Browse › 2009 › December

December 2009

December 30

Overcoming pornography addiction

December 30, 2009

Since he began an online ministry a few months ago to help those struggling with pornography, Matthew Fradd has been sharing this motto: “To the degree you love women, fight pornography.” Fradd says www.whodoesithurt.com ’s mission is to break the silence and expose the lies surrounding pornography and its devastating, anti-love nature, as well as to point those with the struggle to “the love and healing of Jesus Christ.”

Consecrated virgin tells her story

December 30, 2009

WINNIPEG - Since the age of six, Jennifer Waroway felt called to dedicate her life to God. But it wasn’t until about three years ago that the 33-year-old Grade 5 school teacher realized that consecrated virginity was the way she would live that out. According to recent reports, there are only 60 known consecrated virgins in Canada and some 3,000 worldwide. Perhaps this is why it took Waroway 24 years to discover this particular way of life.

Trooper Marc Diab is gone, but not forgotten

December 30, 2009

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - A framed photo of fallen soldier Marc Diab sits in every room of the Diab family’s new home. Almost a year after the 22-year-old trooper was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the family is still mourning his loss but says they’re coping thanks to community support and by keeping his memory alive through the charitable foundation they started the day after his funeral.

Finding our identity in God

December 30, 2009

My generation has grown up with confidence as something of a buzzword. Especially for young women, self-confidence — or a lack thereof — is a constant issue, something that we are always told needs building up. We are taught that post-modernity is characterized by our uncertainty and our lack of confidence in ourselves and our environment. Is there really a way to fix this? Our favourite scapegoats, mass media, entertain and inform us daily. While we may decry its influence over us, media consumption is a hard habit to shake. In our secular world, having confidence is indeed a challenge — except for believers.

Dead Sea Scrolls shatter ROM records

December 30, 2009

TORONTO - The Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit comes to a close at the Royal Ontario Museum Jan. 3 after six months of unmatched popularity in the museum’s history. “It’s definitely come down to between this and the Egyptian Art and the Age of the Pyramids which was in 2000,” ROM media spokesperson Marilynne Friedman said before Christmas. “There’s the expectation that 300,000 people will have visited the scrolls by close on Jan. 3.”

Ontario school boards prepare for new equity strategy

December 30, 2009

TORONTO - A new equity policy for Ontario school boards could mean more prayer spaces for non-Catholic students and gay/straight student alliances at Ontario Catholic high schools next year. The provincial government introduced its equity and inclusive education strategy last year. Boards are required to have equity and inclusive education policies in place by next fall. The policies range from religious accommodation to tackling discriminatory biases like gender or racial discrimination and systemic barriers to education.

Canonization next step for Brother André

December 30, 2009

The way is now clear for the canonization of Quebec’s first male saint after Pope Benedict XVI’s decree of a miracle attributed to Blessed Brother Andre Dec. 19. “During these days leading up to the majestic celebration of Christmas, we have another reason to exult as we have learned that the Holy Father has officially recognized the miraculous cure which was obtained by the intercession of Blessed Brother Andre,” said Fr. Claude Grou, CSC, rector of Montreal’s St. Joseph’s Oratory. “This important step has revitalized our expectations to see Brother Andre among the saints of the Catholic Church.”

Sainthood causes advanced for John Paul II, Pius XII

December 30, 2009

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII, declaring that both had lived lives of “heroic virtues.” In signing the decrees Dec. 19, the Pope confirmed the recommendations of Vatican officials who have studied the causes for several years. Both popes can be beatified once a miracle is attributed to their intercession.

2009 In Review

December 30, 2009

A REVIEW OF THE PAST YEAR FROM THE PAGES OF THE CATHOLIC REGISTER.