Category: BC Catholic

Canada’s Catholic Civil Rights League rejected the apology offered by Paris Olympic organizers for the controversial depiction of the Last Supper during the Olympic opening ceremonies.

“The worldwide reaction to the mock Last Supper from the opening ceremonies on July 26 makes clear that the Paris Olympics organizers have abused their position,” the league said in a statement. 

Organizers’ “weak efforts at a mock apology (if offence was taken, we are genuinely sorry…) further exposes their duplicity,” the CCRL said.

The controversial show, part of the 1.5-billion-euro (about $1.62 billion) spectacle to kick off the Olympic Games, featured drag queens portraying the apostles and an overweight DJ as Jesus in what appeared to be part of a fashion show apparently mocking Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting of the Last Supper.

The CCRL contrasted the opening ceremonies display with “the efforts of the Catholic Church, which organized prayers and a mass to observe a Peace Truce” during the Olympic Games.

“The Church sought a worldwide cessation of war and violence, while the Olympics organizers sought to mock a core tenet of the Christian, and in particular, the Catholic faith, at the expense of over one billion adherents.”

Anne Descamps, spokesperson for the Paris Olympics, defended the opening ceremonies, saying, “There was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group.”

She said the goal of the opening ceremony was to “celebrate community tolerance.”

“We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offence we are really sorry,” Descamps added.

The CCRL responded that “No confusion over the intent was possible,” adding that Barbara Butch, a lesbian who parodied Jesus from Da Vinci’s Last Supper with a silver aureole halo crown, admitted in a now-deleted Instagram post “Oh yes! Oh yes! The new gay testament!”

The league said, “Is there much doubt that the leading edge of the aggressive secular culture seeks to aim its fire on Catholics and Catholic doctrine? May God have mercy.”

Christian as well as other leaders worldwide have spoken out against the opening ceremonies. Bishop Robert Barron panned Descamps’ statement as “anything but an apology.” The world’s wealthiest individual, Elon Musk, called the scene “extremely disrespectful to Christians.”

Top government officials in Iran and Turkey, along with other Muslim religious figures, are speaking out against the drag-queen-led parody of the Last Supper at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony that shocked Christians and others across the world. 

The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned the “insults” against Jesus Christ, noting that Jesus is a respected figure in Islam. 

“Respect for #JesusChrist … is an indisputable, definite matter for Muslims,” Khamenei said in a post on X.

With Parks Canada reporting “significant damage” in Jasper, Alta., from wildfires sweeping through the national park, Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith offered prayers on behalf of the Catholic community.

“Today is indeed a very sad day and I wish to convey my sorrow, solidarity and support to the people of Jasper and the parish community of Our Lady of Lourdes,” the Archbishop said in a July 25 statement.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the fast-moving fire had damaged or destroyed up to half the local structures. The status of the Jasper Catholic church is unknown as residents evacuated the community and emergency crews worked to save as much of the town as possible. St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church was destroyed by the flames.

Archbishop Smith noted the far-reaching effects of the devastation on residents as well as visitors.

“Also greatly impacted by this horrific fire are the thousands of people who call Jasper home as permanent and seasonal residents, as well as the surrounding communities. The loss of property is devastating, but even greater is the heartbreak for this world heritage site.”

He reached out to the parish community of Our Lady of Lourdes, including pastor Father Anthony Narisetty and associate pastor Father Marreddy Udumala, saying, “Please be assured of my prayers at this difficult time.”

He said the parish has been a place “where Catholics have gathered for more than five decades to worship and adore Jesus Christ. It is a place of sanctity not only for the close-knit parish community, but for people from around the world who come to visit Jasper and marvel at God’s creation.”

The Archbishop said all those affected by the fire, including first responders and everyone helping the community “will remain in the prayers of the faithful members of the Catholic community throughout the Archdiocese of Edmonton in the days and weeks ahead.”

The Archbishop encouraged the faithful to attend Mass in the community closest to them for the foreseeable future and to watch for updates.

