Priest wins international teaching award

Father Alan Boisclair honoured for Theology of the Body ministry

The International Theology of the Body Congress's 2014 award went to Father Boisclair. Alistair Burns / The B.C. Catholic.

An international congress has recognized a Vancouver priest's dedication to spreading an innovative catechesis. Father Alan Boisclair, a full-time teacher of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body (TOB), received an award July 9 in Philadelphia. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

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IVF mix-up shows danger of artificial reproduction, ethicist says

Erin Smith, 2, who was conceived in a petri dish through in vitro fertilization and adopted as an embryo, is pictured with her adoptive parents, Dawn and Tim Smith outside Holy Cross Church in Dover, Del., in 2007. The Catholic couple have had three children born through the adoption of leftover frozen embryos. CNS photo / Don Blake, The Dialog.

The accidental swapping of children conceived through IVF procedures before implantation, which recently occurred in Italy, points to the moral pitfalls surrounding artificial reproduction, some ethicists say. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Syriac Patriarch pleads for help to stop Christian genocide in Middle East

Archbishop Ignatius Joseph III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Syrians stopped in Ottawa Aug 3-4 as part of a North American tour to sound the alarm about the plight of Christians in the Middle East. Deborah Gyapong (CCN).

The Lebanon-based Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church has been touring North America pleading for Western help to protect ancient Christian communities in the Middle East. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.