All saints are extraordinary, but St. John Vianney, known as “The Cure of Ars,” was most extraordinary. He was born at Dardilly, near Lyons, France. His father was a farmer and John spent most of his youth herding cattle and feeding pigs. He received virtually no education and joined the French Army, but deserted in 1809. The only thing he wanted to [...]
Birth Control: Is Canada Out Of Step With Rome? By Msgr. Vincent N. Foy (Life Ethics Information Centre, 128 pages, $9.95) Reviewed by Doug McManaman The Interim For 18 years, I’ve been teaching young people what exactly is the moral difference between contraception and the legitimate use of natural family planning and I’ve had no difficulties getting them to understand the reasonableness [...]
It's remarkable how theologically conservative Catholics and Protestants have come to appreciate over the past 30 years, that on many theological and moral issues, they have much more in common with each other than with liberal members of their own respective churches. Underlying this church-wide dividing line is a difference of opinion on the interpretation of Holy Scripture. Conservative Catholics and Protestants [...]
Commonly known as Don Bosco, St. John Bosco was born in Italy on Aug. 16, 1815. His father died two years later and he was reared in poverty by his very holy mother, Margaret. In 1841, he became a priest and took on as his principal work - the training of young boys to be good Christians, mainly through his own example. [...]
Capote Directed by Bennett Miller. Rated: R Review by Hilary White Reporter The Oscar-nominated film Capote opens with a long, still shot of the Kansas prairies creating the backdrop to a solitary farmhouse in which a young woman discovers the bodies of the Clutter family, murdered by two drifters, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. The murders and the two men become Truman [...]
The Interim The Court of Queen's Bench has reversed the 2002 Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission decision that found a man who placed references to Bible verses on homosexuality into a newspaper ad guilty of inciting hatred. Both Hugh Owens of Regina and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix were ordered to pay $1500 to three homosexual activists after Owens placed an ad in the Saskatoon [...]
It has long been acknowledged that the spiritual realm must play an important role in the effort to ultimately secure the right to life for all human beings, from conception to natural death. To that end, Catholics across Canada are participating in a concerted prayer effort to ensure that aspect of the pro-life struggle is not neglected. The One Million Rosaries for [...]
I am sure that all readers of The Interim are aware that on March 17, we celebrated the feast of St. Patrick. But it occurred to me that many people may not be aware of the history of St. Patrick. So, I thought it might be useful if I give a summary of his life and activities. St. Patrick, the apostle and [...]
Just as with Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, posterity has seen Dorothy L. Sayers become a prisoner of her finest creation. In the case of this intensely gifted British author, the fictional detective is Lord Peter Wimsey. Doyle ached to be known for something other than Holmes and urged readers to look to his historical romances, non-fiction and volumes on spiritualism. [...]
On Jan. 31, there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a presentation by Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche, and Dr Balfour Mount, the founder of palliative care in Canada. The title of the presentation was A Journey to Personal & Social Transformation. Mount, who has cared for dying Canadians for more than 30 years, presented first. He stated that he is [...]
Father Frank Pavone will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Canadian National March for Life, taking place in Ottawa May 10-12. He is the national director of Priests for Life, a U.S.-based movement of Roman Catholic priests seeking to help the rest of the church use its full strength against the most devastating attacks on human life in our day. The [...]
It is not surprising that, in his first encyclical, promulgated on Jan. 25, Pope Benedict XVI examines the relationship between church and state, the meaning of human sexuality and the obligations and prerogatives of Christian life. What is surprising is that he does this only through his reflections on love, the overarching theme of his letter. But if it seems odd that [...]
Welcome to The Interim, a hub for comprehensive coverage of life, family, and ethical social issues. Here, we cater to a broad spectrum of readers by providing unbiased news, insightful reports, and thought-provoking commentary. Amid the myriad of subject matter, we also focus on the evolving world of online entertainment – notably online casinos. The advent of online casinos has revolutionized the [...]
The feast of the Epiphany, or the coming of the wise men to visit Jesus, is one of the most beautiful and meaningful feasts in the calendar of the Catholic church. The word “epiphany” means “manifestation” or “showing forth.” The reason is that this was the “showing forth” of Christ to the Gentiles. The story is found in the Gospel of St. [...]
Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal cancelled its contract in November with national pro-life conference host Campagne Quebec-Vie less than one day before it was scheduled to start. The official reason was the physical danger to the pilgrims and the conference participants because a coalition of small pro-abortion groups had announced two demonstrations in front of the Oratory at the beginning and [...]