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October 2007

October 18

Catholic Schools in Canada

October 18, 2007

A timeline of changes to Catholic education throughout Canada's history.

October 19

Attracting families will lure Catholics back to pews

October 19, 2007

CORNWALL, Ont. - Offer better ministry to families and baptized Catholics who no longer attend church will come back, sociologist Reginald Bibby told the annual plenary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Oct. 15.

Christian-Muslim peace = world peace

October 19, 2007

WASHINGTON - For the first time, more than 100 senior Muslim leaders from around the world sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders proposing theological similarities as a basis for peace and understanding.

Slain bishop committed to building bridges in Algeria

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - Some of the most horrific violence of our time happened in Algeria in the 1990s, and it only tangentially involved Catholics. But that tangent is full of dangers, doubts and fear.

St. Bonaventure’s reaches out online

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - A Franciscan friar has found a creative way to reach out to people sitting outside the pews in front of their computer screens.

Confirmation program lets special needs youth participate

October 19, 2007

NEWMARKET, Ont. - The archdiocese of Toronto launched its newly revised Confirmation program “Anointed for Mission” this fall.

Putting Christianity back into Halloween

October 19, 2007

With Halloween just around the corner, selecting the perfect costume, pumpkin and treats has become the ultimate focus of this predominately secular event. It seems that this once religious occasion has become little more than a light-hearted event filled with trick-or-treaters and costume parties. In essence, Halloween has become hollow, not hallow.

Canadian teens overworked

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - Teenagers carry a heavier workload than people often give them credit for.

Youth minister leads teens closer to Christ

October 19, 2007

DARTMOUTH, N.S. - At a time when teen violence throughout the Halifax region consistently makes the headlines, one man works hard to bring teens closer to Christ, one at a time.

Exploring the roots of the Messiah

October 19, 2007

Here is an excellent introduction into the concept of the Messiah in the Bible. It allows us to understand how the Christian understanding of Christ is rooted in the Jewish tradition, but goes beyond it. This new Christian understanding was formed by the disciples’ experience of Jesus and His work.

Catholics need to step up for education rights

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - The Ontario election is over, but not the hard feelings and not the debate. Catholics are under new pressure to justify public funding for their schools following three months of faith-and-education debate leading into the election earlier this month that saw Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals win with a solid majority.

Could Catholics run Jewish schools?

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - The future of Catholic education in Ontario may be bound up with the Khalsa Community School for Sikh children in Malton, or Bialik Hebrew Day School in Toronto. Key figures in Catholic education are thinking about winning the debate over faith-based education by opening a non-Catholic religious school.

Catholic schools’ future may rest in private schools

October 19, 2007

TORONTO - In a province where the government offers full funding for Catholic schools, there still exists a niche for self-funded private Catholic education, say supporters of independent schools.

How the provinces stack up

October 19, 2007

Public funding for Catholic schools varies from province to province. Some are fully funded — Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories — while Manitoba and British Columbia receive 50-per-cent funding. The rest of the provinces, Quebec, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nunavut, receive no funding for Catholic schools.

Catholic Education - What Now?

October 19, 2007

Editor's note: After a bruising provincial election campaign that revealed deep dislike among Ontario voters for any form of government-funded religious schools, Catholic education supporters have a right to be nervous. Their own system came under attack and will now be under an unfriendly microscope. In these stories, we explore some of the issues and possible solutions.

October 21

God will be judge

October 21, 2007

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), Oct. 28 (Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14) It would be wonderful if justice were as swift and unambiguous as the passage from Sirach implies. As long as you are the aggrieved or oppressed party, your prayer will reach heaven and God will execute speedy justice. Case closed!

Education debate feared, welcomed

October 21, 2007

And so the Ontario election is over. The Grits are returned with a majority. The Tories are licking their wounds. The NDP and Green Party observe largely from the margins. And, of course, the issue of faith-based schools — John Tory’s killer decision — remains for another day of reckoning.

October 22

Whose children are they?

October 22, 2007

Ontario’s hot-button issue of faith-based schools is not solely one of public vs. private education, or of religious rights vs. the secularity of the state, but rather of the right of parents to educate their own children.

Faith and education can mix

October 22, 2007

Editor’s note: This article offers a perspective on faith-based education from outside Ontario. It is written by Lee Giles, an editor for the Red Deer Advocate, a daily newspaper in Red Deer, Alta. It is reprinted with permission. If someone asked you to name the Canadian province most likely to embrace religious diversity, you just might choose Ontario. After all, is there anywhere in the country where you could find a greater number of faiths represented than in Toronto? Not likely.

Faith-based schools debate? Stork dancing

October 22, 2007

The debate about the public funding of faith-based schools in the Ontario election campaign could be described as “stork dancing.” There was no engagement and no contact. No honest exchange, just a bashing of hard beaks. And the blame was evenly spread.