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Stories about the Pope, the Middle East, and his visit there:

Problematic pilgrimage
When Pope Benedict lands in Jordan today he will begin a tour of lands revered by those who worship Abraham, Jesus and Muhammad. And each religion, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, will present the Pope with major challenges as he begins his pilgrimage of peace.
National Post, May 8

Pope urges perseverance
Be faithful to your heritage, Pope tells Arabic-speaking Catholics
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service, May 11

Pope packs his own 'four Rs'
Pope Benedict, due to arrive in Israel today, concluded his three-day trip to Jordan by encouraging Christians to persevere in faith despite being a tiny and shrinking minority in the Arab world.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, May 11

Controversy follows Pope in visit to Israel
Benedict XVI says Holocaust cannot be forgotten but also urges creation of state for Palestinians, to the chagrin of some Israelis
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service, May 12

Visit lacks drama of past papal trip
It is not a biblical site, but Yad Vashem is in some ways the spiritual heart of the modern state of Israel. Foreign leaders who come here can choose which holy places they will visit, but the Israeli government asks them to visit Yad Vashem. It stands as a reminder of what happened to Jews at the hands of the Nazis, but also an encouragement to protect the security of the Jewish homeland today.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, May 12

The myth of a secular Palestine
The Palestinian national movement started life with a vision and goal of a Palestinian Muslim Arab-majority state in all of Palestine -- a one-state "solution" -- and continues to espouse and aim to establish such a state down to the present day.
Benny Morris, National Post, May 12

Pope's pilgrimage crosses political Rubicon
Whether it was intended or not, Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to the Holy Land crossed the political Rubicon Tuesday. After a day and a half of paying homage to Judaism and the Jewish state of Israel, as well as paying his respects to Islam at the Dome of the Rock in the morning, the pontiff finally met with his own Catholic faithful in an outdoor mass late afternoon. The outcome would cast him squarely in the camp of Israel's opponents in the eternal struggle between Israelis and Palestinians.
Patrick Martin, Globe and Mail, May 12

Pope expresses 'solidarity' with Palestinians
It would have been hard to imagine, but there he was Thursday: Pope Benedict XVI, leader of a billion Roman Catholics around the world, sitting on a tiny makeshift stage in a small schoolyard before 300 people from a mostly Muslim refugee camp, offering what may be the strongest support any pope has ever given Palestinians in their struggle against Israel.
Patrick Martin, Globe and Mail, May 13

Coming together at sacred Western Wall
It is always a blessing to meet the Pope, but I did not expect the blessing of meeting him at the Western Wall.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, May 13

Pope decries West Bank security wall
Backs Palestinians' 'legitimate aspirations' for state
Toronto Star, May 14

Walking the Papal tightrope
It is rare to attend a papal Mass where someone does not shout, "Viva il Papa!" It is unusual to hear it alternated with "Viva la Palestina!," as one did over the loudspeakers yesterday in Bethlehem.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, May 14

Defining the right of return
Judaism is not a religion like the others. A sacred piece of land lies at its heart, for Judaism is also a nation. Actually it is more than a nation: Judaism is a bona fide civilization if one consults the usual criteria for a civilization of a unique language, homeland, sacred texts (i.e., "charter" or constitution), national holidays, art, legal traditions and so forth.
Barbara Kay, Holy Post, National Post, May 14

Other stories about Catholics and Catholicism:

New Catholic bishops more "centre-right," including in Vancouver
With next week's release of the Vatican-focussed thriller, Angels and Demons, people will again be talking about the world's Catholic cardinals and bishops (some of whom suffer a horrifying fate in the Dan-Brown-inspired movie). A more serious look at the church's North American cardinals and bishops is offered by respected Vatican watcher and author John Allen, who writes for the National Catholic Reporter.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 8

Celibacy called to account
People like Mr. Appleton have always been around, lobbying in small corners of the Catholic Church to open the priesthood to married men. Their cause has gained fuel in recent years as the number of priests declines to the point of crisis. Now the debate has moved from the margins and closer to the middle.
National Post, May 9

