The discoveries of unmarked burials have left many wondering what motivated Catholics to participate in a colonial system that would be responsible for the loss and violation of thousands of Indigenous children.
Dean Dettloff
Dean Dettloff is America's Toronto correspondent and a junior member of the Institute for Christian Studies.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
The Indigenous people of Canada want an apology from Pope Francis
The discovery of the unmarked graves of First Nations’ children led to renewed calls for a papal apology in Canada to respond to the legacy of residential schools and revived questions about the church’s role in colonialism in Canada.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Canada’s bishops withheld aid from groups they thought had ties to abortion. Repairing relationships is proving difficult.
Canada’s bishops remain committed to the success of Development and Peace “as a Canadian, Catholic organization in communion with the Bishops and the universal Church”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Toronto, a young carpenter is building ‘tiny shelters’ for the homeless. The city isn’t happy.
When some people without housing opted to sleep outside in tents rather than accept the heightened risk at the shelters, 28-year-old carpenter Khaleel Seivwright came up with a creative solution to help them.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholics in Quebec are leaving the church in droves. Can reinventing parish life save it?
“A prophetic church like [the one sought by Pope Francis], highlighting social justice and solidarity with the destitute and the persecuted, has the potential of closing the chasm between the church and the modern, secular culture of Quebec.”
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Does it matter if a charity calls itself ‘Catholic’? The church in Montreal faces a question at the heart of its mission
“The church cannot withdraw from the field of charity.”
Posted inDispatches, Faith
In Canada a religious community dedicated to social justice faces its last days
Scarboro missionaries in Canada are known for living the Gospel and contributing powerfully to social justice efforts in some of the most impoverished regions of the world.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
How Canadian Catholics are responding to George Floyd’s killing and Black Lives Matter
Demonstrations in Ottawa and other communities protested Floyd’s killing, but they also called attention to the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Indigenous-Black Canadian woman who fell to her death from a Toronto high rise.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
In Canada, Justin Trudeau marshals a federal response to coronavirus
Among the emergency provisions are increases to family benefits, a six-month interest-free pause on student loans and a biweekly payment of $900 for sick or laid-off workers without employment insurance or sick leave.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Catholic and public school teachers begin to strike in the face of education cuts
The job actions, which come alongside strikes by other teachers’ unions across the province, reflect a new breaking point in relations between public educators and the Progressive Conservative government of Ontario, led by Premier Doug Ford.