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December 2008

December 1

No charges pending against Catholic trustees

December 1, 2008

TORONTO - Ontario's education minister says a 15-day police review into Toronto Catholic school trustee expenditures concluded that no trustees will face criminal charges. Kathleen Wynne told The Catholic Register she's satisfied with the amount of time it took police to review trustees' expenses, which were released in a Nov. 12 audit report by Ernst & Young.

December 2

Pope condemns Mumbai terrorist attacks

December 2, 2008

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI condemned the wave of terrorist attacks in India as acts of "cruel and senseless violence," and led prayers for the nearly 200 people who died and the hundreds injured in the bloodshed. A Vatican spokesman, meanwhile, warned that if extremists continue to exploit the ethnic and religious tensions of southern Asia the results could be even more tragic.

December 3

Congolese plead for Canadian help

December 3, 2008

TORONTO - Despite another horrendous humanitarian crisis in Congo — 250,000 made homeless by renewed fighting in a war that has killed at least six million since 1996 — the Congolese don't want or need more aid money from Canadians, said a Congolese-Canadian who has for years lobbied Canadian governments to intervene on behalf of peace and demanded that Canadian mining companies cease operation in zones of conflict. "They don't need material things. They need you to be there for them," said Erik Mukandila, a doctoral student studying immigration at the University of Toronto.

December 4

Vatican opposes UN homosexuality declaration

December 4, 2008

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican has made clear its opposition to the United Nations endorsing a universal declaration to decriminalize homosexuality. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United Nations, and Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said unjust forms of discrimination against homosexuals must be avoided.

Charities expect an uncertain year

December 4, 2008

TORONTO - For charities that rely on big donors, the stock market crash has made uncertainty the first principle of budgeting as they face a new year. “Obviously Covenant House and every other charity are looking at their plans and how to approach this kind of time,” said Covenant House spokesperson Rose Cino. “Everyone is in the same boat. Would that we all had a crystal ball.”

Jesus is the reason for the season

December 4, 2008

TORONTO - Don’t forget what Christmas is really about: the birth of Jesus. That’s the message a Polish Catholic group in Mississauga hopes will resonate during the holidays.

Preparing for the coming of Christ

December 4, 2008

TORONTO - With Christmas approaching, it’s important not to lose sight of the preparation that should come beforehand — and this doesn’t just mean picking out the right presents and decorations. Fr. Vito Marziliano, pastor at All Saints parish in Toronto’s west end, has tried to make the Advent season really one of spiritual preparation for his parishioners by offering workshops to help them prepare their spiritual “inn” for Christ.

My life as a writer

December 4, 2008

Soon I am going to have to tell a roomful of high school students what it means to be a writer. This is a daunting task. I know it is a daunting task because I did this last year, and most of the students stared at me unsmilingly. Their teachers, however, loved me. They laughed at all my jokes, and I remembered that I had only ever taught writing to adults. This year I will try to adjust my tone for the teen market.

End the games

December 4, 2008

How soon they forget. Remember back, way back, to Oct. 14? We had this thing called a federal election. A certain Conservative politician was re-elected as prime minister of Canada. And in his acceptance speech, he promised to work in a spirit of compromise with the opposition parties on behalf of all Canadians in the face of an almost unprecedented economic crisis. And a certain Liberal leader also promised he, too, would co-operate with the competition to make Parliament work. In fact, so did the leaders of the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democrats.

December 5

Set aside ego to be instruments of God

December 5, 2008

Third Sunday of Advent (Year B) Dec. 14 (Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28) Isaiah’s words must have been music to the ears of the exiles in Babylon. They were going home — God was delivering them from captivity and granting them a future.

WYD a highlight of Fantino's career

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - Ontario’s top policeman has seen a lot in his time, but his most memorable moment was being involved behind the scenes with World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto. Julian Fantino, commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, regaled an audience of Catholic businesspeople Dec. 2 at St. Paul’s Basilica with stories about working on security matters relating to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Canada during that hot week in July when the pope was joined by hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world to pray and celebrate their faith together.

