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January 2010

January 15

Bishop Nguyen's coat of arms

January 15, 2010

The shield of Bishop Vincent Nguyen’s coat of arms is on a standard bearing a cross with the five wounds of Christ. The shield is divided into two main sections. The top section is based on the Book of Revelations 7:9, where the multitude of martyrs, with palm branches in their hands, stand before the throne of the Lamb. The drop of blood flanked by two palm branches has special family significance for Nguyen as his great-great-grandfather is one of the Vietnamese Martyrs.

Ordinations bring change to managing of archdiocese

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - As the brotherhood of bishops for the archdiocese of Toronto grows, it will bring change to how the archdiocese is managed by its shepherds. Before the ordinations on Jan. 12 and 13, respectively, of Bishop William McGrattan and Bishop Vincent Nguyen, Toronto’s three auxiliary bishops looked after three distinct geographical regions of the widespread archdiocese comprising more than 220 parishes. Now that there are four auxiliaries, the pie has been divided into four regions with the creation of a new eastern region.

Bishop must mirror Jesus, says archbishop Collins

January 15, 2010

TORONTO - Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins says being a bishop means being a good spiritual father and shepherd of the community. Collins is entering his third year as archbishop of Canada’s largest archdiocese.

Toronto Mass for new bishops

January 15, 2010

The archdiocese of Toronto headquarters welcomed the city's two new Catholic bishops at a morning Mass in the Pastoral Centre chapel Jan. 15. "I hope you experience a shepherd's love in the ministry I bring," Bishop Bill McGrattan told about 60 employees of the archdiocese.

Canadian Catholic response to Haiti quake 'phenomenal' so far

January 15, 2010

By 5:15 the afternoon of Jan. 14 — a day after a catastrophic earthquake collapsed buildings and killed thousands in Haiti — Catholics had overwhelmed the computer servers and phone systems at the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. The level of generosity "is phenomenal," said Development and Peace spokesperson Jasmine Fortin.

Haitian archbishop who died in quake portrayed as a humble man

January 15, 2010

WASHINGTON - Haitian Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot was known as a humble man who was close to the poor in the archdiocese of Port-au-Prince. Archbishop Miot, 63, was among tens of thousands of Haitians who died in the Jan. 12 earthquake.

January 18

Visiting Rome synagogue, pope honors memory of Holocaust victims

January 18, 2010

ROME (CNS) -- Laying a wreath at a memorial to Roman Jews rounded up by the Nazis in 1943 and joining in a standing ovation to a dwindling group of Holocaust survivors, Pope Benedict XVI broke the ice with Rome's Jewish community even before he began to speak. The pope made his first visit to Rome's main synagogue Jan. 17, strongly affirming the Catholic Church's commitment to improving Catholic-Jewish relations, its respect and appreciation for Jewish faith, its condemnation of anti-Semitism and his own hope that Catholics and Jews can work together to bring biblical values back to society.

January 21

Haiti tugs Canadian heart strings

January 21, 2010

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace was on target to surpass $1 million in aid donations one week after Haiti’s devastating earthquake. “We’re doing about $100,000 a day, so we’re doing very well,” said Development and Peace spokesperson Jasmine Fortin. “We hope it stays up.”

Pope John Paul II shooter released from Turkish jail

January 21, 2010

VATICAN CITY - The man who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981 was released Jan. 18 from a Turkish prison. Mehmet Ali Agca, 52, was taken from prison to a military hospital to be assessed for compulsory military service, which is obligatory for all Turkish men. Agca fled the military draft in the 1970s.

Canadian aid reaching devastated Haiti

January 21, 2010

OTTAWA - From soldiers on the ground, to special arrangements for Haitian immigrants, to gifts of cash, the Canadian government has mobilized a multi-pronged disaster-relief effort in Haiti. At an Ottawa news conference Jan. 19, International Development Minister Bev Oda announced a $60 million contribution to the United Nations appeal for Haiti. This includes $39 million towards food and the security for food distribution and $15 million to UNICEF’s health, water and sanitation programs.

Haiti missionaries mourn and mobilize

January 21, 2010

Religious communities in the capital of Haiti were devastated by the Jan. 12 earthquake that left some of their members dead and buildings completely destroyed. Two of five Canadian Brothers of the Christian Instruction in La Prairie, Que., who were permanently stationed in Haiti, were injured but were evacuated home by the Canadian Armed Forces and were treated in hospital, said the Quebec provincial Fr. Gabriel Gélinas, f.i.c.

