Category: BC Catholic

“Bible reading is an education in itself.”  — Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Bible may be without error, but that didn’t prevent nine mistakes from finding their way into the Saint John’s Bible — a masterpiece 12 years in the making.

But its creators simply handled the errata with a nod to tradition, echoing the medieval monks who corrected slips not by hiding them but by illuminating them with playful marginalia: a bird here, a bee there, even a lemur tugging a missing line back into place.

Those nine tiny blunders aren’t flaws so much as fingerprints — reminders that while Scripture is flawless, its transcription is the work of human hands, with all the gifts and limitations that brings. And that very humanity is part of what makes the Saint John’s Bible so beloved wherever it travels.

This fall, coinciding with St. Mark’s College’s 70th anniversary and Corpus Christi College’s 25th, the colleges hosted one of the Bible’s most sought-after volumes — Gospels and Acts — for a three-month residency.

On Sept. 17, the colleges marked its arrival with an event featuring Brad Neary, director of The Saint John’s Bible project, who captivated a large audience of students, faculty, and community members with the story of the Bible’s remarkable creation.

As someone who has worked with the Saint John’s Bible for well over a decade and with virtually all its scribes and artists, one of my favourite roles has been taking the volume out into the community: schools, parishes, and gatherings large and small. By the end of its time with us, I had presented the Bible up close to more than 800 people across some 70 individual showings.

These visits included everything from kindergarten and primary classrooms at St. Patrick’s Elementary, to senior high students at St. Thomas More Collegiate and St. Thomas Aquinas; Grade 8 and 12 classes at Little Flower Academy and Notre Dame; and staff and students at John Paul II Academy. Virtually all religious education students at Vancouver College — along with their teachers and staff — also had the chance to encounter the volume.

Parishes welcomed it warmly as well, especially St. Matthew’s in Surrey, St. Mary’s in Vancouver, and a closing presentation to the Catholic Women’s League at St. Peter’s in New Westminster.

The Bible  visited the JPII Centre twice: first for Archdiocesan staff, then for Catholic principals at a regular meeting. On campus, it was presented to graduates of St. Mark’s College’s graduate school of education and to parishioners of St. Mark’s Parish.

As the Jubilee Year of Hope draws to a close this Christmas season, we invited parishioners across the Archdiocese of Vancouver to share their journeys of faith. For them it was a year defined by pilgrimage, renewal, and as one contributor put it, “Waters of Grace.” Their stories remind us that hope is not a feeling, but a choice to trust in God’s providence amid the trials of life.

Growing in the virtue of hope

Losing my job just two weeks after getting married was overwhelming and honestly not how I imagined the start of married life. Fear and uncertainty set in quickly. Around that time, I reached out to my spiritual mentor, and he shared the example of Martha and Mary – which, interestingly, was also the Gospel that same week. He simply asked me: Would I choose to be overwhelmed like Martha, or would I rest in God like Mary?

That question stayed with me. I chose to be like Mary of Bethany – to sit at the Lord’s feet, surrender the situation, and trust him completely. That decision changed how I walked through this season. During my unemployment, I gave many interviews, but nothing seemed to move forward. On the very first day without a job, I came across an opening that felt like a real boost to my career. I applied in July with a quiet sense of peace, trusting God to lead the way.

The interview process continued through Aug. with three rounds plus HR. After the final interview, Sept. was silent. The waiting was hard, but instead of giving in to fear, I leaned into prayer and trust. This phase also drew my husband and me closer – to God and to each other. Our marriage didn’t begin with a smooth, storybook start; it began with challenges that led us into family prayer and helped us build a truly Christ-centred marriage.

I finally received my offer letter in October. I lost my previous job on the feast of St. Anthony, and I had trusted in his intercession that God would restore what was lost. Today, I see that prayer answered – far beyond what I imagined. This journey taught me that hope isn’t the absence of struggle, but the choice to trust God in the middle of it. All praise and glory to God, whose timing is always perfect.

— Joyce Villaverde, Youth and Young Adult Ministry Coordinator

Christ is our hope

We usually hear: Christ is our hope! But what does it mean? How do we understand hope?

As Canadian Catholics marked the National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples on Dec. 12, the local Church looked back on 2025 as a significant moment in reconciliation history.

Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith, chair of the Canadian bishops’ Committee on Indigenous Issues, described the past 12 months as a watershed moment.

“This has been a defining year where we have seen the seeds of apology begin to bear the fruit of concrete action,” said Archbishop Smith. “From the return of artifacts to the living out of the Sacred Covenant, 2025 has shown us that ‘walking together’ is no longer just a hope; it is becoming our daily reality.”

In the Archdiocese of Vancouver and the Diocese of Kamloops, that journey together was reflected in the recognition of the Sacred Covenant signed on Easter Sunday, 2024. The covenant outlined shared commitments to truth, healing, and moving forward together.

The first anniversary of the historic agreement between the dioceses and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops) was commemorated this past Easter, April 20, 2025. The milestone occurred just weeks before Archbishop Smith’s installation, during the final days of Archbishop J. Michael Miller’s tenure, and one day before the death of Pope Francis.

The timing of the anniversary was significant, as Kúkpi7 (Chief) Rosanne Casimir described the late Pontiff as pivotal to the process. “We honour his journey to be welcomed by the Creator,” Casimir said in a statement released shortly after the anniversary. She noted that the Pope’s 2022 apology and visit were catalysts for the local agreement, acknowledging that while his words were symbolic, they had “profound emotional and spiritual impact for many.”

In a commemorative letter marking the one-year point, Archbishop Miller, Bishop Joseph Nguyen, and Casimir described the covenant not just as a document, but as a “living foundation” for their work.

The signatories highlighted progress in four specific areas over the last year:

Historical: A Joint Research Agreement is now in place. Teams from the First Nation and the Church are collaborating to review documentation from government and Church sources. The stated goal is to provide clarity regarding students of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS), including documenting causes of death and burial locations.

Scientific: The dioceses are providing technical and scientific expertise to help answer questions raised by previous ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys.

Commemorative: Joint efforts continue to honour children who died at residential schools, with the aim to “never forget the children lost and the void created by their deaths.”

Restorative: The parties are sharing ideas to help the community heal and thrive as Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc plans for the future.

John the Baptist proclaimed Advent as a time to be approached with honesty about human sin and weakness to make room for a grace willing to come from outside, bringing a real joy that the material world cannot give us.

Today many former church attenders are seeking their Advent graces elsewhere. Without the migrants, our parishes would show a distressing picture of faith in Christ’s annual outreach to suffering humanity. Traditionally many Christians had experiences of Christ entering their souls at Christmas. All the churches once encouraged a more serious and unflinching look at the need for self-emptying to rebuild joy and peace in families.

My present age, I think, is sufficient reason for me to explore once more the divine adventure offered in this Advent. After all, there is nowhere else to go.

Mother Church is entirely set up for the sinner, which creates much misunderstanding for the smug. And the smug are not just those who say they have no sin. The smug are also those who say they don’t have as much sin as others, or that their own sins, compared to others, are not nearly as serious or deadly.

Who will you be on Christmas Day?

Father Harry Clarke
Diocese of Nelson

I very much enjoy Father Anthony Ho’s articles. They are practical and inspire us, drawing on his wisdom and the wisdom of the saints.

What I miss often, also in sermons, is more details. Why do we practising Catholics often have a hard time recognizing our sins? We need more examples.

He quotes St. Francis de Sales: “Are you inclined to avarice? Give alms more frequently.” This seems obvious. But how exactly do you make acts of humility?

I do recall one possibility: do not protest when accused falsely. But even this behaviour does not seem advisable always.

Would it be more humble not to interrupt people when they talk? Is cleaning garbage around your building an act of humility?

I also thank people who collect bottles for doing a valuable service to the environment. But is this humble on my part? I do not think so. I think it is reasonable.

It would be so helpful to have many examples.

Thank you for all you do.

Marianne Werner
Vancouver

Your voice matters! Join the conversation by submitting a Letter to the Editor here.

To understand the psyche of a city government that not only refuses to declare December as Christian Heritage Month but won’t even say why, we needn’t look any further than the official celebrations and observances  it does approve of. 

In Vancouver’s case, the list is long: Sikh Heritage Month, Black History Month, Pride Week, Italian Heritage Month, and on and on. Each one includes a small testimonial about why the observance matters and how the city is richer because of it.

