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June 2007

June 17

The great gift of Catholic education

June 17, 2007

Editor’s note: Michael Bator, director of education for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board , retired this month after 34 years as teacher, principal, superintendent and director. He offers below a reflection on what Catholic education has meant to him.

Another sacrament for today’s youth?

June 17, 2007

Having taken the current set of Grade 8 students from my parish through Confirmation some insights on the process came to light. I suppose this could be considered a good news/bad news account.

Canada, Latin America share similar problems

June 17, 2007

OTTAWA - A lack of deep evangelization lies at the root of problems shared by the churches in Canada and Latin America.

Digital revolution creates opportunities for religion

June 17, 2007

SHERBROOKE, Que. - There is a “digital revolution” transforming today’s mass media in ways that pose both risks and opportunities for evangelization, says a Quebec communications expert.

June 18

Fully Alive relaunched

June 18, 2007

TORONTO - Fully Alive has a new lease on life. A revised and updated second edition of the Ontario Catholic school system’s family life program was launched with a teacher-training seminar on the new Grade 1 and 2 text books in Toronto June 11 and 12.

Dufferin-Peel education director retires

June 18, 2007

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Michael Bator announced his retirement after 34 years in education.

Rights league doles out honours

June 18, 2007

TORONTO — The Catholic Civil Rights League announced the recipients of this year’s Archbishop Exner Award June 7. This year’s winners are J. Fraser Field and Jim Hughes.

Idol contest aids family seeking sanctuary

June 18, 2007

BRAMPTON, Ont. - On your mark, get set, sing! St. Anne’s Church in Brampton played host to a singing competition June 2 as a way to raise funds to assist a family seeking sanctuary in Philip and Mary parish as well as other ministries within the St. Anne’s parish community.

Euthanasia support driven by fear

June 18, 2007

TORONTO - A recent poll showing massive support for doctor-assisted suicide among Canadians underscores how fearful people are of death and dying, especially if they have no belief in God or eternal life, says the executive director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute .

Abolish abortion top wish on CBC list

June 18, 2007

OTTAWA - When the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) set up a Facebook group on the Internet called The Great Canadian Wish List , perhaps no one could have predicted that “Abolish Abortion in Canada” would rise to first place almost from the very start.

June 20

Knights' summer camp resurrected

June 20, 2007

TORONTO - The efforts of a group of Toronto-area Catholics has guaranteed that there will be a summer camp this year available to underprivileged boys. Four Winds Boys Camp, formerly known as Columbus Boy Camp, will open its doors in August on the shores of Lake Simcoe.

June 21

Bush vetoes embryonic stem-cell bill

June 21, 2007

DNA.jpg [images/stories/misc/DNA.jpg]WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush June 20 vetoed a bill to expand federal funding for medical research on human embryonic stem cells, saying it “would compel American taxpayers, for the first time in our history, to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.”

Mid-life whinging

June 21, 2007

Canada, celebrating its 140th birthday as a nation, is no longer the rosy-cheeked debutante at the international ball, shyly stepping on to the international stage with a fetching impertinence founded on idealism and naiveté. No, in the family of nations we are now the middle-aged aunt, whinging about our bigger siblings and issuing stern lectures on matters over which we have no influence, all the while ignoring our own advice.

Church architecture out of the ordinary

June 21, 2007

Though design is an important part of it, Toronto’s 21st century wave of new cultural buildings is about more than just architecture. It’s also about city-building: how best to create an urban complex that is beautiful and liveable, and that serves the millions who live here. Each of the new structures we see going up suggests a different approach to this crucial task.

Social enterprise reinvented for 21st century

June 21, 2007

When Fr. Eugene Funken was faced with 10 orphans whose homes had burned down in St. Agatha, Ont., in 1858, he started a charity. When Sonya Pouyat took over leadership of Funken’s charity in the midst of “slash and burn” Ontario government policies in the 1990s, she started a business.

Palestinian Christians concerned about future

June 21, 2007

JERUSALEM - The Gaza compound of the Rosary Sisters was ransacked and looted and sacred objects were destroyed during Palestinian infighting that led to the Hamas faction’s takeover of the Gaza Strip.

Ontario trustees turn down single board

June 21, 2007

HUNTSVILLE, Ont. - Public school trustees have voted down a call to eliminate Ontario’s Catholic school system by a margin of almost two to one.

Archbishop Collins awarded St. Mike’s honorary degree

June 21, 2007

TORONTO - Universities are at the centre of Catholic life, says Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, and that is why the Catholic Church began to create universities in the Middle Ages.

Anti-nuclear Pugwash movement turns 50

June 21, 2007

OTTAWA - Fifty years ago, at the beginning of the Cold War, 22 of the world’s greatest scientists gathered in the village of Pugwash, N.S., to talk about the threat of nuclear weapons.

June 22

Cerebral palsy can’t slow social justice advocate

June 22, 2007

TORONTO - Having a voice does not depend on the ability to speak. This is certainly true of 24-year-old Rebecca Beayni of Toronto, who was honoured at this year's City of Toronto Social Justice Awards ceremony on June 9. Beayni has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or speak, but these limitations have not stopped her from becoming a voice for individuals with disabilities around the world.