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January 2010

January 13

Bishop Lahey faces judicial pre-trial Jan. 26 on child porn charges

January 13, 2010

OTTAWA - Bishop Raymond Lahey, who faces charges of possession and importation of child pornography, will have a judicial pre-trial Jan. 26. This off-the-record meeting of lawyers from both sides before a judge could lead either to a resolution of the case or launch the next step in the trial process.

January 14

Pope meets, forgives Christmas Eve attacker

January 14, 2010

VATICAN CITY - As a sign of his forgiveness, Pope Benedict XVI met with the woman responsible for knocking him down during a Christmas Eve Mass, a papal spokesman said. The Pope met with Susanna Maiolo after leading his weekly general audience Jan. 13 in the Vatican's Paul VI hall, Fr. Federico Lombardi said in a written statement.

Pope urges aid for Haitian quake victims

January 14, 2010

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI prayed for victims of a massive earthquake in Haiti and urged the international community to provide generous assistance to the stricken population of the Caribbean nation. The Pope made his appeal at the end of his general audience Jan. 13, some 12 hours after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Haiti, toppling buildings and causing widespread destruction.

Canadian Jewish Congress wants Pius sainthood cause slowed down

January 14, 2010

Another step, however minor, toward canonizing Pope Pius XII has got Canadian Jews wondering, why now? The Dec. 19 Vatican declaration of Pope Pius XII’s “heroic virtues” has prompted the Canadian Jewish Congress to remind Canadian bishops that many Jews still harbour doubts about the war-time pope’s record.

January 15

One church, many faces

January 15, 2010

Congratulations to Canada’s two new auxiliary bishops, Bishops William McGrattan, 53, and Vincent Nguyen, 43. Their recent ordinations and calls to serve the archdiocese of Toronto provide an injection of new ideas and fresh energy that can only benefit a Catholic community undergoing rapid growth both in sheer numbers and in challenges associated with the region’s ever-widening cultural mosaic. Their backgrounds are strikingly different. McGrattan, the oldest of two children, was born and raised in the comfort of London, Ont.; Nguyen, one of nine children, was born near Saigon during the Vietnam War and fled to Canada with other “boat people” refugees in 1983. But they carry the same reputation of being skilled at listening, understanding and caring, essential qualities as they become vicars of an archdiocese in transition.

Community fights to keep Neil McNeil at home

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - It’s a half-century tradition that Neil McNeil High School supporters say they’d like to keep: having their school at the very site where the Spiritan Fathers founded it 1958. Neil McNeil, along with four other schools in its cluster group in the Toronto Catholic District School Board, is undergoing a school accommodation review this year. The schools — which are part of four clusters of 17 schools under review — either have too many or too few students and could be consolidated, relocated or closed. In December, the board decided to close two schools and relocate another.

Nearly $300,000s raised for Philippines disaster relief

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - Typhoons, floods, volcanoes — the Philippines has endured all kinds of natural disasters. But that doesn’t faze the Filipino community, said Fred Gamboa. “We have one characteristic,” said Gamboa. “ We’re very resilient. We just bounce back.”

Resolve to follow Christ

January 15, 2010

With a new year upon us, many of us find ourselves seeking new methods for self-improvement. Often we make resolutions to either end our bad habits or pick up better ones. Yet by late January, most of us have either given up on our resolutions or simply forgotten about them altogether.

Gregorian chant is old school for Luke Togni

January 15, 2010

HALIFAX - Luke Togni is old school — very old school. Or old schola, if you prefer. Togni, 22, is passionate about Gregorian chant and refers to himself as “second in command” in a Halifax-based chant group, or schola. Directed by Robert Bruce and together for the past two years, the schola sings monthly at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Halifax, and less frequently at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Halifax.

Reaping what you sow

January 15, 2010

So the government has taken the entirely justifiable decision to remove the $7 million public funding grant from the KAIROS organization and assorted activists have reacted as though unborn babies were being slaughtered, marriage and the family ridiculed and Catholicism and Catholics attacked. Oh no, sorry — I got that one wrong. Many of the people who have been complaining so loudly about KAIROS no longer enjoying government largesse tend to say very little when unborn babies are killed, family and marriage trashed and the church libelled. And that, surely, is the essence of the story. Catholicism and leftism are not the same thing, any more than Catholicism and neo-conservatism are joined at the ideological hip.

