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November 2009

November 13

Euthanasia is not appropriate care

November 13, 2009

It was bound to happen but it nonetheless came as a shock to hear doctors endorse the position that, when other treatments fail, it may sometimes be acceptable to simply kill the patient. In effect, that is the position of the Quebec College of Physicians in a policy paper that says euthanasia can be an ethical and viable option for doctors when a patient, facing “imminent and inevitable” death, is suffering extreme pain. As put by one doctor: “We are saying death can be an appropriate type of care in certain circumstances.”

November 17

Msgr. Armstrong's legacy will live on

November 17, 2009

TORONTO - Msgr. Thomas Barrett Armstrong, a priest who knew the inner workings of beauty and shared the gift of music with hundreds of students, his city and his church, passed away peacefully at the Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence Nov. 14, just days before his 80th birthday. Ripples from the former director of music at St. Michael’s Choir School lifetime of teaching and conducting are preserved everywhere in the musical life of Toronto and Canada, said Lydia Adams, conductor of the Elmer Iseler Singers.

November 19

Canadian to lead worldwide Redemptorists

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - Toronto-born Fr. Michael Brehl has been elected Superior General of the Redemptorists , the first Canadian to hold the top post in the congregation’s 277-year history. As leader, Brehl’s inspiration will come from the Redemptorists’ mission of reaching out to those in need and promoting peace and justice, he told The Register in his first interview from Rome after being chosen Nov. 4 to lead the order founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori in 1732.

Breakaway Anglicans hope to be in communion with Catholics by Easter

November 19, 2009

OTTAWA - The primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), feeling “overwhelming joy,” says he hopes to deliver a “yes” before Easter to the Holy See’s offer of Personal Ordinariates that would welcome his members into the Catholic Church. Archbishop John Hepworth called the apostolic constitution published Nov. 9 by Pope Benedict XVI “generous at every turn” in its description of the Anglican heritage, dogmatic provisions and pastoral language. It followed the Pope’s dramatic October offer to welcome Anglicans into the Catholic Church without abandoning their prayer books or liturgical traditions.

Relating church architecture to faith

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - Since Vatican II, many churches have dropped their bells, changed their seating arrangements, moved the tabernacle off to the side and more. But modern building codes and technology aren’t the only culprits in the deviation from traditional romanesque and gothic structures — the change also reflects an individualized approach to theology, said Michael Nicholas-Schmidt, whose recent Masters of architecture thesis focused on sacred space.

Magnificat growing in Toronto

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - Magnificat, a ministry for Catholic women, is bursting at the seams in Toronto. After hosting a record 370 people at its October Magnificat breakfast at a banquet hall in Etobicoke, organizers spoke about the possibility of branching off the ministry into one or two more chapters across Toronto.

Henry Carr's field of dreams shy $500,000

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - Fr. Henry Carr High School supporters hope to build a $1.5 million “field of dreams” for their students and neighbourhood community. Right now they’re about $500,000 shy of achieving that dream but hope to bridge the gap with the help of famous Carr alumni like former NHL star Pat Flatley, CFL/NFL veteran Kerry Carter and TV personality Enrico Colantoni.

Dufferin-Peel board to set book guidelines

November 19, 2009

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Trustees at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will review a proposal Nov. 24 that would have all novels pre-approved for use in the classroom by a central committee. “We conceptualized the need for such a proposal in the last couple of years and have been doing a lot of work for what makes sense for our system and how we develop a proposal that’s going to honour the professionalism and the local decision making that we want our teachers and administrators to continue to do,” said superintendent of program Marianne Mazzorato.

St. Philip Neri Oratory educating record number of seminarians

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - The inconspicuous yet flourishing school is nearly invisible to passersby — housed in a complex of old townhouses, now joined, that take up the length of an entire block in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. But the successful philosophy seminary started in 1989 by the priests of St. Philip Neri Oratory in Toronto is anything but secret. The Oratorians have seen 100 of their students go on to become priests since 1989 and the momentum only seems to be building.

May we hear the voices of our African brethren

November 19, 2009

They say we are running out of water, but I wonder if we should also be worried about running out of listening. Who these days would ever take several weeks out to listen to anyone about anything? But that’s exactly what several hundred of us did last month in Rome at the second Synod for Africa. The theme was The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace: “You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world.” Pope Benedict attended 13 of the 20 General Congregations (plenary sessions) and, except for prayer and a greeting, he just listened attentively.

