January 2007

School boards on different paths

January 16, 2007

TORONTO - The 416 and 905 area codes rounded off 2006 by continuing on separate paths over the financing of Catholic education.

New missal deals blow to ecumenism, liturgist says

January 16, 2007

Fr. Paul Turner [images/stories/international_people/fr_paul_turner.jpg] TORONTO - The outgoing president of the North American Academy of Liturgy and a leading Catholic liturgist has told The Catholic Register the most recent translation of the Roman Missal is "a step backwards" for ecumenical relations.

Still with us

January 16, 2007

Each year the Pope delivers a wide-ranging speech to the 175 or so ambassadors assigned by their countries to the Holy See. It is an occasion for the leader of the world's largest church to turn a spotlight on some of those global issues that are too easily forgotten in the fickleness and superficiality of the daily news grind.

Church goods retailers wary of items manufactured in China

January 17, 2007

Crucifix [images/stories/misc/crucifix-standing.jpg]TORONTO - The thought of a chalice or paten made in a sweatshop, of chasubles sewn by child labour or religious statues that come out of a factory that dumps heavy metal in a river, killing the fish, would be distinctly uncomfortable for most Catholics. The church in Canada helps fund the Maquiladora Solidarity Network and KAIROS, organizations that have demanded that major clothing retailers and manufacturers disclose their supply chains so anyone can find out whether a shirt or a pair of athletic shoes was made in a sweatshop. The church has spoken out against abusive working conditions since Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891.

Jesus heals, liberates, gives hope and courage

January 17, 2007

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), Jan. 21 (Nehemiah 8:1-4, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1; 4:14-21) The Israelites were unaware how far they had strayed from the path of God. Although the prophets hammered at them unceasingly that their exile in Babylon was due to sin, their actual transgressions had perhaps remained unclear in their minds. But they are ignorant no longer, for the public recitation of the law has hit them hard.

Government moves slow on no-sweat policy

January 17, 2007

The federal government can't say when Canadians will get to know whether the prison uniforms it buys are sewn by prison labourers in Myanmar, or whether Canadian army boots are manufactured using child labour.

Rich-poor gap widens

January 17, 2007

The rich are getting richer, and you're not. The median net worth of the top fifth of Canadian families grew by 19 per cent between 1999 and 2005, according to a Statistics Canada report released in December. Over the same period, the net worth of households in the bottom 20 per cent fell under 43 per cent.

The power to choose

January 17, 2007

As a teen I hate when I don't get to make my own decisions. I get very aggravated when my parents prevent me from going out. Being 17, I know I am old enough to make my own choices. However, recently I encountered a peer whose opinions really disturbed me. He claimed it was impossible to say "no" to peer pressure. In other words he believes he has no choice.

Toronto school helps build maternity ward in Nigeria

January 17, 2007

TORONTO - While some schools raise funds to fix the girls' washroom on the second floor, or to purchase new school supplies, the students at Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Toronto worked together to raise $35,000 to build a maternity ward in Umuahia, Nigeria.

Essayists miss the faces of the church

January 17, 2007

Why I am still a Catholic [images/stories/books/why_am_i.jpg]When I first saw the title of this book of essays, my heart sank. Was it going to be full of whining about that faceless entity, "The Church," meaning that other faceless entity, "The Magisterium"? And indeed, one clever contributor, BBC radio presenter Edward Stourton, points out the dark connotations of the word still: "…I detect a whiff of prejudicing the argument in the use of the word 'still'; it suggests a 'despite' in the sub-text, a conviction that we apologists must make our case in the face of overwhelming evidence of the general ghastliness of the church under the long reign of John Paul II."

Church used in charitable tax fraud

January 22, 2007

TORONTO - Almost $3 million worth of fake receipts for fictional donations to 39 Toronto-area Catholic parishes has landed a Markham, Ont., woman in court.

Painting aids retired bishop on spiritual journey

January 22, 2007

Bishop Lacey [images/stories/arts/lacey.jpg]TORONTO - There is barely a square inch of free wall space in Bishop Pearse Lacey's North York apartment. The walls are covered with dozens of portrait and landscape paintings, most of which he painted himself.

Out of the Cold program runs into problem with Beach neighbours

January 22, 2007

TORONTO - Parishioners at St. Aidan's Anglican Church would like to bring the needy in from out of the cold, if only they could convince area neighbours of their cause.

A prayer for the Eucharistic Congress 2008

January 22, 2007

How far is too far?

January 22, 2007

Do you find yourself tripping over your words more than usual lately in the effort to appear politically correct? Over the past Christmas season, more than in previous years, I was especially aware of the awkward "holiday" jargon such as re-naming the Christmas tree a holiday tree to try and be more inclusive. To me, it is obvious that we belong to a society whose members are so fearful of stepping on toes that they often do not step out at all.

Winners announced for annual essay contest

January 22, 2007

Peter Grbac [images/stories/ysn/peter.jpg]TORONTO - Peter Grbac of Toronto has won the fifth annual Friars' Student Writing Award contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs Jan. 21-28 this year.

Unity begins with one step

January 22, 2007

peter grbac [images/stories/ysn/peter.jpg]It has been said that every journey begins with one step. Sacred Scripture brings to life the courageous and bold journeys Jesus and the apostles took in an attempt to evangelize the world and spread their revolutionary teachings of love and social justice. Yet their journey began with one simple and courageous step. A few weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI travelled to Turkey in a noble attempt to connect with the Muslim, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian faiths. His journey, like his predecessors' 2,000 years before him, began with one simple and courageous step. Every day, we, as Catholics, set out on a new journey. Not knowing who we may meet on the road of life or where we may end up, we place our faith in the God who created us and loves us. Life is indeed a fascinating journey.

Province to blame for education chaos, trustees complain

January 25, 2007

TORONTO - Timmins Catholic school trustee Colleen Landers fully expects to be laying off teachers in April and then hoping to rehire them over the summer. She and her colleagues on the Northeastern Catholic District School Board have sent out a sheaf of just-in-case pink slips before, and it's become part of the normal and chaotic budgeting routine for many school boards.

Church mustn't forget its complicity in slave trade

January 25, 2007

TORONTO - The past matters to Ursuline Sister Hazel Campayne. It matters for all the ways it has shaped our world and our church — for what it reveals about who we are now.

Payday loans institutes are modern usury

January 26, 2007

money mart [images/stories/misc/moneymart.jpg]TORONTO - Jose Martin is a labourer at a construction site in Toronto. The job does not pay much so his family — his disabled wife and three children — supplements his income with social welfare provisions. However, welfare does not cater for everything the Martins need.