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Although he was deeply immersed in fashioning a life-sized bronze tribute to future saint Blessed Carlo Acutis, Canadian Catholic sculptor Timothy Schmalz keenly kept abreast of the discourse at the 10th U.S. National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

In a nation, indeed a world, that has become so polarized, the congress was a breath of fresh air, bringing thousands together over five days — and several pilgrimages in the weeks before leading to Indianapolis — from every corner of the U.S. and elsewhere, including Canadians, to foster a devotion to the Eucharist.

“People who I talked to acknowledged the significance of our culture becoming chaotic with violence and hate,” said Schmalz, of St. Jacob’s, Ont., who was working on his sculpture in one of the Indiana Convention Center’s expo halls. “This gathering is the opposite of that, and I think this did not go unnoticed among anyone there about the violence that happened just a couple of days beforehand.”

Schmalz alluded to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally July 13. While the Republican nominee survived, firefighter Corey Comperatore died while shielding his family, and two others were hospitalized.

The presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist was on the mind of 60,000 Catholics in Indianapolis. Believers descended upon Lucas Oil Stadium to be inspired by keynote speakers and tasked with a “great commissioning.” 

Prominent speakers included Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire ministry, Father Mike Schmitz, who launched the popular Bible in a Year podcast, and Mother Adela Galindo, the foundress of Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary convent in Miami, Fla.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization, told the crowd at the closing Mass, “the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a gift and the fulfillment of his mission. Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by Jesus. Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”

Dennis Girard, an Ottawa resident who co-founded the Marian Devotional Movement (MDM) alongside his wife Angelina, hailed the Eucharistic Congress as “transformative.”

“It reminds one of the experience we often see at World Youth Day,” said Girard. “We are all one in Christ, and that affirmation pierces through the darkness of the world and eclipses what we are living through in society now. That feeling was shared by most if not all. There was a real sense of the presence of the Lord in a very efficacious way.”

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) President Bishop William McGrattan has reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples to mark the second anniversary of Pope Francis embarking upon his penitential pilgrimage to Canada.

In a July 24 CCCB communique titled a “Letter to the People of God,” the bishops outlined the financial support, record-sharing, dialogue events and other initiatives launched to address the Pontiff’s call for justice, healing and understanding. The message also reprised the call for Catholics nationwide to engage in these efforts.

Bishop McGrattan reflected upon the impact of Pope Francis’ visit, especially the historic apology in Maskwacis, Alta., before elders and residential school survivors, and the importance of accompanying Indigenous peoples shoulder to shoulder.

“After years of listening, learning, prayer and dialogue, the Bishops of Canada were deeply grateful for the Holy Father’s apology and to the many Indigenous partners who shared their experiences and desires for a brighter future,” said Bishop McGrattan, the Bishop of Calgary. “We believe this was a meaningful step in the reconciliation journey — but the effects of the residential school system persist to this day. As we look back on the words of Pope Francis, we must continue to confront this painful legacy and to walk alongside the Indigenous peoples in the spirit of solidarity and hope.”

The letter called for the Catholic community to embrace “the path of unity and hope” at a time when there are “many difficult conversations taking place around the country regarding our painful legacy.”

The correspondence expressly refers to a building chorus for “more rigorous investigations into reports of unmarked burial sites.” Skeptics of the unmarked graves narrative point to how several previous high-profile excavations have not uncovered any bodies.

“Let us keep in mind that this deep desire for truth and transparency resides first with Indigenous communities and residential school survivors,” asserted the CCCB. “Decisions to study this history are best made locally by Indigenous leaders, who have the most direct understanding of the needs of their respective communities.”

The bishops also shared how dioceses and archdioceses have raised $15 million for the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) to date, which puts the Canadian Catholic Church on pace to achieve the $30-million target ahead of the five-year deadline. The IRF backs projects that stimulate the revitalization of Indigenous culture and languages, foster communities and empower educational pursuits.