The Catholic Church stared down and outlived communism

November 19, 2009

It was 20 years this month when the Berlin Wall came down and Europe was liberated. The bricks and barbed wire were, of course, merely icons of a far greater evil — the communism that incarcerated, brutalized and murdered hundreds of millions of people, many of them far from Europe. For those who mistakenly think the church is politically irrelevant, let them study the truth about the rise and fall of communism. I always recall reading author Loung Ung’s book First They Killed My Father in which she wrote of 1975 when the Marxist Khmer Rouge took over her country. Her father, a policeman, was the first to be exterminated, followed by most of her family and friends. They were not alone. Millions of Cambodians, including women and children, were murdered in the name of Lenin and Mao, and many liberal and socialist opinion-shapers in the west said that the Khmer Rouge was simply being misunderstood.

Fueling hate is not in the preacher's job description

November 19, 2009

Twenty years ago I went to a pro-life demonstration in Toronto’s Cabbagetown. Abortion advocates greeted us with jeers from the clinic steps, but some of the pro-life demonstrators chained themselves to the railings anyway. Others sat on the sidewalk before the clinic. Trapped behind a human barricade, the abortion rights people began to push and hit. It was an ugly, scary scene. The police arrived and started carting people away. And from my spot to the side, I saw police pick up a priest I liked and haul him to their van. A priest. Suddenly, I wiggled through the crowd and sat right down in his place. A police officer stared down at me. “Are you gonna walk or are we gonna have to carry you?” he sighed. “You’ve gonna have to carry me,” I said.

Give way to God's sovereignty

November 19, 2009

Christ the King (Year B) Nov. 22 (Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 93; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18:33-37) Dreams and visions are the food of oppressed and desperate peoples. The Book of Daniel was written during a period of great distress and persecution. The Jewish culture and religion were at stake, and many minds struggled with the question of who ruled the world, the God of Israel or the many divinized tyrants of the surrounding nations.

Finding God in a wired universe

November 19, 2009

I’m sure we’ve all been frustrated with a driver who’s on a cellphone, an unresponsive teen with their earphones on full blast or an inbox full of junk mail. The simple truth is that technology has become an inevitable part of our lives whether we like it or not. However, it’s easy to get caught up in all the seemingly destructive side-effects of these technologies and forget that they can be used for faith and other worthy reasons.

Interfaith experience deepens faith

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - University of Toronto student Mark Harris, 21, recently returned from Nepal where he was studying in an ashram, getting a small feel for the vast complexities of Hindu culture. As a co-ordinator for the World Spirit Youth Council (WSYC) , this undergraduate hopes to help other young people experience the same thing — a journey into foreign faiths.

Lakehead pro-lifers denied club status, attacked online

November 19, 2009

After denying club status to a student pro-life club, the Lakehead University Student Union has posted an attack on its web site from one of its members likening the pro-life members to murderers. “This group represents the same mentality of those who threatened the life of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the same mentality of those who gunned down Dr. George Tiller this past May and the same mentality that would follow a radical statist agenda in order to grant the state power over individuals,” alleged student union vice president Josh Kolic in an online letter addressed to the student body, posted Nov. 6.

OCY already gearing up for WYD 2011 in Spain

November 19, 2009

TORONTO - The Office of Catholic Youth of the archdiocese of Toronto has unveiled its travel plans for World Youth Day 2011, including details about four major formation events. The trip will begin with two days in Rome in early August, where pilgrims will visit St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. The next five days will be spent in Cintruenigo, Spain, for “days in the diocese” where pilgrims will pray and interact with a local parish and its families, followed by seven days in Madrid Aug. 15-21 for the World Youth Day celebrations. The OCY will take a maximum of 120 pilgrims between the ages of 18-35.

COLF steps up euthanasia fight

November 19, 2009

OTTAWA - The Catholic Organization for Life and Family is providing fresh ammunition for the battle against euthanasia and assisted-suicide. It’s in the form of a downloadable booklet entitled Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Why Not? Quick Answers to Common Arguments. It can be downloaded from www.colf.ca .

Governor General's nominees something to be cherished

November 19, 2009

I was at a dinner party in Edinburgh. Icons glowed from the walls. “A rare edition of Stephen Leacock arrived today,” said my English host. “Have you read Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town?” I thought back over my education in literature Canadian and foreign. “I don’t think I have,” I admitted. “When was it published?” “Nineteen-twelve,” said my host.

November 20

End indifference

November 20, 2009

In the time it takes to read this sentence, somewhere on the planet a child will die of starvation. That’s one dead child every five seconds, six million children this year, out of one billion undernourished people in the world, according to statistics from the United Nations. Those are the eye-popping numbers rolled out at the opening of a three-day world food summit in Rome. Organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , the summit was convened to study how to replace inadequate and inefficient aid programs with well-funded initiatives to make poor nations self-sufficient in food.