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April 2008

April 7

Zimbabweans will risk lives for change

April 7, 2008

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Zimbabweans will risk their lives for change if they need to, a church official said nearly a week after the presidential election, when results still had not been announced.

Catholic convergence

April 7, 2008

This newspaper is heading into some uncharted territory (at least for us) in our coverage of Pope Benedict's first North American visit. First, we are experimenting with this blog and offering daily news coverage on the web site. And, second, we will be collaborating with Salt+Light TV , Canada's Catholic television network, to provide a richer Canadian perspective on the news.

Catholic convergence

April 7, 2008

April 8

Hate complaint legal fees rising

April 8, 2008

OTTAWA - Catholic Insight magazine has paid $6,000 in legal fees fighting a human rights “hate” complaint, yet no hearing date is in sight. For a small circulation (3,500 subscribers) conservative specialty magazine, “it has cost us quite a bit,” said the magazine’s editor, Basilian Father Alphonse de Valk.

A sneak preview

April 8, 2008

What's he going to talk about? Everyone has their own idea about what Pope Benedict XVI will discuss during his first papal visit to the United States. So, to make it easy and eliminate the guesswork, His Holiness has given us all a little glimpse of what's in store.

A sneak preview

April 8, 2008

April 9

Behind the scenes

April 9, 2008

Papal trips don't just happen. They are the sum of a million details, signed, sealed and delivered by an army of church workers. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States is a case in point. My friend John Thavis, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, offers an interesting glimpse behind the scenes in one of his Rome audio reports.

Behind the scenes

April 9, 2008

April 10

We're not at Sapienza U. anymore

April 10, 2008

Americans have come a long way from being a people who couldn't bring themselves to electing a Catholic president. Today, a few days before Pope Benedict's arrival on his first visit to the United States, a new poll suggests that, by and large, Americans are reasonably well-disposed toward the German pontiff.

We're not at Sapienza U. anymore

April 10, 2008

April 11

Pilgrims take on elements in Ark journey

April 11, 2008

OTTAWA - The pilgrims carrying the Ark of the New Covenant have faced snow and rain and shine. They have become experts in caring for blisters. Some of them have sunburns on their faces.

Canadian composer arranges hymn for papal Mass

April 11, 2008

On April 20, New York’s famed Yankee Stadium will echo with a Canadian-arranged hymn quite unlike any baseball tunes. “The Feast of Victory,” arranged by a composer from New Brunswick, will resonate during Communion for the concluding Mass of Pope Benedict XVI’s first papal visit to the United States.

Canadian mine disrupts Honduran lives

April 11, 2008

PALO RALO, Honduras - Nine years ago, Rodolfo Arteaga was sitting on a gold mine — literally. In fact, so was his village of Palo Ralo, in the central Siria Valley of Honduras. But Arteaga said his and his family’s lives have not improved and he wishes he could turn back the clock.

Sweatshop monitors finger Ontario school uniform supplier

April 11, 2008

TORONTO - A Workers’ Rights Consortium (WRC) investigation says that a company that makes socks for the largest school uniform supplier in Ontario is in violation of its anti-sweatshop policies. Workers at the Lianglong Socks Ltd. factory in Zhuji City, China, are sleeping in unheated dormitories and working unpaid overtime in a factory deemed dirty, unhealthy and unsafe, according to the WRC. For a lot of Catholic school students across Ontario, that’s an issue.

Poverty goes beyond economic theory

April 11, 2008

TORONTO - Andrea Duffield, mother of three and raising them on her own the last five years, knows what poverty is. She’s suffered the humiliations and frustrations of not being able to send her kids on class trips, having to quit a job because it pays less than it costs to keep her kids in day care, having to quit a college nursing program that might have led to a good job but the combination of day care and text books left her with no money for groceries.

Counsel of despair

April 11, 2008

The dictionary defines misanthropy as “hatred or mistrust of humankind.” Over the last few months there has been an awful lot of that going around. This attitude has displayed itself in increased chattering in the media (where else?) that responsible global citizens should refrain from reproducing in order to do their bit to save the environment. One less mouth to feed, or in contemporary terms, one less carbon footprint to mar planet Earth.

No vote to replace fired trustee

April 11, 2008

TORONTO - With three-years-plus remaining on the current term, Toronto’s Catholic school board is appointing a replacement trustee rather holding an election to decide who will represent Catholic school supporters between Bloor Street and Highway 401 west of Bathurst and east of Jane.

Chaplain leaves his mark at Saint Mary's

April 11, 2008

HALIFAX - Deacon Dan Kelly, S.J., 41, of Campbell’s Bay, Que., has been the chaplain at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax since September 2007. Kelly has implemented many changes to put the chaplaincy centre on the map at the university, such as hosting more activities in the chapel, like movie nights, and an attempt at launching a video contest on Gospel values at Saint Mary’s. Unfortunately, the contest lacked participation, but Kelly plans to try again in the fall.

St. Joseph's youth continue Mass tradition

April 11, 2008

TORONTO - Youth from parishes across the eastern section of the archdiocese of Toronto took part in a regional Mass at St. Joseph’s Church on March 30. The St. Joseph’s Youth Group hosted the Mass, eucharistic adoration and a reception that took place in the parish hall immediately following the Mass.

Street Kings is self-delusional

April 11, 2008

A lot of very smart people in command of rare skills, incredible technology and huge amounts of money have once again made an absurd movie — a numbingly violent, cops-versus-the-social-ills-of-America fantasy that makes no sense and bears no relationship with real people or the real world.