At the bottom of the list of is one that likely reassures city staff they’ve already “done” Christmas: it’s a statutory holiday, and employees get the day off. But unlike all the other observances on the list, the description of Christmas is strangely sterile. Where the other entries speak warmly about the community being honoured, Christmas is written like a Wikipedia entry, except Wikipedia would offer more substance on what is one of the most significant holidays in the world.

I ran the city’s list past an AI model without giving it any direction and asked whether it noticed anything different about the Christmas entry.

It saw it immediately. “It jumps off the page,” it said. Every other observance explains what the day is about, who celebrates it, why it matters, and the traditions or values behind it. Then we get to Christmas. There’s no mention of Christ, Christian Canadians, or even the cultural heritage of the holiday. It frames Christmas almost as an obligation the city observes only because everyone else does.

The AI summed it up with more courage than most city departments: “Every other entry has a heart. The Christmas one reads like it was written by a nervous anthropology student trying not to get cancelled.”

Which brings me back to the question: what goes on in the mind of a bureaucracy or political culture that will acknowledge the date of a holiday but not the meaning behind it? Are the values Christmas represents really that unimportant to a city like Vancouver which, although less Christian than other parts of Canada, still has a civic history shaped by Christian-based health care, education, social services, charity, and institutions?

I accidentally stumbled on some explanation when thinking about the psychology of Christmas songs. Listening to a familiar Christmas tune on the radio and feeling that spark of joy they bring got me wondering what it is about these songs that resonates in us. Is there something unique about Christmas music that keeps drawing us back year after year? Is it just nostalgia, or is something deeper going on?

So back to AI again: is there something distinctive about the appeal of Christmas songs beyond sentiment? 

Vancouver’s public health-care provider has confirmed that it is operating a secret euthanasia clinic on the ground floor of an office building, directly across the lobby from a dialysis clinic.

In response to a B.C. Catholic freedom-of-information application, the Vancouver Coastal Health authority confirmed on Dec. 9 what its public-affairs office had refused to verify for more than two months—that an office-type area called Horizon Space is, indeed, an area where patients are euthanized.

The B.C. Catholic reported in its Dec. 7 edition that it had received tips earlier this year that a Medical Assistance in Dying facility was operating in the five-floor building, located at 520 West 6th Avenue.

Our on-site investigation revealed that an area bearing a sign reading “Horizon Space” is located across the building’s ground-floor lobby from a dialysis clinic operated under contract by Providence Health Care, Vancouver’s Catholic health-care provider.

Vancouver Coastal made no public announcement of Horizon Space’s opening, and no record of its existence can be found on any Vancouver Coastal website. In fact, there is not even a listing for Horizon Space in the building’s lobby directory.

The authority’s public-affairs office responded to requests for information about Horizon Space with a vague email explaining it has no designated locations for patients requesting MAiD.

“Patients will have their requests addressed, assessments performed and, if eligible, receive an assisted death in the care location consistent with their care needs and wishes,” Vancouver Coastal stated in an Oct. 16 email.

In response, the B.C. Catholic filed an FOI application on Oct. 22, requesting “reports, records, memoranda, emails, contracts and any other pertinent records regarding the planning, construction, and operation of Horizon Space.” The newspaper paid a standard $10 fee upon filing.

However, the authority’s FOI office responded five days later with a notice that supplying all the requested material would cost an estimated $570—and it could be even more.

Mindful of the expense, the B.C. Catholic narrowed its request on Oct. 30 to one asking for “a single record, memo, email, report, or document that explains what Horizon Space is used for.”

And that’s exactly what we received—a single, four-page document designed to be distributed to incoming patients, explaining what Horizon Space is, how to find it, and where to park and enter the building (details of which were redacted in the copy given to the B.C. Catholic).

“This guide will provide you and your loved ones with important information about the VCH Horizon Space,” the document reads.

A hint about how long the clandestine facility has operated can be found in text at the top right corner of the document’s first page, which reads, “Vancouver Coastal Health, Assisted Dying Program, October 2024.”