January 22

Don’t repeat Quebec’s error in English Canada

January 22, 2010

Working within the beauty of the Ottawa Valley I see many cars pass by from la belle province with license plates emblazoned with the motto je me souviens. These words are a declaration by the majority Francophone population to always “remember” the struggles of la révolution tranquille (the Quiet Revolution), which transformed Quebec society into a modern secular state. Sadly, it is a state in which French Quebecers turned a deaf ear to the Catholic Church to heed instead the siren cry of the modern secularist project.

Trying times continue for charities

January 22, 2010

Natural disasters that inflict heart-wrenching human suffering, such as we’ve seen in the Haitian earthquake, show us the best and the worst of the changes we’ve witnessed in recent years, particularly in the media. Through the immediate spread of eyewitness accounts, often through the use of social networking tools such as Twitter and cellphone videos, we learn of the devastation almost as it happens. As a result, faster ways to send help to crisis areas and faster ways to donate money have developed very quickly.

Hope, dignity & Haiti

January 22, 2010

In a radio interview after Port-au-Prince had been destroyed, a Haitian-Canadian said she prayed the world would unite to build a new Haiti where abject poverty could be replaced by dignified poverty. It was a stunningly poignant comment from someone grieving the deaths of both parents and the destruction of a beloved homeland. In her words, the abject poor have nothing whereas the dignified poor have at least meager means to acquire the basics of food, clothing and shelter.

January 25

Amid cathedral rubble, Haitians celebrate church leaders' funerals

January 25, 2010

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Amid the rubble of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Haitians celebrated the lives of the archbishop and vicar general of Port-au-Prince, both of whom were killed in the country's earthquake. Church officials joined ordinary Haitians Jan. 23 for the funerals of Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, who died when the impact of the Jan. 12 quake hurled him from a balcony, and Msgr. Charles Benoit, the vicar general whose body was pulled from the cathedral debris.

Women and men need to take purity seriously

January 25, 2010

The monthly e-mail I share with a group of Catholic friends was sent recently following a disturbing personal situation where I was reminded of the sickness of impurity, even in our circle of faith. Just a few days prior, at a Catholic function, I was made very uncomfortable by a married man’s questionable behaviour towards me. Though many might have trivialized the incident, I felt objectified in a setting where I expected safety and protection.

Do I have to go to Mass?

January 25, 2010

Do I Have to Go? by Matthew Pinto and Chris Stefanick (Ascension Press, 156 pages, $12.99). Many Catholics have asked themselves the question at least once — Do I have to go? — but rarely has the question received such a clear answer as the one provided in this book by authors Matthew Pinto and Chris Stefanick. Do I Have to Go? explores “the Mass, the Eucharist, and your spiritual life” in easy to read question/answer format. Pinto and Stefanick eloquently cover almost every question imaginable regarding the Mass and the Eucharist.

Living the Catholic spirit of sports

January 25, 2010

HAMILTON, Ont. - In her career as an athlete and educator, Cecelia Carter-Smith has discovered a Catholic spirit of sports. And in the overlapping worlds of sports and school, this Catholic spirit exists in the quality of relationships built. These are the foundation not only to success, she says, but also personal growth. “Winning is not as important as respect and dialogue,” said Carter-Smith. “If you have the desire, mentors and supportive people, then you can really flourish.”

New Ontario education minister, Leona Dombrowsky, knows Catholic schools

January 25, 2010

TORONTO - Catholic education has received an ally in newly appointed education minister Leona Dombrowsky, says the head of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. James Ryan told The Catholic Register that the OECTA association welcomes Dombrowsky’s appointment and is confident that there will be a productive working relationship with the new minister. “In all of our meetings with (Dombrowsky) over the years, she has always been supportive of publicly funded Catholic education and public education,” he said. “Her background in education supports that.”

Catholic kid quarterbacking the world

January 25, 2010

St. Marcellinus Secondary School quarterback Brandon Bridge is living his dream. The 17-year-old Mississauga athlete was selected and contacted several weeks ago as one of 45 junior players from four continents to play on the World Football Team for the annual “Team USA vs. The World” football game Jan. 30 in Ft. Lauderdale. Bridge has led his school team, the St. Marcellinus Spirit, to back-to-back senior high school championships. He played for Team Canada in an event in Canton Ohio last July and suspects he was selected for the World Football Team because of that exposure.