Informed to be ignorant

December 5, 2008

“George Bush is so stupid!” remarked one of my friends seated at her desk. “I know,” agreed another, “he makes even Steven Harper look intelligent!”

Refugee office launches Jan. 1

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - In response to increasing numbers of refugees seeking a home and to centralize the efforts of agencies working to help them, the archdiocese of Toronto will launch the Office for Refugees Jan. 1. This new pastoral ministry office will be located at Catholic Crosscultural Services (CCS), an agency funded by Catholic Charities. CCS has more than 50 years of experience serving immigrants and refugees belonging to a diverse range of religious and cultural backgrounds.

Faith groups backbone of Out of the Cold

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - Eighteen Toronto churches and synagogues are now open for meals and temporary shelter as part of the annual Out of the Cold program. At St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on McCaul Street in downtown Toronto, Fr. Jon Hansen said there were 180 guests for dinner and 70 overnight guests, primarily men, on its first day, Nov. 23. The Out of the Cold program at the parish runs on Sundays from 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. until April 5.

Music ministry all in the family

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - Between “rock concerts for God” and their work in integrating special needs kids with their peers, the members of the Blue Veil ministry have had a busy life the past two years, catching the attention of students and faculty at Ontario Catholic schools from London to Oshawa. Blue Veil is a non-profit, non-denominational, Toronto-based charity — the creation of executive director Cris Smith and half of her eight children: Jeff, 28, Phill, 26, Donny, 24 and now David, 20.

Ontario religious step up poverty-reduction demand

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - The people who started Ontario’s first free hospitals, ran the orphanages and founded schools that were once a ticket out of poverty are appealing to the government and people of Ontario to take up their fight and get serious about poverty reduction. Thirty Ontario religious orders, representing hundreds of Sisters, Fathers and Friars, are publishing an open letter to the government and people of Ontario. The letter urges them to set hard targets for poverty reduction and enshrine them in law.

Calgary Pro-life defies university

December 5, 2008

CALGARY - Despite being threatened with arrest, suspension and even expulsion by school officials, members of Campus Pro-life at the University of Calgary erected the controversial Genocide Awareness Project display outside the university on Nov. 26 and 27. The university’s stance against the controversial display was that the GAP display “would likely trigger acts of violence” and that by refusing to comply with the university, the pro-life group was trespassing on private property, said lawyer Paul Beke in a letter to CPL. The GAP campaign shows graphic images of the results of abortion, as well as pictures of the development of a fetus. At a Nov. 26 press conference, Leah Hallman, president of CPL, said: “Arrest us, charge us, expel us, do what you want with these bodies of ours, but for every pro-lifer who suffers for the cause, perhaps, just perhaps, another life will be born into this world.”

Joining in solidarity for Attawapiskat

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - The children of Attawapiskat, Ont., have no school and attend classes in portables where the doors sometimes freeze shut, students wear their winter jackets to class and mice run over their lunches. The dropouts in this small community near James Bay begin as early as Grade 4. “But I want to also tell you about the determination in our community to build a better world,” grade-school student Shannen Koostachin told a crowd of about 450 students and teachers from Toronto Catholic schools Nov. 26.

OECTA targets bullying

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - Bullying should be labelled a workplace hazard to make schools safer, says a proposal made to provincial legislators by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. But the proposal isn’t suggesting that Catholic schools are more dangerous than any other workplace, said Elaine MacNeil, president of OECTA.

Trustees call for changes in special ed funding

December 5, 2008

TORONTO - The underfunding of programs for special education and high needs students as well as “short-lived” declining enrolment grants are serious concerns for many Catholic school boards, says the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. In a Nov. 18 financial brief to Ontario Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, the association said while special education grants total almost $2.1 billion, many school boards “continue to express serious concerns about the ongoing gap between the cost of current programs and services for students and special needs and current funding levels.”