact with its viewers, Schmalz’s Be Welcoming statue “invites you to sit next to him,” to contemplate the word of God and inspire people to carry out works of charity. 

Be Welcoming — the Canadian sculptor’s latest installation in St. Peter’s Square — is another “visual interpretation of a verse from the Letter to the Hebrews: ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some have unknowingly entertained angels’ (Heb 13:2),” the Vatican statement said.

The same Scripture verse also inspired Schmalz’s Angels Unawares sculpture — also located within St. Peter’s Square — which depicts 140 migrants of different ethnicities and nationalities standing on a boat. 

On Sept. 29, 2019, Pope Francis blessed that statue on the occasion of the Church’s 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

“We are all invited to open our hearts because only then will we have the opportunity to see others as they really are, people with their humanity,” the Vatican statement read. “Touching a poor person, assisting a poor person, is a sacrament in the Church.”

“We give ‘a concrete face to the Gospel of love,’” the statement continued, quoting Pope Francis. “‘By offering them shelter, a meal, a smile, holding out our hands without fear of dirtying them’ we restore ‘dignity,’ and this touches ‘the heart of our often indifferent world.’”

Be Welcoming is the third Schmalz installation located in the vicinity of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Canadian artist’s “Homeless Jesus” statue, inaugurated in March 2016 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, is located in the square in front of the Vatican’s apostolic charity offices.

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This Easter Vigil, the Catholic Church in England is expecting a decade-high surge of new entrants to the faith. There is anecdotal evidence of a particular increase in young men, who say their interest was sparked initially by Catholic apologists on social media and also by the traditional heritage of Catholicism.

Almost all English dioceses contacted by CNA reported a significant increase in both catechumens and candidates at the Rite of Election at the start of Lent compared with last year. Many had not seen comparable numbers for a decade.

The Diocese of Westminster, which includes much of the capital city London, said this year it has 252 catechumens and over 250 candidates, making a total of over 500 to be received into the Catholic Church at Easter — the most seen since 2018.

The adjacent Archdiocese of Southwark, which has a significant evangelization program, saw over 450 adults complete the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) this year, more than the year before. Such levels have not been seen since Pope Benedict XVI allowed groups of Anglican communities to enter into communion in 2011 through the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.

“I don’t think it can just be put down to COVID recovery; there seems to be something fresh afoot,” said Mark Nash, Southwark’s director of the Agency for Evangelization and Catechesis. “The Holy Spirit is moving in a very particular way.” 

Although the candidates have a broad variety of backgrounds, some trends he has noticed include young men initially inspired by online U.S.-based evangelists and apologists such as Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire; Father Mike Schmitz, a popular speaker, podcaster, and campus minister; Edward Sri, a theologian, author, and speaker; and Trent Horn, a Catholic apologist and podcaster.

Nash has also noticed more from atheistic countries.

“As part of my work, anecdotally, going to a number of parishes, groups I’ve been in, there has been a large number of younger people — particularly men,” he said. “Increasing numbers of Chinese… in Southwark we are blessed with a panoply of ethnicities. It is really is the Church universal; it is massively edifying.”

The diocese published a video of interviews of four candidates who expressed a variety of reasons and motivations for becoming Catholic, including the witness of the early Church fathers, the experience at a Catholic school, and the powerful faith of a young child. 

A musician living a “rock-and-roll life” spoke of feeling drawn to Mary. “I knew that it was something real and strong and pure,” Vedina-Rose said in the video. “Mary gives me so much comfort and love and understanding, and whenever there have been moments where I felt doubt or I felt lonely or I felt rejected all I have to do is call on Mary and I just feel this comfort… I just love Jesus.”

According to biblical scholars, St. Paul spent 18 months in Corinth (AD 50–51) founding the church there (Acts 18:1–18). Sometime between AD 51 and AD 53, St. Paul wrote a letter to them with moral instructions: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.” (1 Cor 5:9)

In the spring of AD 54, St. Paul sent the First Letter to the Corinthians from Ephesus via his delegate St. Timothy. That same year, St. Paul made a “painful visit” to Corinth (2 Cor 2:1), and he also wrote them a “tearful letter” (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8) after that visit.