Sloth or laziness is one of the capital sins. The root of sloth is often acedia which means “lack of care,” or, as the Catechism defines it: “a form of depression stemming from lax ascetical practice that leads to discouragement.”

Pope Francis said, “it is as though those who fall victim to it are crushed by a desire for death: they feel disgust at everything. Their relationship with God becomes boring to them, and even the holiest acts, those that used to warm their hearts in the past, now appear entirely useless to them. A person begins to regret the passing of time, and the youth that is irretrievably behind them.”

Pope Francis proposed “the patience of faith” as the most important remedy against acedia. He said, “although in the clutches of acedia, man’s desire is to be ‘elsewhere’, to escape from reality, one must instead have the courage to remain and to welcome God’s presence in the ‘here and now’, in my situation as it is.”

He called the fight against acedia a decisive battle that must be won.

“How many people, in the grip of acedia, stirred by a faceless restlessness, have stupidly abandoned the good life they had embarked upon!… [The saints] recommended, under the oppression of acedia, to maintain a smaller measure of commitment, to set goals more within reach, but at the same time to endure and persevere by leaning on Jesus, who never abandons us in temptation.”

St. Ignatius of Loyola said, “idleness begets a life of discontent. It develops self-love, which is the cause of all our miseries and renders us unworthy to receive the favours of divine love.”

St. Jane Frances de Chantal advised: “Perform faithfully what God requires of you each moment, and leave the thought of everything else to him. I assure you that to live in this way will bring you great peace.”

Father Adolphe Tanqueray defined sloth as “an inclination to idleness or at least to aimlessness, to apathy in action.”

He suggested three degrees of sloth. The first is a man taking up his task “reluctantly and indifferently” and completing it poorly. The second is a “sluggard” that does not refuse to work, but delays and postpones the task indefinitely. The third is a “truly lazy man” who “wants to do nothing that proves irksome and shows a distinct aversion to all real work, whether physical or mental.”

He also warned against spiritual sloth. “This consists in a species of dislike for things spiritual, which tends to make us negligent in the performance of our exercises of piety, causes us to shorten them, or to omit them altogether for vain excuses.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
First Reading: 2 Kg 4:42-44
Second Reading: Eph 4:1-6
Gospel Reading: Jn 6:1-15

No one can miss the connection between the First Reading and the Gospel Reading this Sunday: both relate how a crowd is fed with a little food. Bible scholars would say that the first account is a type of the second.

A “type” is a person, thing, action, or event—usually in the Old Testament—that “prefigures” or “foreshadows” a new and greater truth, action, or event—usually in the New Testament.

For example, the event in the First Reading is a “type” of the event in the Gospel Reading, and both are “types” of what happens at Mass, when Christ feeds the whole world with his body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine (as we will see in coming weeks).

By “typology,” the Church learns “the full significance of what the writers are saying,” apparent only when she looks back at it in the light of Christ.

Now we all know how unreliable hindsight can be. Speaking as an author with experience, C.S. Lewis said that “almost anything can be read into any book if you are determined enough.”

However, the Bible prompts us to see types. The apostles and evangelists often cited Old Testament events as types of what they were reporting. Matthew and John repeatedly pointed out that events of Christ’s life “fulfilled” Old Testament prophecies.

Moreover, Jesus himself appealed to typology when he called his miracles his Father’s works.

We are so accustomed to the wholesale activity of God displayed always and everywhere throughout creation that we often fail to recognize it, Lewis explains, quoting St. Athanasius. For example, God heals us by creating human bodies able to heal themselves; he changes water into wine by creating vines that draw up water and, with sap, eventually produce wine; he creates plants and animals that can reproduce their kind, thus continuously multiplying grain and fish.

The miracles performed by Jesus, “God incarnate, living as a man in Palestine, take place at a different speed and on a smaller scale,” Lewis notes, but otherwise they reproduce God’s wholesale activity, thus proving to the people that Jesus is one with God the Creator.

