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January 2009

January 23

Theology of the body rocks

January 23, 2009

TORONTO - If sex sells, can a pope’s teachings about marriage and sexuality also appeal to the masses? Two Catholic musicians are hoping that John Paul II’s “theology of the body” set to music will be able to. Or at least encourage listeners to consider an alternative view to the sexually permissive culture.

Pope Benedict joins YouTube generation

January 23, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI asked young Catholics to use their computers, Facebook accounts, blogs and Internet video posts to share with their peers the joy of faith in Christ. And to underline his message, he launched a new Vatican site on YouTube, the world's largest on-line source of videos. "Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm," the Pope told young people in his message for the 2009 celebration of World Communications Day.

January 26

Obama reverses ban on abortion funding

January 26, 2009

WASHINGTON - Pro-life activists quickly denounced U.S. President Barack Obama's Jan. 23 signature on an executive order reversing the Mexico City policy, a move that clears the way for the federal government to provide aid to programs that promote or perform abortion overseas. The Associated Press reported late in the afternoon that Obama signed an executive order reversing the ban that was first instituted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Obama signed the order with no fanfare and with no news media in the room, a marked contrast to signings of executive orders earlier in the week.

January 27

Pope lifts Lefebvrites excommunications

January 27, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunication of four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The move was considered a major concession to the archbishop's traditionalist followers. The Vatican said the decree removing the excommunication, signed Jan. 21 and made public three days later, marked an important step toward full communion with the Society of St. Pius X , founded by Lefebvre in 1970. It said some questions remain unresolved with the society, including its future status and that of its priests, and that these issues would be the subject of further talks.

January 29

Pope welcomes election of new Russian patriarch

January 29, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI said he learned "with joy" of the election of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad — a prelate he has met three times — as the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch-elect Kirill, 62, who had been in charge of ecumenical relations for the Russian Orthodox Church for the past 20 years, was elected patriarch of Moscow Jan. 27 on the first ballot cast by members of the church's local council. He will be enthroned Feb. 1 in Moscow as the successor of Patriarch Alexy II, who died in December after more than 18 years as head of the church.

Through God our lives can be extraordinary

January 29, 2009

This time of year is a low point for some people. The festivities of the Christmas season are over, the lovely decorations have been packed away (ours not too long ago) and we’re back into the rhythm of everyday life. Resuming routines is a relief to some of us, but for others the predictability is monotonous. All of us go through periods where life seems rather tedious. We may feel like we’re in a holding pattern, biding our time until something exciting happens. Perhaps we’re awaiting specific occurrences: the weekend, a vacation, the next season, our next raise, a new job, a birth or a milestone anniversary. But life goes on in the meantime, and we need to make the most of it.

Devote ourselves to the Lord

January 29, 2009

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Feb. 1 (Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28) Many claim the mantle of prophecy for it can surround one with an aura of moral and spiritual authority. It can also be a sort of free pass to say and do a lot of things that might normally be unacceptable.

2009 shows signs of 1939 hatreds

January 29, 2009

On Jan. 10, I went to an anti-Israel rally in Toronto. I had seen videos and read reports of anti-Jewish sentiment at other such demonstrations in connection with the conflict in Gaza, and I wanted to see if it would break out again. Shivering outside the Israeli Consulate for over an hour, I saw hundreds of supporters for Palestine and only a handful of supporters for Israel — about seven when I got there and about 14 when I left. There were dozens and dozens of police.

Are Darwin and Galileo a tag team against religion?

January 29, 2009

“Be afraid, be very afraid!” is perhaps a tad too dramatic, but on the other hand be prepared for a year that promises to go too far in setting up one of the great fake dramas of all time. The first hint of what 2009 portends was in the last issue of New Scientist for 2008. The editors of the magazine in their collective wisdom decided to poll leading scientists around the world on the vital question, “Who did more to knock man off his pedestal: Darwin or Galileo?” As with any vital question of the day, the framing of the question is truly much more important that the answer. The question is timely because this year marks two “very special” anniversaries. It is 400 years since the Catholic Church put Galileo on trial for heresy and 150 years since the publication of Darwin’s groundbreaking work on evolution. To round out the trifecta of anniversaries, it is also the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

Housing key to breaking cycle of poverty

January 29, 2009

The face of poverty and homelessness is often hidden in Canada. Unlike the stark faces of children and families that stare at us from photos in stories about the millions huddled together in refugee camps in Africa and elsewhere, we do not see the same faces here. They are hidden away in shabby apartments or isolated rural areas. They are not gathered together in camps as in Darfur but they still shoulder the burden of poverty and homelessness made more stark and bitter because it occurs in a land that is bountiful and abundant.