The “tearful letter” was delivered through St. Titus. Afterward, St. Paul met Titus and heard from him both good news and new challenges regarding the church in Corinth. Hence, in the spring of AD 55, St. Paul sent the Second Letter to the Corinthians from Macedonia via St. Titus.

St. Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor 1:3–4)

The word comfort literally means to come to one’s side. A fourth-century biblical commentator known as Ambrosiaster wrote, “Paul mentions two kinds of consolation. One is the sort by which people who are suffering distress unjustly on account of the name of Christ find consolation in being set free. The other is the consolation of those who, when they are grieved because of sins, receive consolation from the fact that hope of forgiveness is promised to them when they mend their ways. This happens amid a community of those who have received consolation from God and been rescued from distress.”

In 2 Cor 1:12–24, St. Paul explained his change of plans. St. John Chrysostom commented: “Paul did not want to go to Corinth in order to plunge the Corinthians into despair. Instead, he stayed away so that they would reform themselves, fearing what might otherwise happen if he did come.”

St. Paul wrote, “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.” (2 Cor 1:12) 

Ambrosiaster commented: “The boast of Paul’s conscience was simplicity and sincerity, qualities which belong to God’s teaching. In his first letter Paul had criticized teaching based on earthly wisdom, and he alludes to that again here. He accused preachers of that kind both because they preached according to the wisdom of the world and because they were doing it in order to make money.

Jesus will be heading into the garden soon. At this point in our Lenten journey, are we ready to go with him? Maybe we can take a few pointers from an old-time folk song.

I recently heard Garden Song, a tune that I had long forgotten about. Its catchy melody and rhyme triggered childhood memories of singing along, not realizing at a young age the significance of the lyrics.

Written by David Mallette and made famous in 1979 by the unmistakeable voice of singer John Denver, Garden Song is often associated with a folksy, perhaps even environmentally friendly, outlook on life, some might say aimed primarily at children (some readers may remember when Denver sang this song on The Muppets. But when I heard it a few weeks ago it struck me in a very Lenten way.

“Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow. All it takes is a rake and a hoe and a piece of fertile ground,” sings Denver. “Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow. Someone warm them from below til the rain comes tumblin’ down.”

Aren’t we all trying to cultivate our spiritual gardens in Lent? Lent is a time to “dig” deep into the soil of our lives. We can take time to really evaluate what makes up that soil. Is it nutrient rich? Does it have all the elements needed to grow fruit that will nourish our souls? What does nutrient-rich spiritual soil even look like? In Lent, we are told that we build up our soil with prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Have we made these three pillars a priority, and are we ready to turn the corner into Holy Week?

“Pullin’ weeds and pickin’ stones, man is made of dreams and bones,” goes the third verse.

I couldn’t think of a better image to describe the Lenten journey than “pullin’ weeds and pickin’ stones.” Have we successfully pulled some weeds and picked some stones? Are we still battling the weeds and stones (maybe boulders?) of sin in our lives? Have we cleared the soil of our nagging vices of sins against charity, lack of prayer, addiction to things that take us away from God? Have we gone to confession lately?

The song continues: “Feel the need to grow my own, ‘cause the time is close at hand.” The time is indeed close at hand. We will soon recall Jesus’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane on Holy Thursday after the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Are we ready to accompany Jesus on that garden journey? How does our garden compare to that garden?

It’s been six years, going into a seventh. Well, not quite, but hear me out. I still love my phone, even though it no longer receives operating system updates.

Seems I’m not alone when it comes to the Note 9 from Samsung. I started out with the “8” model back in 2018, buying it outright and using it subsequently on a month-to-month basis with Telus Mobility.

I came into the Android ecosystem quite by accident, when I won an early Samsung S IIX phone in an online contest. I say “by accident,” but as a physics and computer sciences teacher it was only natural I’d be drawn to the Android world. The closed nature of the Apple system didn’t appeal to me, aside from using a MacBook Air for a few years, although alongside a Chromebook and various Windows computers.