“I solemnly assure you: the Son cannot do anything by himself—he can do only what he sees the Father doing,” Jesus said. “Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and everything the Father does he shows him.”

St. Thomas Aquinas defines a “miracle” (from the Latin mirus, “inspiring wonder”) as something “wrought by divine power,” but “apart from the order usually observed in nature.”

We only have one life on earth and one eternal one—hopefully in heaven.

If we always wait for the right conditions, things will never change. Will we ever be open to the possibilities that exist now? Will we experience the great joys amidst the challenges in daily life?

Time for us is calculated. It is measured out for us by God. He is the keeper of our days as we dance and breathe on this wild earth.

There are many moments that tell the story of our lives:

• Being held for the first time as a baby cuddled in the arms of our parents.
• Our first taste of fresh pasta.
• Wading into the ocean with bare feet in the sand and rocks.
• Traveling to a different country and meeting friendly locals.
• Driving for the first time.
• Accomplishing a goal on our bucket list, like publishing a book.
• A whispered prayer for help.
• Laughing with our spouse about an inside joke.
• Seeing our loved one’s beauty with new eyes.

Living with chronic mental illness, I have to constantly remind myself not to overthink and replay negative thoughts. I am so glad the Lord knows my final day. I wouldn’t want to know when it is coming, though I do want to be prepared for it.

My gratitude for the sacraments inspires me to attend to my spiritual needs. Confession is a routine check up that never disappoints me. God’s mercy flows into my heart and humbles me. Again and again I mess up. I feel like a stinking disaster. The Lord Jesus cleanses me of disordered desires, fixes my childhood wounds, and gives me the grace to start living in peace.

One battle we face in life is hanging on and letting go. May we live as Jesus calls us to and believe in love that conquers sin. Letting go of what we can’t change is a better posture to take.

I can’t change my diagnosis but I can change my prognosis—the likely course of how I live with a medical condition. A healthy interior life and positive mindset are a recipe for resilience. St. Joan of Arc said, “one life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”

Every day I wake up and roll out of bed is a blessing. I believe in God’s timing. His plans are bigger and better than what I could try to design.

As I water the roses and lavender in our garden in the early morning or late evening, I praise the Lord for my beautiful life.

In a statement issued in the wake of Saturday’s attack on former U.S. President Donald Trump, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, said, “Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump, and those who were killed or injured. We also pray for our country and for an end to political violence, which is never a solution to political disagreements.”

Archbishop Broglio invited “all people of goodwill to join us in praying for peace in our country,” and invoked the prayers of Mary, Mother of God and Patroness of the Americas.

The Bishop of Pittsburgh, David Zubik, whose diocese includes the town of Butler, where the attack took place, expressed deep shock at the news of the shooting, which occurred “right across the street from one of our churches.”

He invited prayers “for the health and safety of all, for healing and peace, and for an end to this climate of violence in our world.”

In a statement issued late Sunday morning, the Holy See expressed its “concern about last night’s episode of violence, which wounds people and democracy, causing suffering and death.”

The statement went on to say that the Holy See is “united in the prayer of the US bishops for America, for the victims, and for peace in the country, that the motives of the violent may never prevail.”

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump raised his fist in defiance as blood poured down his face after the assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” the former president later wrote on his social media site.

The presumed attacker was immediately shot and killed by Secret Service agents.

One spectator was killed in the attack, and two others were wounded. Trump was rushed to a local hospital with a bullet wound to his right ear and was later flown to New Jersey.

The attempted assassination was met with universal condemnation. President Joe Biden, Trump’s opponent in the upcoming election, spoke with his rival after the attack, and later wrote on social media site X, “I’m grateful to hear that [Trump is] safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”

He added, “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

Prayers also came from Canadian politicians, including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Reports of dwindling religious practice among Catholics in Canada may be more prevalent each year, but a different trend showing increased interest from young adults is giving hope for a possible resurgence of the Church in the near future.

