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October 13, 2006
TORONTO - Canada can and should use its military to ensure the safety of civilian refugees in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region before a Dec. 31 deadline could see African peacekeepers removed from the area, according to Canada’s largest churches.
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), Oct. 22 (Isaiah 53:4, 10-11; Psalm 33; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45) Who was the suffering servant of Isaiah? Obviously it referred to an anonymous figure in the prophet’s own time — the sixth century before Christ. He was a figure whom others reckoned as a loser, for he appeared to be suffering needlessly. And yet there was much more than meets the eye, for he was a man on a mission from God of great importance to his people.
We were glad. But we were sad. We were glad to see our Archbishop Anthony Meagher pay a brief visit at our Kingston archdiocese fall convocation. But we were sad because we felt that because of his illness it could be the last time we would see him at such a gathering.
It is nasty and brutish out there. And I am not talking about the world of international politics or the world of colliding ideologies. I am talking about the world of inter-Catholic relations.
The federal government came under attack earlier this month because of leaked reports that it was preparing a Defence of Religions Act to deal with the disappointing fallout from Ottawa’s change to the legal definition of marriage. Now that it is out of the bottle, the same-sex marriage genie grows larger and uglier with each passing day.
With every in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure, many more embryonic human persons are created than are transferred to the mother’s womb. The “extras” are frozen and stored in the fertility clinic. Their fate is uncertain.
October 24, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI [images/stories/PopeBenedictXVI/benedicths2.jpg]VATICAN CITY - International Islamic scholars published an open letter to Pope Benedict XVI, taking issue with what they described as mistakes and oversimplifications of Islam in a recent papal speech to German academics.
[images/stories/logos/logos10/CCCB.jpg]CORNWALL, Ont. - Clerical sexual abuse remained a hot topic for Canada’s Catholic bishops as they gathered for their annual plenary in Cornwall Oct. 16-21.
Preston Manning [images/stories/canada_people/manning.jpg]WINDSOR, Ont. - Former Reform Party and federal Opposition Leader Preston Manning says people of faith need, as Jesus said, to be as “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” in bringing religious perspectives to the political arena.
Maria Komisar [images/stories/toronto_people/kosimar.jpg]TORONTO - A handful of women huddled together after , whispering: “she looks so good for her age.” Dolled up in a black jumper and a matching pearl necklace and earring set with barely a wrinkle on her face, Maria Komisar celebrated her 100th birthday on Oct. 17 with 85 seniors who offered Mass for her special day.
TORONTO - There aren’t many Holocaust survivors left, but Catholic schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area are making sure as many of their students as possible have the chance to meet people who lived through the genocide.
October 25, 2006
The balcony of the Catholic Church in Sainte-Anne, a small, semi-French-speaking town in Manitoba, is where I sat with a handful of Catholic teens on Sundays growing up. While our parents usually sat downstairs, we were removed from the congregation, not held to pay too much attention during Mass. Often, Sunday mornings spent on that balcony was the only church connection young people had.
MOOSE JAW, Sask. - A group of citizens from Moose Jaw is hard at work building a unique project at Vanier Collegiate, Moose Jaw’s only Catholic high school. An outdoor stopping station labyrinth, a pathway that one follows while reflecting and stopping for prayer, is halfway through its construction phase.
Arianne Villa & Audrey Naluz [images/stories/ysn/Poverello.jpg]BRAMPTON, Ont. - A movie about the realities of the homeless is not a subject most Hollywood directors dream about filming, but it was an obvious choice for 15-year-olds Audrey Naluz and Arianne Villa.
Seeking spiritual direction [images/stories/misc/spiritualdirection.jpg]TORONTO - The art of decision-making often leads students to a crossroad, not knowing which way to turn. What university do I attend? What do I want to be? What is my vocation?
[images/stories/books/desk.jpg]The United States Library of Congress estimates it has catalogued 29 million books over the last 200 years. The International Standard Book Number System currently has 628,795 publishers in 248 countries listed. The Vatican
[images/stories/books/0867167378.jpg]John the Baptist: Prophet and Disciple, by Alexander J. Burke Jr. (St. Anthony Messenger Press, 232 pages; $15.27 at amazon.ca). In the flood of books on the historical Jesus published over the last 20 years, it is remarkable so little has been written about John the Baptist. After Jesus, Peter and Paul, John the Baptist is one of the most prominent figures in the New Testament, and yet he has been largely eclipsed by the interest in his more famous relative, Jesus. In this new book, Alexander Burke attempts to end John’s time in the shadows by presenting a thoughtful interdisciplinary look at the forerunner of the Lord.
[images/stories/books/Earthly.jpg]Earthly Powers: The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe, from the French Revolution to the Great War, by Michael Burleigh. (HarperCollins Canada, 530 pages, hardcover, $26.37 at amazon.ca). The tides roll out. They also return. The metaphor of tides slipping away from a beach became a favourite of writers and commentators after Matthew Arnold penned his famous lines in Dover Beach (1867) about the loss of faith and religion. What is sometimes forgotten about this analogy is that tides return, though probably never in exactly the same way.
[images/stories/books/hopeinthedark.jpg]Hope in the Dark, photography by Jeremy Cowart with reflections by Jena Lee (Relevant Books, 192 pages, softcover, $16.49 at amazon.ca). The beauty of Africa is that nothing is hidden, what you see is what you get. There is less business of cologne, deodorant, tinted windows, gloves all aimed at covering reality — making it appear good and nice. In Africa, good, nice, beauty, messiness, ugliness, sadness, life and death are all joined in a wonderful marriage. It takes courage to walk that line in peace, hope and joy.
[images/stories/books/postmoderism.jpg]How Postmodernism Serves (My) Faith: Questioning Truth in Language, Philosophy and Art, by Crystal L. Downing (InterVarsity Press, 240 pages, softcover, $17.47 at amazon.ca). Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian, by Heath White (Brazos Press, 176 pages, softcover, $17.47 at amazon.ca). In the midst of the controversy about Pope Benedict XVI’s University of Regensburg address, some interpreters lost sight of the Holy Father’s primary focus on faith, reason and culture — specifically, Christian faith, Greek reason and European culture. One person who was not misled was the Swiss muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan. In an incisive critique published widely, Ramadan deplored the violence that followed the Pope’s address. But he also questioned the Holy Father’s interpretation of faith, reason and especially culture. Muslim scholars, he suggested, could and should respond by offering an alternate account.