My Note 8 purchase was the first time I actually bought a phone. Previously I had phones related to my work, phones going back to the BlackBerry days. That contest-win phone hooked me on the Android platform and its freedom to explore, much different from the iPod/iPad/MacBook environment I had used at one time.

With the Note 8 I was immediately captivated by the large screen and the pen it came with, the so-called S Pen, which was part of what made the Galaxy Note lineup unique. This pen makes for easy markups of images and graphics, as well as selective captures of text, both highly useful if, like me, you are an avid poster to various social media platforms.

I was devastated when my Note 8 was destroyed by a gravel truck driving over it, a story I previously wrote about in this space. The phone was initially lost but eventually found, all but unrecognizable, thanks to Google’s Find My Phone service. I immediately replaced the unusable “8” with a used Note 9 equipped with a new battery.

Another aspect that made the Note 8 special, aside from the S Pen, was that this phone was almost entirely paid for from an experimental foray into cryptocurrency—singular, Bitcoin—as no others of any consequence existed back then. And, yes, the gain was reported on the tax return that year.

So why stick with the Note phone? Well, let’s list some of the reasons for the replacement Note 9. Gorgeous screen, as good now as when the phone was new. Part of the appeal of the screen is the curved vertical edges. These are used for additional menuing features. I can keep a number of frequently used applications in these sidebar menus, effectively expanding the front screen. Terrific camera at the time of introduction, and still pretty good after all these years.

Ask any religious sister, and she will share a litany of lessons and blessings from her time serving the Church. As they celebrate their 60th anniversaries as sisters, the lists Sister Nancy Brown and Sister Margaret Sadler offer are almost too long to record.

Both sisters spoke with The B.C. Catholic during the bi-annual Catholic Women’s League Sisters Appreciation Dinner, held March 3 at the Italian Cultural Centre. This year’s event was one of the largest, with 400 people packing into the large conference hall.

“Nuns don’t retire, they get retreaded,” Sister Sadler joked.

The Saskatchewan-born, B.C.-raised Sadler is a Sister of the Child Jesus. Social justice has always been a significant concern for her and was a focus during her time as a teacher. She has worked with Development and Peace throughout her time as a religious sister.

One of her highlights is the decades she spent working with Indigenous peoples in Northern Manitoba. The First Nations people she worked with challenged her, giving her a deeper appreciation for nature and respect for God’s creation.

After “being retreaded,” Sister Sadler became director of formation for Sisters of the Child Jesus associates, providing spiritual direction to the lay arm of the congregation. order.

During the Jubilee of Hope, the diamond jubilarian said the Holy Spirit gives her hope. “I couldn’t live if I didn’t believe in the Holy Spirit,” she said.

Another of the diamond jubilarians, Sister Nancy Brown, needs no introduction—the occasional B.C. Catholic contributor and founding member of Covenant House Vancouver has a long record of social justice work within the Archdiocese.

With a wry smile, she describes the last 60 years as “interesting.”

Looking at her history, she seems to have done it all: educator, university chaplain, novice director for the Sisters of Charity in Halifax—there aren’t many areas of religious life she hasn’t dedicated at least a small part of her life to.

The most recent chapter of her life as a sister has been the longest and is the one she speaks most about. Her time with Covenant House has been multifaceted: pastoral counsellor, senior manager, ombudsperson—she has done it all.

Her work at Covenant House has fostered her love for social justice, service for the marginalized, and advocacy for those without a voice.

Sister Brown is heartened by the recent trend of lay people taking responsibility for their parishes and for the Church more broadly. Their sincerity gives her hope for the future, she says.

By Father Larry Lynn

A crack in the culture of death?

I’ve been involved in the pro-life movement for about 14 years. For many others, it has been twice or even three times that long. Upon awakening to the horror inflicted on individual pre-born humans and the exponential societal damage it causes, we “come to ourselves,” like the Prodigal Son in the parable. We begin to grasp the enormity of the problem we are facing. The abortion mindset has grown exponentially since the 1960s. What was once a strong taboo seems to have been embraced by the whole world in a remarkably short time. It boggles the mind.

