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December 2007

December 2

Support program a relief for caregivers

December 2, 2007

TORONTO - Elizabeth Diachun wanted to rest assured that her husband Jerry, who has Alzheimer’s, wasn’t going to wander off and hurt himself so she called on a respite worker from Saint Elizabeth Health Care.

Jesuit gift lasts 500 years

December 2, 2007

forest.jpg [images/stories/misc/forest.jpg]GUELPH, Ont. - Jesuit Father Jim Profit wants everyone to have a merry, metric Christmas. He’s selling square metres of Christmas spirit for $20.

Finding Jesus’ touch through eucharistic adoration

December 2, 2007

Twice a week Margaret Aitken can be found praying at 2 a.m. in a small stone church in the village of Rockwood, Ont.

December 3

African Mass on the move

December 3, 2007

TORONTO - The African Catholic community has re-located to Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

The problem with pill-popping preteens

December 3, 2007

Sometimes I think of myself as the candy man, or my place of work, the local pharmacy, as a candy store. Pills come in all colours, shapes and sizes and the druggist mixes them with love to make the world feel good. However sweet the job is I have developed a few cavities. The thing that’s shocked me most is the amount of birth control and emergency contraception (morning after pill) that is literally handed out like candy to girls not even 15 years old.

The music downloading dilemma

December 3, 2007

LimeWire, eMule, Morpheus, BitTorrent and iMesh are all free music downloading sites that young Canadians are all too familiar with.

Jews, Christians, Muslims unite at camp

December 3, 2007

Kids4Peace.jpg [images/stories/ysn/Kids4Peace.jpg]TORONTO - “Twenty-four kids. Three faiths. One planet” is the slogan for Kids4Peace, a summer camp that aims to bring peace to the Middle East a dozen families at a time.

Campaign launched to aid and abet refugees

December 3, 2007

OTTAWA - Refugee rights advocates launched a campaign Nov. 29 to ensure that humanitarian workers do not get charged with laws aimed at human traffickers. “I am proud to aid and abet refugees,” said refugee advocates from charities and NGOs from across Canada. They stood, one by one. Then nearly all of the more than 300 delegates to the The Canadian Council for Refugees fall consultation in Ottawa were standing.

Basilians reach into cyberspace

December 3, 2007

TORONTO - The Basilian Fathers recently introduced podcasts to their web site. Using the power of podcasting, the Basilians have expanded their teachings to include listeners from around the world.

Commonality, differences with Protestants

December 3, 2007

Hope in Troubled Times: A New Vision for Confronting World Crises by Bob Goudzwaard, Mark Vander Vennen and Van Heemst David (Baker Book House, softcover, 256 pages, $24.99). Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor by Robert D. Lupton, (Gospel Light and Regal Books, softcover, 139 pages, $12.50). Theology for Non-Theologians: An Engaging, Accessible and Relevant Guide, by James Cantelon (Wiley, softcover, 336 pages, $26.99). As Roman Catholics we are aware of the unity and, at the same time, the separation that exists among Christians. We all follow Jesus, the one Lord, yet the different Christian communities have different outlooks and interpretations about how to go about this. It is interesting, therefore, to have a look every once in a while at what authors from other Christian denominations are writing about.

Toronto's Parkdale food bank saved

December 3, 2007

TORONTO - St. Philip's Centre is well on its way to another 20 years of serving the poor in Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood, avoiding near bankruptcy and eviction just before Christmas.

December 4

Ouellet holds out hope Pope will attend congress

December 4, 2007

OTTAWA - Cardinal Marc Ouellet returned to Canada from Rome Nov. 29 with no final answer on whether Pope Benedict XVI will attend the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress next June in Quebec City.

December 6

Encyclical stresses man’s need for God

December 6, 2007

VATICAN CITY - In an encyclical on Christian hope, Pope Benedict XVI said that, without faith in God, humanity lies at the mercy of ideologies that can lead to “the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice.”

New Nelson bishop a man of service

December 6, 2007

OTTAWA - Pope Benedict XVI has chosen a new bishop for the Nelson diocese who finds as much joy waiting on tables in a restaurant for the poor as he did serving at the highest levels of his Capuchin religious order.

Bishops’ silence on Afghan war ‘a scandal’

December 6, 2007

TORONTO - Canada’s Catholic bishops are failing to lead as the nation’s troops are drawn ever deeper into a civil war in Afghanistan, KAIROS board chair Fr. Paul Hansen told The Catholic Register.

December 7

A helping hand across cultures

December 7, 2007

TORONTO - Finding meaningful work has been the challenge for Jhansi and Raghu Paladugu since they moved from Hyderabad in southern India to Canada a little over a year ago.

Working for change at the UN

December 7, 2007

Last spring I trekked up to the University of St. Michael’s College to hear a presentation by Anna Halpine, founder of the World Youth Alliance (WYA). The story she told was absolutely inspiring. When it ended I introduced myself and asked how I could get involved.

Ottawa archbishop shares his vision for youth

December 7, 2007

prendergastOttawa.jpg [images/stories/canada_bishops/prendergastOttawa.jpg]OTTAWA - Ottawa’s new archbishop looks forward to skating on the Rideau Canal, something he’s missed doing since studying at the University of Ottawa 37 years ago.

Gay resource book removed by Waterloo board

December 7, 2007

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Waterloo Catholic District School Board will remove a teacher resource, which a local lobby group says “normalizes homosexuality,” from its schools but still make it available through requests to the Religion and Family Life co-ordinator.

Anti-euthanasia advocates step up for the vulnerable

December 7, 2007

TORONTO - Doctors, politicians, Christian clergy, disability rights activists and medical students among others from across Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia are joining forces to reverse the growing push to legalize euthanasia and assisted-suicide.