In a moving celebration at St. Joseph's Basilica, Archbishop Richard Smith ordained four married men to the permanent diaconate June 2.

TORONTO – The bitter history of Canada's attempt to wipe out aboriginal culture through a system of Church-run schools has come to Canada's largest and most invisible native community – and its biggest city.

EDMONTON – Parish workers, including pastoral assistants, parish secretaries and cooks, are drawn together by "a commitment to caring in the spirit of Jesus Christ," said Dr. Margaret Clark.

Donning hardhat, goggles and steel-toed boots, Catholic Pastoral Centre staff have been hard at work assisting Habitat for Humanity build affordable housing units for low-income Edmontonians.

SASKATOON – Doctors' offices are popping up in some Saskatoon Catholic schools as the school district tries to meet the unique needs of families in poverty.

The board of the U.S. Leadership Conference of Women Religious said it feels the assessment that led to a Vatican order to reform the organization "was based on unsubstantiated accusations and the result of a flawed process that lacked transparency."

OTTAWA – A call by an influential Saudi Sheikh to destroy all churches on the Arabian Peninsula has led the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' (CCCB) human rights committee to express concern to the government of Saudi Arabia.

VANCOUVER – Catholic doctors have to be not only intelligent and compassionate, but also courageous.

Moral Courage in the Practice of Medicine, was the topic of the Canadian Federation of Catholic Physicians Societies' annual conference, held here April 27-28.

OTTAWA – A looming humanitarian crisis in West Africa's drought-ravaged Sahel region has prompted Canada's Catholic bishops to join forces with the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace to appeal for donations.

TORONTO – The Catholic Civil Rights League has named Michael O'Brien, a world-renowned Canadian author and artist, the 2012 recipient of the Archbishop Adam Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life.