Category: Commentary
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Outsider Pope Francis was bound to draw hostile reaction
By Glen Argan In the current state of distress highlighted by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s claim that Pope Francis has long known about accusations of sexual abuse against American Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the story of the previous pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, should be recalled. In 2012, Gabriele was arrested and convicted of stealing sensitive documents…
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Bishops must be locally accountable
(Published first in The Catholic Register, www.catholicregister.org, September 2, 2018) By Glen Argan The Roman Catholic Church today has nearly 3,000 dioceses and archdioceses, each with at least one bishop. The first letter to Timothy in the New Testament describes the character of a bishop in these words: “A bishop must be above reproach, married…
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Archbishop speaks of a crucifix which reflects the bruised nature of the Church
By Glen Argan In his Easter message, Regina Archbishop Donald Bolen has given a stunningly beautiful reflection on the meaning of the cross and resurrection. The archbishop sits beside a crucifix in the parish church in Balgonie. The original church was destroyed by fire, but in the remains of the church, someone found the wooden…
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On Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation
Pope Francis has repeatedly shown himself to be a pontiff who does not pontificate. Rather, he is the world’s and the Church’s smiling spiritual guide to difficult endeavours such as family life and our relationship with the environment. This is just as true of his latest apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad),…
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Residential schools grew out of bad theology
(From The Catholic Register, April 8, 2018, http://www.catholicregister.org) Indian residential schools were established by Canada’s federal government, but Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, bought into the plan with enthusiasm. When the churches assumed the task of running residential schools in the 19th century, no one in the settler culture saw them with the same…
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Nicodemus seeks answers outside the organization
(Originally published in The Catholic Register, http://www.catholicregister.org, March 25, 2018) By Glen Argan Nicodemus is the organization man who realizes his organization does not have the answers. So, he looks further afield. You are not supposed to do that, but he does it anyway. His heart hungers for more than arid policies, and what do…
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Developing a global conscience with the ‘Share Lent’ campaign
By Glen Argan (From catholicregister.org of Feb.14, 2018) The disciplines of Lent – prayer, fasting and almsgiving – are an exercise in conscience formation. Lent is much more than conscience formation, but it is that. Likely, however, most adult Catholics believe our consciences are already well formed. We know the difference between right and wrong,…
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Archbishop Joseph MacNeil: We grew together into Christ
By Glen Argan Many people knew Archbishop Joseph MacNeil who died Feb. 11, 2018 at age 93 better than I did. There are priests, such as Fathers Mike McCaffery, Jack Hamilton, Archie MacKenzie and Don MacDonald, who worked closely with him over the years. McCaffery especially. MacNeil made him, at various times, president of Newman…
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Healthy society cannot exist under state-imposed ideology
Here is my latest column in The Catholic Register. By Glen Argan Canadian Catholics should perhaps be upset with governments that trample on our basic rights. Whether our silence reveals resilience or indifference may be determined by the test of time. Last month, the federal Liberal government announced it will only give grants for hiring…
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ACSTA president responds to my concerns regarding candidate eligibility
Last week, I received a letter from Adriana LaGrange, president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association in response to the letter which I sent to the association Nov. 13, 2017 and posted on this website Jan. 21, 2018. Although the letter is long and contains detailed quotes from government legislation, I post it here,…
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