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October 2008

October 14

God is the only valid authority

October 14, 2008

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Oct. 19 (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21) Cyrus would probably have been very surprised and even amused to discover that he was the Messiah of the Jewish people. After all, he did not share their culture or religion, and he was not a member of their nation at all. In fact, he was their enemy — the one who ruled them during the latter part of their exile in Babylon. But the Hebrew text of Isaiah is clear — Cyrus is called moshiach — messiah or anointed one.

Celebrating a treasure of the faith

October 14, 2008

I am writing from an attic apartment in a historic Scottish house. From the kitchen window I can see, far across the fields and past the woods, the Firth of Forth. Although I am comfortable now, the heating system is uncertain and I have caught a cold. My friend Mark, the house’s education officer, is leading a party of students around the grand rooms below. The philosophy of conservation followed by Mark’s employers is not to restore the 17th-century house to its origins but to preserve it as it was left by its last tenant in 1996. There has been no educated destruction of the 18th-, 19th- or 20th-century layers. Instead everything has been left alone and treated to slow the natural process of decay. Only as things wear out completely will they be replaced. The less they do to the old house, the curators know, the more easily their decisions may be reversed.

Election results: Canadians put Harper on a short leash

October 14, 2008

The Canadian people woke up Oct. 15 to a new government that looks remarkably like the old government. They could be forgiven for scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss was for. As final polls were still being counted, it appeared that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives would once again form a minority government with 143 seats in the House of Commons — 12 short of a majority. They face a Liberal party with 76 seats, the Bloc Quebecois with 50, the New Democrats with 37 and two independents.

October 16

A Catholic view of Election 2008

October 16, 2008

On Oct. 14, Canadian voters chose to replace its minority Conservative government in Ottawa with another, slightly larger, minority Conservative government. The Catholic Register asked five Catholics from across Canada who closely observed the election campaign, for their views on how the campaign unfolded and what needs to be done now. Below we present their responses to our questions.

Stain on Order of Canada official

October 16, 2008

OTTAWA - On the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, Canada’s Governor General invested abortionist Dr. Henry Morgentaler with the Order of Canada. “The Order of Canada was created in order to acknowledge the great achievements of citizens who desire a better country,” said Archbishop Thomas Collins, archbishop of Toronto.

A Catholic monarchy?

October 16, 2008

One of the last vestiges of official anti-Catholicism in the world is the British Crown. Yet most Canadians are probably unaware that the Queen of England (or King) — Canada’s head of state — is prohibited by law from being Roman Catholic or marrying a Roman Catholic.

Rethinking papal infallibility

October 16, 2008

TORONTO - For 138 years the dogma of papal infallibility has inspired waves of harsh condemnation and deep suspicion from other Christians. The irony is that the church approved this teaching in the name of church unity. Margaret O’Gara, president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, has been thinking about papal infallibility more than 30 years. She thinks it’s time to rethink what the dogma means, and how Catholics put it into practice.

October 17

Sister of Sion to give interfaith talk

October 17, 2008

TORONTO — Jewish-Christian dialogue is what the Sisters of Sion do, so it should be no surprise that Sr. Lucy Thorson has been doing it for 30 years in Jerusalem, Rome and North America. Still, every journey is different. So, at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Scarboro Missions headquarters at 2685 Kingston Rd., Thorson will talk about her own journey of faith following the great opening of Christian-Jewish Dialogue at the end of the Second Vatican Council. The talk will be one of Thorson’s first contributions since joining the Interfaith desk at the Scarboro Mission Society.

Vatican astronomer to speak in Toronto

October 17, 2008

TORONTO — For those who get science, and for those who don’t, Vatican Observatory astronomer Fr. George V. Coyne has a message about the relationship between the sacred and science. The Jesuit scientist will be at the Newman Centre chapel on the campus of the University of Toronto Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. to deliver a free public lecture. “The Dance of the Fertile Universe: Searching for God in a Scientific Culture” will be the second lecture in this year’s Jesuit-sponsored “Naming the Holy” series. Not only is there tea and cookies at the end, but the audience is invited to engage the “Naming the Holy” speakers in conversation.

Social justice and the new evangelization

October 17, 2008

TORONTO — Since Pope John Paul II launched the term “new evangelization” on a visit to Latin America 25 years ago theologians, pastors and catechists have been trying to more fully understand what a new evangelization entails. Pastor and theologian Bishop Claude Champagne believes the new evangelization has a lot to do with social justice. The auxiliary bishop of Halifax will outline just how justice and evangelizing are connected in the 2008-2009 Scarboro Missions Lecture. The lecture will be delivered twice — Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Jerome’s University in Waterloo, and the next day at 10 a.m. at Scarboro Missions, 2685 Kingston Rd., Scarborough. The Oblate bishop taught missiology, the branch of theology which researches missionary work, at Saint Paul University in Ottawa until he was called to the episcopacy in 2003.