Advising Obama

January 29, 2009

If U.S. President Barack Obama thought the hard slugging was through, overcoming centuries of oppression for blacks in the United States to make history as its first African-American president, just wait for what the future will bring. As Obama took his position as leader of the world’s only superpower Jan. 20, he assumed control of a nation mired in crisis, on so many fronts. The economy is in the tank, facing its worst financial crisis in eight decades. The United States is in deep in not one, but two major wars, with a third conflict in the Middle East never far beyond U.S. parametres. The rich-poor divide is widening, too many Americans do not have proper health care coverage, action is needed to combat climate change and, yes, despite his election, racial tension is always on the radar — just see the reaction to the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white transit police officer in Oakland at New Year’s for evidence.

January 30

Budget ignores the poor, critics say

January 30, 2009

OTTAWA - The federal budget proved disappointing for social justice organizations hoping for more direct help for the poor and more focus on renewable energy.“There were tax cuts that help a number of Canadians,” said Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) executive director Joe Gunn after the government introduced its budget Jan. 27. “But for the poorest and most vulnerable, those too poor to pay taxes, there’s not much for them. These are the people the Christian community serves and hold dearest in our hearts,” he said, noting that “at time of recession they will suffer the most.” Laurel Rothman, national co-ordinator for Campaign 2000, a national anti-poverty campaign aimed at eliminating child poverty said the budget contained “virtually nothing for low-income families,” especially 760,000 children living in poverty and their mothers.

Governments must take moral responsibility for economy

January 30, 2009

TORONTO - Making a budget is about making moral choices, the social justice coalition sponsored by Canada’s Catholic, Anglican and Protestant churches said in a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the provincial premiers. The global financial crisis happened because governments and corporations failed to take moral responsibility for the economy, according to a Jan. 23 letter from KAIROS to Harper and the premiers.

Engaging youth 'COR' of program's success

January 30, 2009

KING CITY, Ont. - Parish youth groups and yearly events can and often do fade into non-existence after a few years. Leaders burn out, decide to move on or simply aren’t getting the assistance they need. But that isn’t the case with the Christ in Others Retreat held every year in King City, Ont., just north of Toronto. The community has been hosting its series of COR non-stop since 1984 with the leadership of Fr. John Yake, chaplain at Villanova College.

Caring about the family

January 30, 2009

Family. There is nothing so precious in this world as your family. While this may sound cliché and overused, it is true. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a family is “a group of individuals under one roof and usually under one head.” However, the most appropriate definition I believe is “a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.” I think this comes closer to the family that I am a part of. Whether it is saying “Grace” together before meals, sharing a prayer during the hard times or simply celebrating the Eucharist together at Mass, it adds only to the layers of family I share in.

Uniting witnesses on campus

January 30, 2009

ANCASTER, Ont. - “Thank you, Lord, for giving us food!” A chorus of voices could be heard down the main hall of Mount Mary Retreat Centre , as students sang “superman grace” at lunch time. Sixty university students from across Canada had arrived, filled with enthusiasm, for the “Come to the Living Stone” conference in Ancaster, Ont. Jan. 22-25. This bi-annual student leadership conference, hosted by the Canadian Catholic Student Association , enabled student leaders to share a weekend of workshops, keynote addresses by vocational directors and youth workers, prayer, music, friendship and other activities.

Teopoli camp seeking counsellors

January 30, 2009

GRAVENHURST, Ont. - The Teopoli Summer Experience, like a summer kids camp but with spiritual formation, is currently recruiting counsellors (teachers), lifeguards and health care professionals to make this 33-year-old tradition continue. The camp offers swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, sports, music, culture, drama, theology, daily Holy Mass and rosary.

Christians must live by example

January 30, 2009

Editor’s note: this is one of four honorary mentions for the Friars Student Writing Award contest sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Anthony Labriola, 17, is a Grade 12 student at Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School in Oshawa. Throughout His ministry, Jesus shattered cultural precepts. He ate with the tax collectors and prostitutes, acting as physician to the spiritually ailing. His gift of salvation has not been reserved for a select group. Even those who persecuted Christ at Calvary were not excluded from His prayers or beyond the reach of His compassion.

Catholic aid agencies expect tough year

January 30, 2009

Caught between the push and pull of more demand for help in poor countries and financial fears squeezing donations in rich countries, the world’s Catholic aid agencies are approaching Lent this year with caution. At a Jan. 14-15 meeting near Amsterdam of the 16 European and North American Catholic agencies that make up CIDSE (a French acronym for International Co-operation for Development and Solidarity), agency heads and bishops discussed how the financial crisis will strain finances.

Bishop's Holocaust denial 'gibberish'

January 30, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Remarks made by a traditionalist bishop who denied that millions of Jews were murdered during the Second World War are unacceptable, “foolish” and in no way reflect the position of the Catholic Church, said the Vatican’s top ecumenist and major dialogue partner with the Jews. “Such gibberish is unacceptable,” said German Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica Jan. 26.