Michael Bublé called meeting Pope Leo XIV on Friday “one of the greatest moments of my life,” adding that as he prepares to headline the Vatican’s annual Christmas concert for the poor, he hopes his example will encourage more people to speak openly about their faith.

The Grammy-winning singer, who grew up in Burnaby, B.C., and first sang publicly in local talent shows and hockey arenas, said faith “changes everything in my life, every single interaction.” Bublé has often spoken of his close-knit Canadian family, his grandparents’ influence, and the Catholic upbringing that shaped his early years.

“When you say that you have strong faith, this is shocking to people, which is sometimes hard for me to understand,” Bublé said in response to a question from CNA at a Vatican press conference on Dec. 5.

“And with the platform I have, my hope is that … there’s a young person who might listen to me today who might be afraid to share their faith or to be open about it, and they look at me and they say, ‘Wow, look at Bublé. He’s not afraid to share it,’ and maybe it will give them the strength to do the same.”

Bublé met Pope Leo XIV on Friday along with other artists participating in the Vatican’s sixth annual “Concert with the Poor” on Saturday, Dec. 6.

“I am overwhelmed,” he said. “This morning, I had the opportunity to meet the Holy Father. For me, this was something that I knew was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.”

This year marks the first time a Pope will attend the concert, which is free and offered to 3,000 people in need served by volunteer organizations around Rome. They will receive a hot takeaway dinner and other necessities after the event.

“We know that times are difficult for many people, and there’s a lot of darkness,” Bublé said. “I feel like when you have faith, you have your own pilot light. And the lights can go out everywhere, everywhere, but if you have that faith and you have that light inside you, you can find your way.”

I asked Michael Bublé about how his faith at a Vatican press conference today and this was his response: pic.twitter.com/WF80pnhNzf

— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) December 5, 2025

The singer told EWTN News after the press conference that it was especially meaningful to introduce the pontiff to his mother, who was his childhood catechism teacher.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and Toronto’s Cardinal Francis Leo are urging Prime Minister Mark Carney to withdraw the Liberal Party’s reported agreement with the Bloc Québécois to remove religious-belief exemptions from Canada’s hate-speech laws.

In a letter published Dec. 4, CCCB President Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière warned that repealing Section 319(3)(b) of the Criminal Code — which protects good-faith expressions or opinions based on religious texts from hate-speech prosecution — would have a “chilling effect on religious expression.”

“The removal of this provision risks creating uncertainty for faith communities, clergy, educators and others who may fear that the expression of traditional moral or doctrinal teachings could be misinterpreted as hate speech and could subject the speaker to proceedings that threaten imprisonment of up to two years,” wrote Bishop Goudreault.

The CCCB urged the government to retain the religious-text defence. Alternatively, the bishops proposed two steps: a public assurance that “good-faith religious expression, teaching and preaching will not be subject to criminal prosecution under the hate-propaganda provisions,” and mandatory consultation with religious leaders, legal experts, and civil-liberties groups before any changes affecting religious freedom.

Cardinal Leo echoed the concern the next day in a letter to Toronto Catholics that he shared with MPs in the archdiocese. “As Catholics, we must always firmly reject all forms of hatred and discrimination,” he wrote. But “the ability to express and teach our faith freely — without fear that sincere, good-faith proclamation of the Gospel might be misunderstood as unlawful — is a cornerstone of a healthy, democratic Canada.”

Conservative MP Andrew Lawton welcomed the bishops’ intervention. He said he was “very happy to see” the letter and similar concerns raised “from members of the Jewish community, Muslim community and Indian religious traditions such as Sikhs or Hindus. All people of faith need to understand that this will target everyone.”

Lawton had been scheduled to attend a justice and human rights committee meeting Dec. 4 on a proposed amendment to the Liberals’ Combatting Hate Act (Bill C-9). The bill would criminalize intimidation or obstruction outside institutions used by faith-based groups and ban the public display of certain terrorism or hate symbols.

The meeting was cancelled by Liberal chair James Maloney, who told media he wanted members “to regroup to find a path forward.” Maloney became chair after former chair Marc Miller was appointed Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture on Dec. 1.

After the cancellation, Lawton told The Catholic Register the Liberals were “refusing to say on record where they stand on this amendment to strip away religious protection and freedom,” adding that the lack of clarity “leav[es] tremendous uncertainty surrounding people of faith and what the future looks like.”

