I recently had the opportunity to represent the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada at an event hosted by our U.S. counterpart.

While reading Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, I thought of St. Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint proclaimed by Leo last year.

Canada has a troubling habit of creating policy that unintentionally harms its own interests. Decisions are often made to address legitimate concerns, but without sufficient attention to their wider economic and social consequences. We have seen this in inter-provincial trade barriers, restrictions on resource development, and most recently in federal policy limiting international student enrolment in Canada’s post-secondary system.

Merriam-Webster defines a pet peeve as “a frequent subject of complaint.” It defines half-truths as “a statement only partially true.” My pet peeve is half-truths!

I have done a great many things as a university president, some expected and others completely unanticipated.

I am not an especially superstitious person, but I do have certain rituals that I observe which could arguably be said to lean in that direction.

Recently I gave bottles of a whimsically-named wine to colleagues who, like me, lead faith-based post-secondary institutions. The wine is called “Foolish.” I was not being passive-aggressive with this gesture.

I have always been connected to theatre throughout my life. The pinnacle of this for me was when I was commissioned to write and perform a piece based on my novel Flying in Silence for the Sydney Opera House.

Time and time again, Christ asks us to be present; to engage the world and strive for good. He urges us not to judge but to embrace; to honour not to idolize; to welcome not to shun. He asks us to wait for him, to be ready when He calls, but also to be engaged and active in our faith, so that we are worthy when He calls. So, what are you waiting for?

If readers of Pope Leo the XIV’s first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi te (‘I have loved you’) detect an echo of the late Pope Francis in the document they would not be wrong. The work, signed on the October 4 by Pope Leo, was originally written by Pope Francis before he died and was subsequently revised and approved by our new pontiff.