HAVANA - Although it was not part of his formal program, Pope Francis took time after Sunday Mass to visit Cuba's ailing 89-year-old former leader, Fidel Castro. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said after the Mass Sept. 20 in Havana's Revolution Square, Pope Francis was driven to the residence for the informal meeting, which lasted 30-40 minutes.

Canada's Catholic bishops have unanimously called on the federal government to invoke the notwithstanding clause in response to the Supreme Court's Feb. 6 decision on euthanasia and assisted suicide. "We urge the government that is elected on Oct. 19 to invoke the notwithstanding clause and extend this timeline to five years," said both the past president and the new president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in a news conference.

About a year and a half ago, Lorie McMillan, executive director of the Edmonton Pregnancy Crisis Centre, received a call from Catholic Social Services chief executive officer Stephen Carattini. The Catholic charities executive had just moved from the U.S. to take the CSS helm. As part of his introduction to his new job, Carattini made a point of visiting other Catholic agencies in his new city.

The Sulpician Fathers are the cream of the cream in seminary formation. They run seminaries in several countries and are known for forming well-rounded priests. Many of their pupils and professors have gone on to become bishops and cardinals. The Sulpicians have been in Edmonton for 25 years and under their watch St. Joseph Seminary has turned into a solid, stable institution.

The Edmonton Catholic School Board needlessly undermined Catholic teaching and its own credibility with a chaotic discussion at its Sept. 15 meeting aimed at meeting the needs of a transgendered student. Board chair Debbie Engel's assurances a week later that the school district is meeting the student's needs and will soon approve a policy dealing specifically with transgendered children should help to calm the storm.

The chair of the board of Edmonton Catholic Schools is promising a new transgender policy by October. Debbie Engel said she recently assured Education Minister David Eggen that there will be consensus on a transgender policy at the October board meeting.

VANCOUVER - Eighty Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal participants took part in a four-day session on decolonizing pastoral ministry, sponsored by the Western Canadian bishops. Three resource persons gave major presentations during the Aug. 17-20 event.

Inspired by Pope Francis, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is inviting parishes and individual parishioners to prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris this December. D&P is inviting people to engage in a process of education, prayer, reflection and action using Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si'.

Canada's Catholic bishops discussed how to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) calls to action. The dialogue happened during their annual plenary meeting in Cornwall, Ont. Although the CCCB was not involved in running residential schools, it realizes it has a role to play in building a new relationship on a new foundation, said CCCB president Archbishop Paul-André Durocher.

OTTAWA - For the first time, several Catholic aid agencies are mounting a joint appeal, along with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, to raise funds to help Syrian refugees. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) and the bishops issued a joint press release Sept. 17, saying their united response reflected "the magnitude of this tragic crisis."