Archbishop Richard Smith says the 62 Indigenous cultural items received from the Vatican marks “a gift freely given” and an important step in rebuilding trust between the Catholic Church and Indigenous Peoples.

The artifacts, including a rare century-old Western Arctic kayak, were formally transferred to Indigenous leaders in Montreal as part of the Jubilee of Hope declared by Pope Francis. Before his death, the Pope expressed his wish that the items be returned. Pope Leo XIV carried out that intention, gifting them from the Vatican Museums’ Anima Mundi collection to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for immediate repatriation.

“This gesture is a gift freely given—an act of reconciliation rooted in the grace of the Jubilee Year of Hope,” said Archbishop Smith, a member of the Canadian Catholic Indigenous Council and one of the CCCB’s key representatives during the repatriation process. “A gift, unlike restitution, is offered in freedom and friendship, as a sign of renewed relationship and mutual respect between the Church and Indigenous Peoples.”

Leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, and the Métis National Council travelled to Montreal to receive the items. Local First Nations leadership held ceremony to welcome the sacred items and bundles back to Canada.

For the Inuvialuit, the return of the rare kayak marks the culmination of a long-held hope. “We are proud that after 100 years our Kayak is returning to the Inuvialuit Settlement Region,” said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, Chair and CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. “It is believed to be one of only five of its kind built more than a century ago… This is a historic step in revitalizing Inuvialuit cultural identity and values within our changing northern society.”

Indigenous leaders noted that Elders and Residential School Survivors have worked toward this moment for decades. A 2017 Assembly of First Nations resolution mandated efforts to secure the return of sacred items taken abroad, while the IRC has pressed specifically for the kayak’s repatriation.

“This step reflects the courage and persistence of the leaders, Elders, and Survivors who came before us,” said Victoria Pruden, President of the Métis National Council. “But this is not the end of the journey… Reconciliation is ongoing work, grounded in relationships, responsibility, and the continued pursuit of truth, justice, healing, and dignity for our Peoples.”

A week after The Catholic Register revealed that pro-life advocate Alissa Golob went undercover while 22 weeks pregnant to test whether late-term abortions were accessible in Canada without medical justification, the national response continues to intensify, with a new twist: a fourth hidden-camera video that Golob says she is legally barred from releasing.

Golob, co-founder of RightNow, posed as an undecided pregnant woman in abortion facilities in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary in 2023. The Nov. 19 Register story detailed her conversations with counsellors and physicians who told her late-term abortions could be arranged at nearby hospitals, sometimes “up to 32 weeks,” without needing to provide medical reasons.

Staff described procedures as a “mini stillbirth,” advised her she could “expel the fetus in the car,” and said reasons such as already having two children or “not wanting to be pregnant” were acceptable.

Those recordings — three of which have now been released — directly contradict long-standing political claims that late-term abortions in Canada are only performed in cases of maternal health risk or severe fetal anomalies.

In an email interview with The B.C. Catholic, Golob said the reaction from Canadians has been more visceral than she expected.

The dominant response has been “overwhelming shock and horror from the average Canadian who didn’t think late-term abortions were possible,” she said.

Many who describe themselves as pro-choice wrote to her saying the recordings were disturbing and that unrestricted late-term abortion “just shouldn’t be allowed.”

By contrast, she said some abortion-rights advocates have reacted with confusion and contradiction. “They were basically trying to throw everything they could at it to see if anything would stick,” she said. “Some said the videos were lies, some said late-term abortions don’t happen — despite the videos proving otherwise.”

Golob said the most significant development since the Register story broke is her discovery that she cannot release the Calgary footage at all.

“Alberta, shockingly, has the most extreme and over-reaching bubble-zone legislation in the country,” she said. “Distributing any footage recorded in the bubble zone could result in a fine or jail time.”

She called the legislation “worse than Ontario and even Montreal,” meaning the fourth video will remain unreleased unless the province changes its law.

Although no physician has contacted her privately, Golob says some health-care professionals reacted strongly in group chats and medical forums.

“Doctors were trying to disprove that late-term abortions happen until others in the chat posted my undercover videos,” she said.