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April 2010

April 8

In praise of Benedict

April 8, 2010

On April 19 the Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI [images/stories/PopeBenedictXVI/Pope10/Ben16_0410.jpg]will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s election as pontiff. And, yes, we mean celebrate. Contrary to the smears rampant in the secular media of late, there is much to applaud about the first half decade of Benedict’s papacy. The mainstream tendency, of course, is to try to define Benedict by the sinful deeds of abuser priests and see-no-evil bishops of the past 30 years. And that is a shame because the vicious headlines and apparent “get-Benedict” mentality rampant in the media can cause even faithful Catholics to become blind to the achievements of an active and productive Pope.

Malta became Catholic by chance

April 8, 2010

RABAT, Malta - There have been many famous shipwrecks throughout history, but few can be credited with starting a nation on the path to Christianity. That’s exactly what happened in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, however, an event the Maltese celebrate each Feb. 10. Today, Malta is one of the world’s most thoroughly Roman Catholic nations, with 98 per cent of the population counted as adherents. Of those, 53 per cent say they regularly attend Mass.

A holy couple reunited in heaven

April 8, 2010

St. Gianna Beretta Molla with her then fiance, Pietro Molla [images/stories/saints/Molla1.jpg]Early on Holy Saturday morning, Pietro Molla, husband of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, died in his family home in Mesero, near Milan in Italy, surrounded by his daughters Gianna Emanuela and Laura, and son Pierluigi. He was 97 years old and had been in failing health for several years. I have been good friends with the Molla family since 1999 and St. Gianna is the patron saint of Salt + Light Catholic Television Network. I was blessed to accompany the Molla family in the years leading up to the 2004 canonization of St. Gianna, a great contemporary woman, saint, wife, mother, medical doctor and lover of life.

Where's the peace and love?

April 8, 2010

As the international Jewish community united in protest against a perceived slight spoken in a Good Friday homily by a Vatican official, I wondered why Catholics continue to remain silent amid the suffering of our brothers and sisters in faith in the Holy Land. This silence has been particularly baffling in the years since the erection of the towering walls that surround some Palestinian cities of the West Bank. Movement from one Palestinian city to the next — and into Jerusalem itself — is prohibited for most Palestinian Catholics. Even those few granted travel or work visas from Israel are subjected to excessive scrutiny. These restrictions prevent Catholics from worshipping in the holy sites of Jerusalem. Seminarians located in Bethlehem are unable to acquire visas to pray in Jerusalem even though it is just a 15-minute drive away.

Church accusers made up of clowns and other assorted exploiters

April 8, 2010

A woman called Andrea — I won’t give her full name — sent me a message on my Facebook site recently. “Hello, my husband and I last met you at a Michael W. Smith concert in Hamilton. He is a messianic clown and we are both Jewish believers in Jesus. Have the recently publicized sex scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, added to the long history of the same, changed your attitude towards the RC Church?” No, I answered, but it has rather shaken my faith in messianic clowns. You couldn’t, as they say, make that up. Not even with clown make-up.

Remaining rooted in reality

April 8, 2010

Home in Canada for a long visit, I have been shepherding a young American friend around town. She has been accepted by a graduate studies program at the University of Toronto, and I invited her to stay with me while she examined the implications of its generous scholarship offer. My friend arrived at Pearson International on Holy Thursday and we spent a busy five days running attending Triduum liturgies and meeting people. Having been a graduate student in a foreign country myself, I have some good ideas as to what would help a young Catholic stranger flourish: a parish whose liturgies directed the senses to the glory of God; a safe, economical place for a modest young woman to live; acquaintance with friendly young women who could introduce her to others; transit survival tips; a tour of the campus.

April 9

Catholic principals to meet in Windsor

April 9, 2010

TORONTO - The 12th annual Catholic Principals’ Council of Ontario conference will highlight the vocation of Catholic school principals across the province. The theme of this year’s conference is “Embracing Our Catholic Vocation.” The conference runs from April 22 to 24 in Windsor, Ont. Council president Paul Lacalamita said principals are “invested” in the faith formation of their community.

Toronto school board aims to buy Loretto Abbey

April 9, 2010

TORONTO - Putting to rest rumours that Loretto Abbey is going to close, the Toronto Catholic District School Board says it plans to buy the Catholic high school property from the Loretto Sisters. Angelo Sangiorgio, the board’s associate director of planning and facilities, told The Catholic Register that the board’s lease with the Loretto Sisters, also known as the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, expires in 2013.

Toronto students help commemorate Holland's liberation

April 9, 2010

TORONTO - Students from Toronto’s Don Bosco High School are helping to commemorate the historical bond between Canadians and the Dutch people in a new monument celebrating the 65th anniversary of Holland’s liberation from the Nazis. Don Bosco Catholic High School teacher Tim Stewart wrote the English and Dutch text accompanying a 1.2-metre tall, 900-kg black granite memorial that will be unveiled April 13 at Queen Wilhelmina Park in Meppel, Holland. The text speaks of the Toronto Scottish Regiment’s contribution to the liberation of Holland as the Second World War ground to an end.

Tackling student loan temptation

April 9, 2010

Abercrombie. Hollister. Apple. BlackBerry. Nike. Starbucks. The invitation to consumerism is all around us, and living on a university campus doesn’t offer much help. With government and provincial loans, students often feel like they have just won the lottery and can spend “their” money without a care in the world. As such, many post-secondary students graduate with high debt and financial woes.

