Julie Payette, Canada’s new governor general, stirred up controversy with a speech to a scientific gathering in which she seemed to pit “divine intervention” against “natural process.”

Cardinal Farrell told Canadian young people: “Make a difference. Don’t let the world control you; don’t let it drag you down.”

Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Lonueuil, Quebec, said a possible papal visit was not a major topic at the bishops' plenary gathering Sept. 25-29, but reconciliation with indigenous people remains high on the conference's agenda.

An arrest warrant has been issued in Canada for Msgr. Carlo Capella, the Vatican diplomat recalled from service in Washington in late August, who already was the subject of a Vatican criminal investigation involving child pornography.

The Canadian cardinal, who serves as the Vatican's prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, told Canadian bishops the document does not signal "changes to doctrine or to sacramental discipline," but represents a pastoral approach that takes into consideration "the good of the person," according to his or her circumstances.

To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday and to mark the 70th anniversary of its consecration to Mary, Canada's three cardinals led the nation's bishops in a ceremony Sept. 26 to re-consecrate the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.