A 2022 research report from Cardus titled The Shifting Landscape of Faith in Canada revealed religious indicators among those who identify as Roman Catholic have overall declined since 2017. Those indicators included believing in God, reading Scripture regularly, having an experience of God in one’s life, praying regularly, and attending religious services (apart from weddings and funerals) regularly.

However, the report found an exception in younger Canadian Catholics.

“We are seeing what seems to be a bit of a revival within the Church and that goes against the old secularism thesis that as a society becomes more secularized, it becomes less religious,” said Father Deacon Andrew Bennett, director of the Faith Communities Program at Cardus.

“We live in probably one of the most secularist countries in the world and we see that a lot of young men and women are far from leaving the Church; they are actually entering into it instead.”

Father Deacon Bennett is adamant that the more Canada swells its secular society, the more Catholicism becomes an attractive option for young adults (roughly aged 18–34) as a form of rejection rather than an escape.

“Increasingly we have seen a number of young people, whether it is in high schools, universities, or workplaces, not buying into society’s highly subjective idea of truth. They are seeking integrity, authenticity, and something with real staying power,” he continued.

“This sees them come to or return back to the Church they were raised in where they see that the Catholic faith holds an objective and universal truth, one that is not a philosophy that changes with the wind, but rather the person of Jesus Christ.”

The Cardus report showed Canadians identifying as Roman Catholic under 40 years of age were nearly twice as likely as older Roman Catholics to attend religious services at least once a month. Additionally, 81 per cent of young Roman Catholics showed a belief in life after death, with 91 per cent of females under 35 having this belief, compared to 60 per cent of their senior counterparts.

While analyzing specific demographics can be tricky (and in Archdiocese of Vancouver these records are the responsibility of individual parishes), the report highlights that certain belief indicators can give realistic insight into who identifies as Catholic.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
First Reading: Jer 23:1-6
Second Reading: Eph 2:13-18
Gospel Reading: Mk 6:30-34

The apostles “had no leisure even to eat,” says the Gospel Reading. When they tried to “rest awhile,” the people followed them.

I retired as a pastor in 2015, when I was 73. Since then, I have continued teaching, hearing confessions, saying Mass, and “filling in” for other pastors. Now that I am almost 82, I can testify that being a pastor (Latin for “shepherd”) is not easy!

Perhaps the most grievous difficulty (in the original sense of “causing grief”) is the shattering of the peace St. Paul speaks of in the Second Reading.

The Bible describes loving shepherds who search for lost sheep and lead them to fresh green pastures. However, it also describes foolish sheep who have gone off on their own or followed shepherds who left them prey to wolves. The first is a comforting image of Christ the good shepherd. The second is a humiliating image of ourselves.

Sheep are stupid, as I remember from my childhood. They go after green grass under a thorny hedge and entangle their fleece; freed, they go straight back. Without a shepherd, they scatter, following anyone (including another sheep) who seems to be a leader, even into danger. They have no conception of their own welfare.

Archbishop James Carney (the Vancouver archdiocese’s archbishop from 1964-1990), must have known what sheep are like when he chose his episcopal motto: Servare unitatem (“To preserve the unity”).

Bishop Gary Franken of St. Paul Alberta, who, as a young priest, looked after Archbishop Carney in his last days, said that as the archbishop approached his death Sept. 16, people started wondering which day God would choose: perhaps September 14, the Exaltation of the Cross, or September 15, Our Lady of Sorrows. The actual day—Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian—was perhaps the most appropriate, Bishop Franken said, for both these men suffered martyrdom in defence of the Church’s unity.

“Sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church. From the very beginning, St. Paul had to exhort Christians to “make every effort to preserve the unity that has the [Holy] Spirit as its origin and peace as its binding force.”

The Pope, the successor of St. Peter, is “the first servant of unity,” said Pope St. John Paul II.

“If a man does not hold fast to this oneness of Peter, does he imagine that he still holds the faith?” St. Cyprian asked. “If he deserts the Chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, has he confidence that he is in the Church?”