A married priesthood is only the beginning
The old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" can be adapted to fit any number of situations. When it comes to the "vocations shortage" in the Catholic Church -- too few priests for too many Catholics, in other words -- you might tweak the old saying thusly: "Even if it's broke, don't let the Jesuits anywhere near it."
Nancy Gall, Holy Post, National Post, May 9

Stories about the March for Life:

Forty years later, abortion debate rages on
On anniversary of procedure's legalization in Canada, thousands expected to protest on Parliament Hill
Globe and Mail, May 14

A quiet march for life
This demonstration makes establishment opinion-makers uncomfortable
Michael Coren, National Post, May 14

Stories about Angels & Demons:

Da Vinci for dummies
In Angels & Demons, director Ron Howard seems to be doing penance for the turgid The Da Vinci Code, his previous movie based on a Dan Brown religious thriller. Filled with a pounding score and choral oohs and ahs, whipping camera pans and a ticking onscreen clock, the new movie works doggedly to generate excitement. Though complete redemption of Brown's fiction may not be possible, Howard's new film at least represents an upgrade from a mortal to a venal movie sin.
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail, May 13

Angels & Demons: 'not anti-anything'
Adapted from Brown's prequel to The Da Vinci Code, the Howard movie re-works the action as a sequel: We find Langdon in Rome trying to stop the secretive Illuminati from both destroying the Vatican with a canister of rare antimatter and eliminating four key Roman Catholic cardinals during a papal conclave.
National Post, May 14

Earlier: Grappling with the Da Vinci juggernaut

Stories about the abusive priest Charles Sylvestre:

Woman abused by priest awarded $1.75 million
Lou Ann Soontiens, of Chatham, Ont., was among 47 woman that Rev. Charles Sylvestre pleaded guilty in 2006 to sexually assaulting over four decades. Mr. Sylvestre, a parish priest in London, Sarnia, Chatham, Windsor and Pain Court, died in prison just months into a three-year sentence.
Canadian Press, May 8

Continue article >>

Record settlement for priest's sex victim
The victim of a notorious pedophile priest says she's finally found closure after winning the largest settlement for an individual sexual abuse case in Canadian history, almost $1.75-million. . . . Ms. Soontiens had launched a lawsuit against the diocese due to years of childhood rape and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Father Charles Sylvestre. The trial was set to begin on Monday.
CanWest News Service, May 9
Also: Vancouver Sun

Earlier: Millions sought in Ontario sex abuse lawsuits

Stories about the polygamy court case:

Lawyer for man charged in B.C. with polygamy will ask court to stay charge
The lawyer for one of two Bountiful, B.C., religious leaders charged with practising polygamy made an application Friday in B.C. Supreme Court to have the charge stayed.
Canadian Press, May 8

Polygamy charges
Winston Blackmore applied to court yesterday to have polygamy charges against him stayed on the grounds that they were an abuse of process, manifestly unfair, arbitrary and involved either actual or a perception of political interference. However, if the criminal charges go ahead, the court should order the government to pay for a legal team to defend Mr. Blackmore, his lawyer Joseph Arvay said in a 10-page application filed late yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court.
Globe and Mail, May 9

Polygamist wants charge dropped or legal fees paid
The former fundamentalist Mormon bishop's case centres on the constitutionality of anti-polygamy law
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, May 9

Earlier: Stories about the polygamy debate

Other stories from the past week:

Publisher questions whether Sask bill on crime profits will apply to Thatcher book
The publisher of a book by convicted wife killer Colin Thatcher is questioning whether a proposed new law will stop the writer from collecting money on the work. Saskatchewan introduced legislation this week to stop criminals from keeping the money if they sell their crime stories. The act would allow the government to seize profits and forward them to victims of the crime in question or to a victims' support fund.
Canadian Press, May 7
Earlier: Stories about Colin Thatcher

