The Guidelines for Best Practices document issued by the Minister of Education on January 13, 2016, contain many constructive, thoughtful and reasonable suggestions for Best Practices. Many of these are already being followed or could easily be adopted by Catholic schools without concern for adversely affecting the Catholicity of the schools. For example, the Guidelines state that “Requests for supports are addressed on a case-by-case basis and solutions are evidence-informed and individualized to best meet the needs of the student making the request.”

While the chair of the board of Edmonton Catholic Schools is pleased with new provincial guidelines to develop policies on LGBTQ students, the bishop of Calgary is calling on Catholic school boards to reject them. In a pastoral letter released Jan. 13, Calgary Bishop Fred Henry said the guidelines "breathe pure secularism." They would impose a narrow-minded, anti-Catholic agenda, he said.

OTTAWA - Euthanasia opponents are disappointed with the Jan. 15 Supreme Court of Canada decision giving Ottawa only four of the six extra months it had sought to craft an assisted dying law. Groups expressed particular concern over the court's granting Quebec an exemption from the Criminal Code provisions against euthanasia and assisted suicide so it can proceed with its euthanasia law. Those provisions remain in effect elsewhere in the country until the deadline, now set at June 6.

VATICAN CITY - Welcoming thousands of migrants and refugees to the Vatican for a Year of Mercy celebration, Pope Francis urged them to resist everything that would rob them of hope and joy. "Each of you is the bearer of a history, culture and precious values and, unfortunately, also often of experiences of poverty, oppression and fear," he said. But the Jan. 17 gathering in St. Peter's Square "is a sign of hope in God. Don't allow yourselves to be robbed of hope and the joy of living, which spring from the experience of divine mercy."

There's no question - 2015 was a tough year, and the cries for help were many. But despite economic hardship, people in the Edmonton Archdiocese responded generously. When a massive earthquake devastated Nepal in April, they contributed more than $336,000 to Development and Peace's relief efforts.

The 2015 Sign of Hope campaign ended Jan. 5 after raising $2.6 million, about $800,000 less than the previous year. While it is the first time in its 32-year history that the annual Catholic Social Services' fundraising campaign failed to exceed the previous year's results, the organization's officials appear satisfied. After all, they never set a financial goal for the campaign. Instead, they asked for prayers, volunteers and donations, and they got them all.

TORONTO - As thousands of Syrian refugees land in Canada, Catholic settlement agencies are asking governments for money and programs to help our newest neighbours build successful lives. Catholic Cross-Cultural Services of Toronto has renewed calls for Ottawa to revive its abandoned Host program, which would pave the way for more volunteers to help new arrivals navigate life in Canada.

As the worst Ethiopian drought in 60 years threatens as many as 20 million people living in Africa's second largest country, Catholic aid agencies in the desperate nation are asking for help as the crisis continues into 2016. "We can do more if more resources are available," CST-Together country representative Patricia Wall said in an email to The Catholic Register. "The needs are enormous." CST-Together stands for Catholic Social Teaching Together and is a joint project of three Catholic aid agencies in Ethiopia.

Edmonton Christian leaders began the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity imploring God for unity and thanking the Lord for their Christian identity and vocation. "We pray this year with the Christians of Latvia, who have prepared this service, in the hope that we may grow in our communion with our Lord Jesus Christ and with all our brothers and sisters aspiring to unity," the Rev. Kevin Kraglund of St. Patrick's Anglican Church said. Kraglund spoke at the beginning of the prayer service at First Presbyterian Church, 10025-105 St., Jan 17.

ST. ALBERT - Oblate Father Maurice McMahon, a beloved missionary to Aboriginal people across Alberta, was a well-known preacher and a pioneer in the development of the Star of the North Retreat House in St. Albert. As well as recruiting retreatants for events at Star of the North, McMahon preached on a variety of topics, including spirituality and marriage.