U.S. Catholic views documented in Knights survey

October 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - American Catholic voters in 2008 tend to be more moderate and less liberal than U.S. voters as a whole, according to a survey commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and released Oct. 14. “A plurality of Catholic voters, 39 per cent, are Democrats, and 45 per cent describe themselves as moderate. Only 19 per cent say they are liberal,” the survey said.

The great Catholic leadership search

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - There’s a job opening at the University of St. Michael’s College. The college’s board of governors has tried to replace retired president Richard Alway before, but this time he’s really gone and the governors don’t have the option of extending Alway one more time. There’s a similar story brewing at Ottawa’s bilingual Saint Paul University, where attempts to replace rector Fr. Dale Schlitt have foundered, again.

ShareLife ready for tough year

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - When times get tough, the tough get going. That isn’t the theme for this year’s ShareLife corporate campaign, but it could well be. ShareLife launched its annual campaign to raise funds from the Catholic business community in Toronto Oct. 9 as headlines in newspapers around the world continued to trumpet the gloomy news about economic crisis, bank bailouts and plummeting stock prices.

Canadian prelates spark Synod debate

October 17, 2008

VATICAN CITY - The bishops representing Canada here at the Synod of Bishops on Scripture have been gratified by the reception their words have received during the three-week long gathering taking place here. Though more than 200 interventions (short presentations) have now been read at the Synod, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., can confidently expect that his topic will be discussed during the assembly’s subsequent phases. His thesis echoed those of several other bishops: that an overemphasis on historical-critical biblical scholarship has deprived students of the spiritual sense of Scripture.

Stock market causes chaos with charities

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - Plunging prices on Bay Street and Wall Street aren’t just a problem for the stock market. Since changes in tax laws governing gifts of stock in 2006, stock market joy has been joy for charities — and stock market trouble will be trouble for charities, including churches. Beginning in May 2006, donors have been able to deduct 100 per cent of the value of any donations of stock to a registered charity up to a value of 75 per cent of their net annual income. If their gift exceeds that 75-per-cent threshold the donor can carry forward the deduction for up to five years.

Honour still being challenged

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - An Order of Canada recipient who founded an orphanage for girls in Haiti is continuing his legal challenge to the federal government over Dr. Henry Morgentaler’s award nomination, even though the controversial pro-abortion activist received the country’s highest civilian honour on Oct. 10. Frank Chauvin, a retired police detective from Windsor, Ont., launched a judicial review application in late July to the Federal Court of Canada through lawyer Gerard Charette. Toronto lawyer Phil Horgan is also helping with the case.

Faith communities have role to play in making peace

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - If people of faith are serious about peace, they ought to be serious enough to read, understand and promote the United Nations’ doctrine for promoting peace in the post-9/11 world, retired senator and former United Church moderator Lois Wilson told an interfaith gathering at the University of Toronto Oct. 7. “We have social and political responsibilities,” Wilson insisted to a small group that included imams, rabbis, priests, ministers and scholars of world religions gathered for a conference on “Religions’ Role in Keeping Peace: Responses to A Common Word Between Us and You.”

Giving thanks to Good Shepherd Centre

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - James Douglas calls himself one of the Good Shepherd Centre’s success stories, and it’s hard to argue with the man. More than three years ago he arrived in Toronto with too much money in his wallet and a thirst much deeper than his pockets. The money was from an insurance settlement. He had left Los Angeles looking for a connection with his family, hoping for a new start. What he found was the downtown bars and soon realized just trading Toronto for Los Angeles wasn’t going to change his life. He had been drinking long enough to know it was the one constant.

Pro-life protest lands Linda Gibbons in jail

October 17, 2008

TORONTO - Just two days after being released from a prison in Milton, Ont., at the end of September, longtime pro-life activist Linda Gibbons was ready to return to jail. And she did, a week later, on Oct. 8. She was to appear before a judge in October.

October 20

Science: merely a tool to use

October 20, 2008

If I were to tell you that dust from the moon could cure the common cold, you might laugh or tell me I was crazy. But what if I said that scientists had tested the healing capabilities of moon dust and found their human subjects showed improvement in a matter of hours? Better yet, what if I showed you the article in a science magazine? No such article exists, by the way. However, as soon as I placed the word “scientists” in front of my moon dust tale, I don’t doubt that some discerning minds said “I still don’t believe it.” But more often than not, if someone makes a claim in the name of science, we, as a culture, are more apt to give it at least some merit.