History buffs visit numerous World War battlefields

Don Vicic spends time each year traversing former European combat zones

War buffs Don Vicic (left) David Patterson, Tom Hodson, and Robin Preston visit the Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. The grave marked with the Maple Leaf is the resting place of Hodson's grandfather, Private Charles Hodson, who was killed in the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. Photo submitted.

While some war buffs spend their time in libraries, one West Vancouver retiree spends his time visiting battlefields where the World Wars were fought. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Also newly posted

Astronomer yawns at Big Bang frenzy

U.S. Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory, is pictured with the observatory's meteorite collection in this 2006 file photo. Brother Consolmagno says Pope Francis said nothing new in his recent speech. Alessia Giuliani / Catholic Press Photo / CNS.

A leading Vatican astronomer said that although some see Pope Francis's recent words on the Big Bang as signifying a change in the Church's stand on the issue, the Pontiff in fact said nothing new. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Scholars discuss new saint's legacy

A Swiss Guard stands in front of a painting of Pope St. John Paul II as Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 22. CNS photo / Paul Haring.

St. John Paul II's philosophy of the human person provides a basis for both defending and critiquing the current economic and social system. For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.