How can we possibly fight such a juggernaut as the culture of death? It is pervasive, and if you speak against it, you are labeled as fringe. Your point of view is not welcome in the public square.

But once the mind’s eye is opened to the truth that no one has the right to take an innocent human life, the size of the giant no longer matters. We must not be afraid; we must confront the giant. Because the giant is a big lie, and truth is eternal.

So many people have been standing against abortion, witnessing publicly and praying steadfastly for years, reaching out one soul at a time. Years and years of prayer often pass with little visible change, and it can become daunting. Yet we continue to pray, persevere, and find ways to support women who might be considering abortion. It’s a process that works person to person, soul to soul. Sometimes a life is saved—just one soul. But one soul is more valuable than the whole universe.

The potential closing of the Bagshaw abortion mill is undoubtedly good news. Any time an abortion mill closes, it’s a victory. I believe that our prayers, public witness, diligence, and faithfulness are making an impact on that massive abortion juggernaut. I think I see a crack in their seemingly impenetrable armour. It’s a sign that it is possible to change hearts and minds throughout the country, one soul at a time. We’ve seen it happen in the United States. The tide is turning there. Planned Parenthood is in disarray, largely due to the prayer and witnessing of 40 Days for Life, the March for Life, and many other initiatives.

It only makes sense because truth always wins in the end.

Father Lynn is the pro-life chaplain for the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

One clinic closes, but the fight continues

By John Hof

Thirty-five years ago, pro-lifers gathered outside this abortion facility at 1177 West Broadway. We prayed it would not open. We prayed that those responsible for this travesty against the unborn would come to their senses.

Passion Sunday, Year C
First Reading: Is 50:4-7
Second Reading: Phil 2:6-11
 Gospel Reading: Lk 22:14-23:56 

The Church’s Holy Week liturgy is (in Hebrew) a zikaron of the first Holy Week, re-presenting, re-actualizing, and re-newing it so that we truly re-live it and participate in it, not just remember or commemorate it. The more we know about it, therefore, the better.

About 600 BC, Daniel had foretold that Judea would be conquered by Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and then “the God of heaven.” Under Rome, therefore, Jesus’ contemporaries expected the Messiah, their hereditary King, to come soon to save them from Rome.

Jesus had avoided earlier attempts to crown him, but on Palm Sunday – knowing that “the hour” had come – he asked for an ass and her colt, mounted, and so entered Jerusalem, fulfilling the prophecies of a King who would come “riding on an ass.” Accordingly, the people greeted him as Saviour and King.

(They rejected him on Friday because, seeing him in Roman custody, they thought he had deceived them.)

During the next three days, Jesus prepared for the Passover, the Jews’ annual zikaron of the Pasch, which included sacrificing and eating the Paschal lambs. “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” he told his apostles on Thursday evening. However, this Passover was different.

First: the lambs were slaughtered in the temple at twilight on Friday and eaten in the people’s homes on Saturday, but Jesus started his Passover after twilight on Thursday.

Second: there was no ordinary sacrificed lamb. Instead, Jesus took bread and said, “This is my body.” Then he took a cup and said, “This is my Blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Third: the final cup of wine was omitted; Jesus declared that he would not drink wine again “until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s reign.” Accordingly, he refused wine on his way to crucifixion. Only on the cross did he take it and say, “It is finished.”

Jesus died at 3 p.m. on Friday – before sunset, and therefore, by Jewish reckoning, on the same day as he had begun his Last Supper. Together, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion comprised what Christians soon came to regard as Christ’s Passover.

Jesus began it sacramentally at his Last Supper on Thursday evening, under the appearances of bread and wine, but he could not finish it until his bloody death on the cross, for in the new Passover, he himself was the sacrificed Lamb.

The new Passover – Christ’s Last Supper/Crucifixion – like the old, comprised a sacrifice and a meal.