Pope Francis invited the world to 'move forward together,' St. John's archbishop says
CBC
The Archbishop of St. John's says he'll remember Pope Francis as someone who was not afraid to face controversy, and someone who wanted to bring people together.
"He was really challenging us to look at how do we lead the church, and how do we involve everybody in the way forward. So I think he's been a pope that certainly invited us to move forward together," Peter Hundt told CBC News on Monday.
Hundt was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. He was head of the Catholic Church for 12 years and had recently been released from a five-week hospital stay after a bout of bronchitis that developed into pneumonia. He also showed signs of early kidney failure.
Francis made his final public appearance just the day before, giving a blessing and wishing people who had gathered at the Vatican a happy Easter.
"He was a pope that was very open about the fact that we as human beings need to do a better job of taking care of our planet," said Hundt. "He was never afraid to admit the mistakes that we've made as a church, the abuse that's been suffered."
Father Paul Lundrigan, of Holy Trinity Parish in Torbay, says that commitment to meeting with the public showed the kind of person Francis was.
"To have seen him out at Saint Peter's Square, going around with the people, being with them and giving blessings, he lived right up to the end the way that he had always lived his faith," Lundrigan said.
"It's a sad day for the church, but a day to reflect on how blessed we've been to have had such a wonderful leader."
Gemma Hickey, president of Ending Clergy Abuse, says many people are feeling the loss of Pope Francis.
In recent years, Hickey has been working with Vatican officials to address gaps in how the Catholic church addresses abuse.
"Certainly, he was a more progressive pope in many ways than others. And he certainly opened doors to dialogue where others fail to do so in terms of the clergy sexual abuse crisis," Hickey said.
Lundrigan says Francis took risks in addressing abuse in ways others haven't. He also spoke on the role of women in the church and 2SLGBTQ+ Catholics, and famously visited Canada in July 2022 to advance reconciliation efforts and apologize for the abuse brought on in residential schools.
"It has opened the door for a lot of people who felt pushed out and left out," Lundrigan said. "He has started something that we can't stop."
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Hundreds of members of Sandy Lake First Nation have left the remote Oji-Cree community as a major wildfire burns nearby.
A new collaboration that allows local artists to temporarily take over empty buildings in Waterloo region aims to "cut the red tape" normally associated with renting space.
The Charlottetown Library Learning Centre has added another language section to its multilingual collection.
An ambitious new plan aims to redefine the relationship between caribou and people in Yukon's Southern Lakes region, including by allowing Indigenous youth an opportunity to hunt the animals for the first time in decades.
Helicopter pilots, heavy machinery operators and railway workers are some of the people on the front lines of the Manitoba wildfire fight.
Ontario appears to be months behind launching a mandatory review of the Greenbelt, and opposition politicians and environmentalists are asking for a wide-ranging and transparent study of the protected lands to preserve their future.
WARNING: This article references sexual assault, and may affect those who have experienced them or know someone affected by them.
Former military language and cultural advisers — who at times carried out some of the most difficult and dangerous assignments of Canada's war in Afghanistan — are now suing the federal government for discrimination over the alleged failure to properly train and take care of them following their service alongside combat troops, CBC News has learned.
The 336-kilometre trail, which stretches along the coast of much of the Avalon Peninsula, has 25 different paths that people can take.
An organization that represents commercial fishermen says it's steaming ahead with a lawsuit aiming to define the terms of a moderate livelihood fishery now that a Nova Scotia-based First Nation has dropped its own lawsuit against the federal government.
Daniel DeLong was a Grade 12 student at Riverview High School in 2011 when his environmental science teacher encouraged him to get involved in his community.
A construction worker who huddled with his crew inside a smoky shipping container as a northern Ontario wildfire encircled them said he's happy to be alive and back home with his family in Brandon, about 215 kilometres west of Winnipeg.
One week after residents of Air Ronge left the northern Saskatchewan community, fleeing wildfires and adhering to mandatory evacuation orders, the mayor says many of them still don't have a place to sleep.