ST. ALBERT — “Right now, in our culture, the family is under attack,” says a well-known pro-life speaker.

“The enemy is very clever. He realizes that if he can destroy the family, he’s won (half) the battle,” pro-life speaker Christina King said at Protect Life’s first annual pro-life conference at Holy Family Church. more . . .

OTTAWA — A private member’s bill that would add “gender identity” and “gender expression” to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code has pro-family groups and individuals on high alert. more . . .

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has fired back at Canada’s bishops who criticized his anti-human smuggling bill.

The letter reflects a “long tradition of ideological bureaucrats who work for the bishops’ conference producing political letters signed by pastors who may not have specialized knowledge in certain areas of policy,” Kenney said in an interview. more . . .

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict’s recent comments about condoms represented a “normal and traditional” pastoral application of moral theology, says a theologian who advises the Vatican on doctrinal matters. more . . .

David King, executive director of the Alberta Public School Boards Association, has announced that he will launch a petition calling for the end of public funding of separate schools. King, education minister in the Lougheed years, believes Alberta would be best served by taking away Catholics' constitutional rights and ensuring that the province has a monochromatic school system. more . . .

FR. RON ROLHEISER, omi

Christian tradition has always emphasized that Jesus was born of a virgin. The Messiah could only come forth from a virgin's womb. The main reason for this emphasis, of course, is to highlight that Jesus did not have a human father and that his conception was from the Holy Spirit. more . . .

JOHN CONNELLY

Today the Scriptures declare the call to be a joyful people. The prophet Zephaniah declares, "Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem. Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart." more . . .

Of all the Old Testament figures in the Bible, John the Baptist is the most important. He is more important than even Moses or Abraham. Jesus says as much in the Gospel reading for Thursday in the third week of Advent: “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John” (Luke 7.28). more . . .

FR. RAYMOND DE SOUZA

Faithful readers will know that much energy has been expended these past years on combating the "new atheists" - militant, aggressive, and very trendy. Atheism is of course not new, and even the new atheists not altogether new. more . . .

SR. LOUISE ZDUNICH, NDC

What is the Jesse tree and what does it represent? more . . .