A vocation is worth waiting for

January 15, 2010

Back at the Abbey, we studied vocations in the last year of religion class. Our classroom was across the hallway from bulletin boards covered with career information, so it would not have been surprising if we confused the concept of vocation, a calling from God to live in a certain state of life, with vocation, a chosen career. We worried about both at the same time; it seemed that we would have to make a decision about both at the same time. Our religion textbook outlined four vocations: married life, religious life, the priesthood and single life. The chapter on each vocation included a little story and a few quotes from the famous. The story about single life featured homeless people, male and female, exchanging affectionate wisecracks in a soup kitchen. There was a quote by diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld describing his deep loneliness as a single man. Terrified of both homelessness and loneliness, I did not find this chapter inspiring. I prayed for a vocation to married life or religious life. I didn’t care which one, just as long as I wasn’t saddled with a vocation to the single life. I married in a panic at age 25, was divorced at age 27, got an annulment at age 28, and was single for a solid 10 years.

Jesus frees His people from unjust burdens

January 15, 2010

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Jan. 24 (Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21) How do people react to traumatic or catastrophic events in their lives? There are many ways to react but one of the most common is the attempt to “remake oneself.” This can take the form of a complete change in values or lifestyle in an effort to make a complete break with the past and all of its associations. Sometimes the “new” person is difficult to recognize.

Catholic youth share ethnic traditions

January 15, 2010

OTTAWA - On Jan. 10, Ottawa youth came together to honour cultural diversity among Catholics at the annual Homelands Mass celebrated at the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica. Catholics from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds participated in the Mass, including Chinese, Italian, Korean, Hungarian, Polish and Vietnamese. All participants in the Mass wore clothing representing their community. Following the Mass, a representative from each community had the opportunity to speak with the bishop about their concerns. There was also a reception featuring foods from around the world.

Flight 253 and Nigeria's growing radical Islamism

January 15, 2010

The botched terrorist attempt on an American airliner by 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has raised serious questions about airport security and terrorism. It has also raised concerns about the rights and dignity of innocent and law-abiding travellers in light of new security measures. More troubling, however, are the unanswered questions about the role radical Islamism in Nigeria played in creating the environment for Abdulmutallab and future young African terrorists like him.

Toronto celebrates two new Shepherds

January 15, 2010

2BishopsCover [images/stories/features/McGratten_Nguyen/2BishopsCover.jpg]On January 12 in London and January 13 in Toronto, Bishops William McGrattan and Vincent Nguyen were ordained to serve as auxiliary bishops for the archdiocese of Toronto. Each event was attended by more than 1,000 people and The Catholic Register was on hand to provide full coverage. The following links are to the articles which appeared in our special section on their ordinations on January 17, 2010.

Bishop Nguyen ordained a bishop for all

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - Bishop Vincent Nguyen has slipped on the ring, donned his mitre, taken hold of his staff and become a shepherd in the church he loves with all his heart. Tears flowed in the pews occupied by Nguyen's family — eight siblings, six of whom flew in from their Vietnamese homeland — and friends at St. Michael's Cathedral Jan. 13 as Nguyen was ordained Canada's first non-white bishop.

London Catholics praise newly ordained Bishop McGrattan

January 15, 2010

LONDON, Ont.- It was hard to tell friends, family and supporters apart at Bishop William McGrattan’s Jan. 12 ordination. Close to 1,000 joyful people, including 150 priests, nearly 35 bishops and archbishops and about 40 relatives, packed St. Peter’s Cathedral in London to give a hug and their congratulations to a long time friend, associate pastor, teacher, seminary leader and now auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Toronto. He is also titular bishop of Furnos Minor.

Bishop McGrattan a visionary leader coming to Toronto

January 15, 2010

LONDON, Ont. - Toronto’s newest bishop from London has been a chemical engineer, a parish pastor, a professor, a seminary rector and now begins his journey as auxiliary bishop. But to those who know him well, Bishop William McGrattan is a good friend, a systematic teacher and a creative leader who knows how to incorporate the laity into the church.

Bishop McGrattan's coat of arms

January 15, 2010

The field of the shield is divided into sections by a heraldic division called a saltire enhanced. This reflects the form of the traditional arms of the name McGrattan. In the “X” is also seen the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter in the Greek for Christ.

Admiration for Bishop Nguyen crosses all borders

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - Beginning about 5 p.m. Jan. 13 it was correct to address Fr. Vincent Nguyen as “your grace,” the customary address for bishops in the Catholic Church. But it is not incorrect to call the 43-year-old auxiliary bishop of Toronto “anh.” In Vietnamese “anh” means “elder brother.” In any Vietnamese family the relationship of love, responsibility and authority between younger and elder siblings is never forgotten. In a family of faith, we are bound by the same obligations, said Nguyen.