
‘Unspeakable tragedy': Grief and solidarity at Vancouver festival memorial mass
Galvan, the pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Delta, B.C., said that that evening he received a text — 'something terrible had happened' at the Filipino cultural festival.

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CTV News
17-07-2025
- CTV News
Language, play central themes at Indigenous childcare conference in Sudbury
All-Nations Childcare Gathering Conference in Sudbury focuses on language revitalization, blending culture and play in early learning. Madison Marier reports. The annual All-Nations Childcare Gathering Conference began Wednesday with laughter and enthusiasm as early childhood educators gathered for a three-day event focused on nurturing Indigenous youth. The conference runs for two days in Sudbury before concluding on Manitoulin Island. All-Nations Childcare Gathering Conference All-Nations Childcare Gathering Conference kicks off in Greater Sudbury, Ont., on July 16, 2025. This year's theme, 'Nurturing our children and fostering language revitalization,' highlights the critical role of language in early learning. Melanie Francis, an Indigenous early years educator, explained the conference's evolution: 'Initially, it was just Indigenous early educators, but we've branched out to all educators working with Indigenous families. Each year has a different theme, but this year is all about language.' The event provides a space for early childhood educators or ECEs to reconnect with their playful side, fostering creativity to inspire the next generation. Beverley Roy, the president of Kenjgewin Teg, emphasized the importance of hands-on learning: 'In the sector of early learning, it's very hands-on and experiential. Including our craftspeople and artisans is a big part of early learning. It has to be that whole experience of how we see, feel, think, and experience the whole learning journey. So, having artisans here makes perfect sense.' Wednesday's keynote speaker, Dr. Pamela Rose Toulouse, stressed the integration of culture and play in child development: 'The most important thing is to combine language, culture, play, and inquiry. Those are foundational – play, curiosity, and inquiry are embedded into Anishinaabe worldviews about how we raise our children.' The conference reinforces the vital role of early childhood educators in preserving Indigenous culture and ensuring children grow up with pride in their heritage. Roy added, 'That's the role of early learning educators. We need to celebrate them, lift them up, and recognize them. They are so critical in all of our communities in Ontario.' The All-Nations Childcare Gathering continues tomorrow with workshops and cultural activities aimed at empowering educators and strengthening Indigenous early learning practices.


National Observer
10-07-2025
- National Observer
Pope prays for world to recognize urgency of climate crisis as he celebrates Mass' using new rite
Pope Leo XIV prayed Wednesday for the world to recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and 'hear the cry of the poor,' as he celebrated the first papal Mass using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis' environmental legacy. The Mass, in the gardens of the Vatican's new ecological educational center at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo, indicated a strong line of ecological continuity with Francis, who made environmental protection a hallmark of his pontificate. Wearing flowing green vestments, Leo presided at the Mass in front of a statue of the Madonna and at the foot of a reflecting pool, immersed in the lush green gardens on an unusually cool summer day. He said the world needed to change its mindset about the planet and what is causing 'the world to burn.' 'We must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and out of the church, who still don't recognize the urgency of caring for our common home,' he said. 'We see so many natural disasters in the world, nearly every day and in so many countries, that are in part caused by the excesses of being human, with our lifestyle.' The private Mass was celebrated for about 50 staffers of the Laudato Si center, named for Francis' 2015 environmental encyclical, in which the first pope from the Global South blasted the way wealthy countries and multinational corporations had exploited the Earth and its most vulnerable people for profit. Leo approved the new Mass formula 'for the care of creation,' directing it to be added to the list of 49 Masses that have been developed over centuries for a specific need or occasion. Officials said it was crafted in response to requests stemming from Francis' encyclical, which in its 10 years has inspired a whole church movement and foundation to educate, advocate and sensitize the world to the biblically mandated call to care for nature. Leo, history's first American pope, has indicated he intends to further Francis' ecological legacy. Pope celebrates first 'green Mass' using new rite in sign of strong ecological focus. A longtime missionary in Peru, Leo experienced firsthand the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities and has already spoken out about the need for climate justice for Indigenous peoples, in particular. In a message for the church's annual day of prayer for creation, Leo blasted the 'injustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity." He made no equivocations about what or who was to blame, identifying 'climate change provoked by human activity.' Leo celebrated the Mass during the first days of his vacation at Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town overlooking Lake Alban in the cool hills south of Rome. He arrived on Sunday and will spend an initial two weeks there before returning to the Vatican and then heading back in August. He told those gathered that they were celebrating Mass in 'what we might call a natural cathedral,' surrounded by plants, flowers and nature. He said humanity's mission is the same as Christ's: to protect creation and bring peace and reconciliation in the world. 'We hear the cry of the earth, we hear the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God,' he said. 'Our indignation is his, our work is his.' In another sign of his environmental commitment, Leo has indicated he plans to execute one of Francis' most important ecological legacies: The development of a 430-hectare (1063-acre) field in northern Rome into a solar farm that would generate enough electricity to meet the Vatican's needs and thus make Vatican City the world's first carbon-neutral state. The development would require an investment of just under 100 million euros (about $117 million), officials say, and needs the approval of the Italian parliament since the territory enjoys extraterritorial status that needs to be extended. Last year, Francis tasked a commission of Vatican officials with developing the Santa Maria di Galeria site, which was long the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers there. Leo visited the site in June and called it a 'wonderful opportunity.' He told RAI state television that the creation of such a farm would set 'a very important example: we are all aware of the effects of climate change, and we really need to take care of the whole of creation, as Pope Francis has taught so clearly.'


Winnipeg Free Press
02-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Cardinal Luis Pascual Dri, Argentine friar held up by Pope Francis as model confessor, dies at 98
ROME (AP) — Cardinal Luis Pascual Dri, the Argentine priest whom Pope Francis held up as the model confessor, has died in Buenos Aires at age 98, the Vatican said Wednesday. Dri, a Capuchin friar, died Monday in the Argentine capital, where his funeral was being celebrated Wednesday, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said. Dri was made a cardinal by Francis in 2023 at the age of 96 in recognition of his lifetime of work hearing confessions of the faithful and dispensing merciful absolutions. Up until his death, he worked as the confessor at the Our Lady of Pompeii parish in Buenos Aires. Francis frequently referred to Dri during his pontificate and held him up as a model confessor for other priests, urging them to always be merciful in the confessional. For Francis, the sacrament of reconciliation was particularly important and he urged priests to always pardon those who seek forgiveness. He once quoted Dri as saying he was so willing to dispense absolutions because God himself 'gave me a bad example' in forgiving all his sins. Pope Leo XIV, who was made a cardinal during the same consistory as Dri, issued a message of condolences Wednesday signed by the Vatican secretary of state. In it, he recalled Dri as a 'devoted pastor, who was so dear to Pope Francis, and who for so many years gave his life to the service of God and the church as a confessor.' Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.