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January 8, 2009
That our faith bears responsibility for discerning and responding to the “signs of the time” is a conviction Christian theology has constantly maintained. In this tradition crisis is defined as kairos, a moment of truth and judgment that reveals us as we truly are. Though that moment may indicate failure and disaster, when surmounted, it provides a sense of freedom, an opportunity for growth and renewed effort. The challenge facing Christians in a time of crisis is: “how do we understand and respond to this moment?” Early in the present economic disaster, an American single mother returning from work with her daughter discovered that the bank had locked them out of their home. Her surprising reaction was: “I know that my redeemer lives, I firmly hope that God will see me through this.”
I well remember my first visit to Theology on Tap. It was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an event put on by the Harvard Catholic Students Association. The “Harvard” Catholic church had the most beautiful Mass in town, and so I became a Harvard parishioner.
OTTAWA - Halifax Auxiliary Bishop Claude Champagne, 61, has had a life-long passion for the Catholic Church’s mission and the New Evangelization — words Pope John Paul II used to describe evangelization equipped to meet the challenges of the modern world. Champagne’s passion may be a reason why Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of Edmundston, N.B. , Jan. 5 after accepting the resignation of Bishop Francois Thibodeau, 69, for health reasons.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Jan. 18 (1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20; John 1:35-42) How well do we listen? Most people could stand some improvement in that area. We don’t really listen to other people as we should — so often we are thinking of something brilliant, witty or caustic to say in response. And shouting at one another is an unfortunate reality in our time. But developing listening skills has an even greater urgency in our relationship with God.
Creative Dissent: A Politician’s Struggle for Peace by Douglas Roche (Novalis, 381 pages, softcover $37.95). Douglas Roche was just entering his adult life when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. That event — and the subsequent Cold War and nuclear arms race — would serve as the ever-present backdrop to a political life consistently focused on disarmament and development as the keys to international peace.
OTTAWA - The biggest challenge the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace faces is “growing the movement,” says its new national council chair. Demographics are changing and the Catholic population is “aging and diminishing,” said Pat Hogan, who was elected in December.
OTTAWA - Catholic aid agencies have raised concerns about Gaza’s civilian population as war rages between Israel and Hamas. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace and Catholic Near East Welfare Association Canada have echoed Pope Benedict XVI’s call for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.
January 13, 2009
OTTAWA - Canada’s law against polygamy may soon face a religious freedom challenge now that British Columbia has charged members of a breakaway Mormon sect. Winston Blackmore, one of two men charged with polygamy under Canada’s Criminal Code, has told news media his religious freedom is under attack.
January 14, 2009
TORONTO - The University of St. Michael’s College has appointed Sr. Anne Anderson, C.S.J., as its first female president. The Sister of St. Joseph of Hamilton had been interim president from July of last year until the present. A press release issued Jan. 13 said the decision had been recommended by the college collegium at a special meeting the day before and was confirmed by Fr. Ken Decker, superior general of the Basilian Fathers, who founded the university. The new president’s five-year term will be effective retroactive to July.
January 15, 2009
WASHINGTON - The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has pledged that he and his fellow prelates will work with the incoming administration of Barack Obama and the 111th Congress to "advance the common good and defend the life and dignity of all, especially the vulnerable and poor." In a Jan. 13 letter to the president-elect, Chicago Cardinal Francis George offered a broad outline of policy priorities that concern the U.S. bishops, ranging from economic recovery that covers all segments of society to protecting the lives of the "most vulnerable and voiceless members of the human family," especially unborn children. A corresponding letter was sent to Vice President-elect Joseph Biden and each member of Congress.
TORONTO - While the bitter politics of confrontation between mainly Jewish supporters of Israel and mainly Palestinian supporters of Hamas continued to play out in demonstrations in Toronto, Christians, Jews and Muslims came together at the Noor Cultural Centre to pray for peace Jan. 9. Rabbis and imams were on the same page praying for the children, the innocent and even the fighters, as well as for a speedy and just solution to the Gaza conflict which erupted just after Christmas and has claimed about 1,000 lives, mostly Palestinians.
It was a celebration I was sorry to miss. On Nov. 9 close to 300 people gathered at the headquarters of the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society in Toronto for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the society by Msgr. John Mary Fraser. Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, who is the president of Scarboro’s civil corporation, was the main celebrant for the anniversary Mass. It appears to have been a genuinely festive occasion full of memory, gratitude and solidarity. When I received the invitation to attend it was with the greatest reluctance that I declined — other commitments made it impossible — and it was only when my copy of Scarboro Missions magazine arrived that I appreciated the measure of my loss. But also the measure of my indebtedness.
The Pandora’s box opened by the legalization of same-sex marriage continues to let loose assorted demons. The problem of what to do with the polygamists of Bountiful, B.C., is just the latest. Bountiful is a knotty dilemma for legal authorities in British Columbia. Polygamy is illegal in Canada. But for years, Bountiful residents have been members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a tiny sect of the Mormon religion that adhered to the practice of polygamy long after mainstream Mormonism abandoned it in 1890. Among its leaders, Winston Blackmore of Bountiful is alleged to have had more than 20 wives and more than 100 children. James Oler, the bishop of this sect, has been alleged to have at least two wives.
TORONTO - As January comes to a close, five Iraqi children and their father continue to marvel over God’s providence for them after a month of living at the Spiritans ’ newly opened Brottier refugee house in Toronto. Forced to leave Iraq because of death threats from Shia Muslims more than two years ago, the family separated, leaving the passport-less mother and three youngest children, now aged six, eight and 12, with a brother in another town, while the father and his two teenage sons, now 15 and 17, took refuge in Syria to secure an apartment with financial assistance from the United Nations. Meanwhile, the father continued trying to get the other half of his family passports so they could cross the border.
TORONTO - Catholic Family Services of Durham will soon launch a counselling centre to ease the pain that the economic downturn is having on families. Mary Wells, executive director of Catholic Family Services of Durham, says that with job losses and the auto sector in decline in Oshawa, Ont., its new $90,000 centre which launches in March comes at a critical time.
Six years ago, a close friend of mine met her guardian angel. As she recalls the story, she was introduced to him in a dream, a dream which she said was indescribable. At her darkest hour the following day, she happened to be physically introduced to a young man — the same person as the angel in her dreams.
Space Vulture , by Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Myers (Tor Publishing, 333 pages, $27.95). When most people think about leaders of the Catholic Church, science fiction doesn’t usually come to mind. However, in March 2008, a book came out that could change this.
TORONTO - Joshua Lowe has taken the first prize in the seventh annual Friars’ Student Writing Award contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (See here for Joshua's essay ) The Grade 11 student at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Markham, Ont., was one of more than 70 high school students between the ages of 14 and 18 who competed by submitting a 500-word essay on ecumenism.
Editor's Note: this is the first place winner of the seventh annual Friars’ Student Writing Award sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Lowe, 16, is a Grade 11 student at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Markham, Ont. “That they may be one in your hand” comes from the prophet Ezekiel and closely relates to the modern Christian goal of “ecumenism.” Ecumenism is a term used to describe “a movement promoting union between religions.” In relation to Christianity, it explains the effort to develop unity between the churches: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. To fully comprehend and apply the idea that the prophet Ezekiel was trying to convey, we must look at the past conflicts within Christianity, the present attempts to promote unity and the actions that we can take in order to make unity between churches a reality.