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March 2007

March 8

Canadian Pax Christi moves a step closer

March 8, 2007

PaxChristi [images/stories/logos/PaxChristi.jpg]The movement to establish a branch of Pax Christi in Canada takes a step forward in April when the international movement’s secretary general will propose that Catholics For Peace, Toronto and a similar group in Montreal become affiliate members of the Brussels-based network.

Ashes help Catholics stand out

March 8, 2007

I have always looked forward to Ash Wednesday. Ever since I could remember, there was something about receiving an unusual mark on my forehead that got me excited. Maybe when I was a bit younger I didn’t understand everything about Lent or why we were receiving ashes on our heads, but there was that special mystery to it that I remember enjoying as a child.

March 9

Catholic blogger has plenty of fans

March 9, 2007

TORONTO - With a thick Philadelphia accent, Rocco Palmo talks a mile-a-minute rattling off quick facts about Vatican hierarchy or a quip about the latest hot-button Catholic issue. This is a guy who spends his day keeping up with the goings-on of the Catholic Church.

Politicians challenged over rising poverty

March 9, 2007

Children won’t be lifted out of poverty in Ontario unless politicians start committing to reduce poverty rates that have remained stubbornly high despite a booming economy, Campaign 2000 declared with the release of yet another Report Card on Child Poverty in Ontario.

Following Christ’s lead on devotion to peace

March 9, 2007

transfiguration [images/stories/books/transfiguration.gif]Transfiguration: A Meditation on Transforming Ourselves and Our World by John Dear (Image Books, soft cover, 238 pages, $14.95 list) If there is one lesson we can never learn too many times it is how to read the Bible. Jesuit Father John Dear’s Transfiguration shows us clearly and concretely how it’s done.

March 11

Our freedoms are casualties of war

March 11, 2007

One of the problems of war is that its casualties are not limited to combatants; they include what military strategists euphemistically call “collateral damage” inflicted by “friendly fire.”

Trust in the Holy Spirit, says author

March 11, 2007

The daily prayer of the man with his finger on the pulse of Canada’s literary scene comes from a little devotional booklet containing a selection of prayers for all occasions. The particular prayer The Toronto Star’s chief book reviewer finds fit for most occasions is a prayer to the Holy Spirit.

God expects us to work

March 11, 2007

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C), March 18 (Jos 5:9a, 10-12/2 Cor 5:17-21, Lk 15:1-3, 11-32) The manna from heaven and the fruit of the Promised Land are both testimonies to God’s loving kindness and provident care. But they also testify to something else: human doubt and unbelief.

Demand for John Paul’s relics swamps Vatican

March 11, 2007

JPII [images/stories/historical_people/PopeJohnPaulII/JPII.jpg]ROME - The Rome diocesan office charged with promoting the sainthood cause of Pope John Paul II has exceeded its postage budget because of increased requests for prayer cards and relics of the late pope.

We need to take action to save the world’s water

March 11, 2007

water [images/stories/misc/water.jpg]World Water Day, March 22, affords us the opportunity to stand up, speak out and act to ensure our earth’s fresh water is protected as a public trust. Water is a right for the common good of all life forms, not a commodity for buying and selling to the rich by the rich.

Ontario needs to tackle poverty

March 11, 2007

Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from a brief presented to the Ontario Legislature’s standing committee on finance and economic affairs last month by Catholic Charities. The next provincial budget is expected to be revealed March 22. There is a crisis that continues to grow in our midst. It is one that affects the poor and marginalized and the most vulnerable in our society.

March 16

Apostolic letter reflects on Eucharist

March 16, 2007

VATICAN CITY - Catholics must believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, celebrate the liturgy with devotion and live in a way that demonstrates their faith, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Violence against women out of control

March 16, 2007

TORONTO - Rape as a weapon of war, rape in the form of the globalized sex trade, rape among school children, rape as the means of transmitting HIV, rape inside marriage — former United Nations special ambassador Stephen Lewis urged Catholic teachers to think about how rape is defining the world we live in and the future we face.

Praying for miracles

March 16, 2007

TORONTO - Sandy Sitar and her husband Glenn Brown work in the pharmaceutical industry in technically demanding jobs. They’re educated young professionals — not the sort of people who fall into superstition or believe in magic. But that doesn’t mean they don’t believe in miracles.