Michael Swan

Residential school truth must be heard

April 13, 2011

Marie Wilson [images/stories/education/education11/mariewilson.jpg]TORONTO - An apology is not the end of it and treaties are not dusty history for Canada’s native people is the message Marie Wilson has for Canadians who would rather not talk about what happened in residential schools. Wilson is one of three commissioners who make up the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The trio have five years to document the history of the national network of schools mandated by the government but mostly run by churches. There may be truth but there won’t be any reconciliation if mainstream, urban Canadians don’t acknowledge the legacy of the schools, Wilson told about 70 people at Toronto’s Regis College April 6, where she delivered the annual Martin Royackers Lecture.

Evangelical counsels today are more relevant than ever

April 13, 2011

Many Catholics are only vaguely aware of the evangelicals among them — the religious brothers, sisters and priests whose lives are shaped by three vows. The insiders know the vows as the “evangelical counsels.” They commit every nun, brother and religious order priest to poverty, chastity and obedience. Every religious community interprets these three vows through their own charism — the founding spark or reason for their order’s existence. The vows do not apply to secular priests, that majority of priests who were trained and ordained by their diocese. Though some religious communities have grown smaller over the last half-century, Dominican Father Francois Mifsud insists that the evangelical counsels are more relevant than ever.

Agencies benefit from a generous year of giving to ShareLife

April 8, 2011

[images/stories/logos/shareLife_new.jpg]TORONTO - When last year's ShareLife campaign did a little better than the organization's cautious projections, local charities benefited to the tune of $305,000. Catholic Charities distributes the largest portion of ShareLife money to 31 Catholic agencies at work in and around Toronto. It allocates the money in November, long before ShareLife raises the bulk of the money during Lent. "People say, maybe we've got this backwards. Maybe we should raise the money and then make the commitment," said Catholic Charities executive director Michael Fullan. "I've called the ShareLife campaign an act of faith, because it really is." Coming in a bit higher than projections last year allowed Catholic Charities to distribute one-time extra grants to a number of agencies at the beginning of 2011.

Truth still matters

April 7, 2011

Lack of honesty the root cause of most problems [images/stories/features/freature11/truthstillmatters.jpg]With campaign jets soaring over the land and campaign buses rolling down highways, it’s sometimes easy for Canadians to be cynical about the honesty of politicians. But truth in politics still matters to Canadians, and politicians recognize it, said Prof. Richard Feist, dean of the faculty of philosophy at Ottawa’s Saint Paul University. “The incumbent party certainly does not say something like, ‘Well, so what if we were defeated on non-confidence, or not providing (information).’ ” said Feist. “They want to talk as if ‘No, we were defeated on the budget.’ ” Feist runs the Masters in Public Ethics program at Saint Paul, training civil servants in the philosophy of honesty. Truth, who tells the truth and whether citizens can recognize it, is important in how we run our politics and how we run our country, he said.

Churches want poverty reduction as number one issue in election

April 6, 2011

Karen Hamilton [images/stories/canada_people/karenhamilton.jpg]The number one demand churches are making from campaigning federal politicians is a concrete plan to reduce and end poverty in Canada. The Canadian Council of Churches reiterated the ecumenical priority in a letter to all the national party leaders March 31. "The issue of poverty, certainly our Scriptures call us to that over and over and over again," Canadian Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton told The Catholic Register. The eight priority issues listed in the CCC letter largely repeat the priorities laid out last year by international faith leaders gathered in Winnipeg just before the G20 Summit in Toronto.

New refugee policy condemned for lacking compassion

April 6, 2011

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney [images/stories/canada_people/kenneyjason.jpg]Changes to Canada's refugee system are being denounced by the sponsorship community as a cap on compassion and generosity. A February letter from Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to churches and non-profits that sponsor refugees revealed plans to limit the number of refugees Canadians would be allowed to sponsor under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program. Kenney calls it a "different kind of stewardship." The government is also unilaterally altering its contracts with Sponsorship Agreement Holders, ending all agreements as of Dec. 31, 2011. "Putting a cap on the number of refugee applications can mean putting a limit on the generosity of Canadians," said Canadian Council for Refugees director Janet Dench.

46-member Cantores Celestes enhances Artist's Lauds

March 31, 2011

Trisha Postle plays the hurdy gurdy as she musically leads morning prayer from the Divine Office for the feast of St. Joseph, March 26 at Regis College. (Photo by Michael Swan) [images/stories/features/freature11/hurdygurdylauds.jpg]Jesuit Fr. Gilles Mongeau has been cultivating an occassional community of artists who gather once or twice a year for an artists' liturgy. On the feast of St. Joseph, March 26, the artists' liturgy took the form of morning prayer from the Divine Office. The singers contributing to this liturgy, and singing as you view these photographs, are the 46-member Cantores Celestes. The amatuer women's choir has been singing together for 22 years, and over those years has raised more than $30,000 for charity. Singing for a liturgy rather than a concert allows the choir to connect with its repertoire of religious music in a very different way, said conductor Kelly Galbraith. ... View the images in the slideshow that is embedded below or click here to load a larger version in a new window. Use the small icon, [images/stories/features/freature11/fullscreenslideshowbutton.jpg], in the bottom right corner of the player to view the slideshow in full-screen mode.

Will real issues be up for election debate?

March 30, 2011

Poverty, life issues, seniors may be lost in 'horse-race politics' of election campaign [images/stories/canada/canada11/editorialelections.jpg]It’s hard to know what will be decided in the May 2 election, but it’s just as hard to imagine that Canadians will decide well unless we inject respect, sincerity, honesty and a few high-minded ideals into our political culture. We can’t run a country on vitriolic rhetoric, political tactics and cheap-shot ads, said Christian think-tank director Peter Stockland. Looking at the latest attack ads turned Stockland’s stomach. “I was absolutely appalled that a government and a lot of people in that government would unleash something like that,” said the director of the Cardus Centre for Cultural Renewal. “Where’s the charity?” The Conservative ads claim Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is dangerously soft on crime, and a Liberal government would make people unsafe in their homes and neighbourhoods.

Fighting consumerism key in fight against climate change

March 30, 2011

Dorothy McDougall [images/stories/toronto_people/dorothymcdougallmar30.jpg]TORONTO - Climate change deniers aren’t what worries KAIROS’ Dorothy McDougall. She worries about Christians who can’t let go of a lifestyle that contradicts the Gospel. “This is about the accumulation of stuff and the planned obsolescence of stuff,” said McDougall, the ecumenical church-based group’s climate change expert. “For Christians to be in solidarity with those who suffer the ravages of climate change in Africa, in Latin America and in the north means transitioning to a carbon-free economy.” But most of us don’t want to give up our throw-away lifestyles and don’t want to ask what Jesus would think of houses full of stuff, she said.

Advance polls fall on Easter

March 30, 2011

You could vote on Good Friday, Holy Saturday or even Easter Monday, but you don’t have to and nobody should take offence that Elections Canada has chosen dates for advance polling that coincide with Easter, said Philip Horgan. “Let’s not get too bogged down in minutia when there are bigger issues at stake here,” said Horgan, president of the Canadian Catholic Civil Rights League. The bigger issues for the league include documenting the voting records of MPs on issues such as euthanasia and appealing an Ontario judge’s decision that would decriminalize street prostitution and bawdy houses. So their noses should not be out of joint over a voluntary advance polling date.