Old Jewish market gets kosher infusion
Two distant generations of a Toronto family will soon intersect at the Kensington Market corner of Brunswick and College streets, where Zane Caplansky plans to open his second Jewish deli location beside what was once his great-grandfather's hardware shop. The new Caplansky's Deli, scheduled to open in July, will be the sole kosher-style deli in what used to be Toronto's Jewish Market.
National Post, May 8

Politics of prayer an unholy mess
Can President Barack Obama be against a "national day of prayer" in America, and for it at the same time? In the never-ending U.S. culture wars, the answer apparently is yes.
Sheldon Alberts, Canwest News Service, May 8

The unwanted
In Winnipeg in the 1930s and 1940s, Jews were considered personae non gratae
Allan Levine, National Post, May 8

We need to create a common West Coast vision
'I have little use for the past and rarely think about it." That is the first line of Vancouver spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle's hugely successful book, The Power of Now, which has been translated into 33 languages.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 9

Trinity Western University faces growing financial crisis
The president of B.C.'s only private Christian university delivered an alarming message to financial supporters recently, telling them that Trinity Western University (TWU) in Langley is in crisis. "Its condition, accrued over several years, is chronic and potentially fatal. I am not exaggerating nor speaking in hyperbole," Jonathan Raymond said in a state of the university address to high-end donors last week.
Vancouver Sun, May 11

Interfaith group endorses cap-and-trade
Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and other spiritual organizations in the Pacific Northwest have jumped into the debate over how to combat global warming. Seattle's influential Earth Ministry, which serves as a model for B.C. interfaith organizations, on Friday endorsed the cap-and-trade system as the way to reduce carbon emissions and slow global climate change.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 11

Sect's privacy invaded: judge
When newspaper reporter Brigitte McCann spent nine months undercover as a member of the Raelian sect in 2003, the resulting articles caused a stir in Quebec and won her the province's top journalism prize. Her Journal de Montreal reports revealed a darker side of a group generally dismissed as UFO-believing clowns: Its leader believes he has been targeted for assassination by the CIA, he demands generous contributions from his 55,000 followers and his entourage includes "angels" prepared to die to protect him.
National Post, May 12
Earlier: Stories about the Raelians and cloning

Teens experiencing better ties with their parents
Weekly arguments down 10 percentage points from a decade ago and there's more understanding, study says
CanWest News Service, May 12
Earlier: Teenagers more moral, less religious, says new survey

Poet Robin Blaser becomes "a part of the earth"
It was an honour to talk last fall with the renowned Canadian poet Robin Blaser, who died last week. We conversed quite a bit about death as we sat around his kitchen table in Kitsilano. Robin, who was profoundly spiritual as well as philosophically astute, said he didn't think he would end up in any perfect otherworldly realm after his death.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 12

Why we must teach religion in schools
The government of Alberta had a great opportunity recently to reign in the abuses of human rights law in that province -- in particular those concerning the empowering of Human Rights Commissions to censor statements causing offence or insult. Instead, it opted to go in the opposite direction, and is now attempting to pass Bill 44, the notorious Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Amendment Act. This legislation would copy "parental choice" from the School Act, thereby installing -- as a new human right -- the right to deprive children of a full education.
Justin Trottier, Holy Post, National Post, May 13
Earlier: Stories about Alberta's human rights legislation

Men are goofs: The TV ads tell me so
These are just three TV ads that I've noticed in the past week that aim for humour by portraying men as hopeless goofs -- as idiots to be barely tolerated by their slim, emotionally mature and intelligent female partners. There are many more such ads. Have you noticed the proliferation of these "males-are-silly" commercials?
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 13

Should Girl Guides go Godless?
The possibility that Girl Guides of Canada will drop any reference to religion from its all-important Guiding Promise is drawing an angry response from parents, who have taken to Facebook to debate the issue.
Toronto Star, May 14

Father, some want more than a sermon
Popular Cuban-American priest and radio host Rev. Alberto Cutie was stripped of his parish and is now considering leaving the church to marry the woman for whom he broke 22 years of celibacy.
Globe and Mail, May 14

May 14/2009