Toronto students help out Peru mission project

April 9, 2010

[images/stories/ysn/ysn10/CondorayTrip.jpg]Hawthorn School for Girls sent its first team of students to Peru over the March break to get their hands dirty and learn about partnering with the locals. The Toronto independent school’s trip was inspired by a presentation given by alumnus Kristina Douros last year, then a 24-year-old student at the University of Western Ontario who spent nearly four months in 2008 volunteering with Condoray, a 47-year-old rural development project. Condoray, a training centre devoted to human, social and religious development and promotion of women in the Cañete Valley of southern Peru, is a centre for higher learning where villagers can learn how to be “promoters” of growth and improvement and then implement these in their own communities. The spiritual and religious activities of Condoray are overseen by the Prelature of Opus Dei. “The remarkable aspect of Condoray is that it is run by Peruvian women for Peruvian women,” Douros said. “These women know the needs of the people, they have lived it and are still living it. The leaders live in the communities and many of their children are very involved.” The issues targeted are not projected by outsiders who do not fully understand the situation and this is why Condoray is so successful, Douros added.

Ordinand's meeting with John Paul II helped form call

April 9, 2010

Editor’s note: This is one in our series of profiles on the men who will graduate from St. Augustine’s Seminary this spring and be ordained to the priesthood for various dioceses. Landorff José García Mariona, 34, was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. He is the oldest of three brothers, and his family immigrated to Canada in 1987.

Plain and simple, killing is wrong

April 9, 2010

Autobiography of an Execution, by David R. Dow (Twelve, 320 pages, hard cover, $29.99.) David Dow may not believe in God, but he does believe in justice, love and compassion — and he certainly has a conscience. A death penalty lawyer, he works in Texas for a non-profit organization that attempts to save inmates from capital punishment. Dow does not try to save the prisoners because he feels for them personally. In fact, he dislikes most of his clients. But, as he makes very clear, they do not deserve to die, and certainly not through a biased, racist and classist criminal justice system.

Love others to the fullest, let go of ourselves

April 9, 2010

Third Sunday of Easter (Year C) April 18 (Acts 5:28-32, 40-41; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19) It is extremely difficult to remain silent when we have exceptionally good news. The words burn within us and we can hardly wait to share something wonderful. Imagine how much more difficult it would be — if not impossible — to remain silent when the news we had to share had a universal and life-altering impact.

April 13

Advocates see momentum against nuclear weapons gaining

April 13, 2010

[images/stories/international/international10/nukeTreaty.jpg]OTTAWA - Unprecedented momentum is building towards a nuclear weapon-free world and the opportunity must not be lost, says Douglas Roche. “This is certainly the most opportune moment that I have experienced in my lifetime for real concrete movement towards the elimination of nuclear weapons,” former senator Roche told journalists after an April 9 meeting with Stephen Harper.

April 16

Poland mourns a faithful Catholic

April 16, 2010

Polish Display [images/stories/international/international10/polishDisplay.jpg]WARSAW, Poland - Poland’s Catholic primate has urged fellow citizens to see the death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others in a weekend air disaster as a “dramatic challenge” to build “a fuller community” at the national level and with neighbouring states. “We are all asking ourselves the same painful question — how was this possible?” Archbishop Henryk Muszynski of Gniezno said at an April 11 Mass in his archdiocese.

Letter from Pembroke bishop doesn't indicate a cover-up of sex abuse complaint

April 16, 2010

Bernard Prince [images/stories/canada/canada10/princeBernard.jpg]OTTAWA - A lawyer representing the Pembroke diocese says the church was “upfront and proactive” in dealing with a complaint of sexual abuse by a priest and followed the wishes of the victim in not calling police. Attorney Charles Gibson was responding to recent publication of details from a 1993 letter sent from the Pembroke bishop to the Vatican’s ambassador. Media reports suggested the letter showed there was a high-level church cover-up to avoid scandal.

Canadian bishops share concerns on abuse

April 16, 2010

CCCB [images/stories/logos/logos10/CCCB_logo.jpg]OTTAWA - Following a poll indicating that 54 per cent of Canadians believe the Vatican has perpetuated a culture of silence on clerical sex abuse, Canada’s Catholic bishops issued a statement saying they share concerns about sexual abuse and continue to improve protocols to deal with the issue. The survey, conducted by Ispos Reid, also said eight per cent of Canadians over 18 claim to personally know someone sexually assaulted by a priest. However, 37 per cent of Catholics believe Pope Benedict XVI is being unfairly targeted and 80 per cent believe the proportion of abuser priests is small.

The Church needs to take advantage of standing at a new dawn

April 16, 2010

The rage that has greeted recent allegations of sex-abuse cover-ups and foot-dragging by the Catholic hierarchy comes, at least in part, from genuine compassion for the victims. This righteous anger, expressed in countless newspaper columns and blogs (Christian and secular) over the last few weeks, is something Catholics at every level of the Church should take seriously. Because it comes from a good place — outrage on behalf of the wounded and defiled — it can be a healing wrath and welcome judgment, summoning all Catholics, not just the clergy and hierarchy, to repentance and spiritual revival. But another kind of anger, arising from a dark, hate-filled place in modern culture, has been evident as well. It’s not the whole story, but it’s an important aspect of what’s unfolding in the present moment’s sound and fury. I am speaking of the vengeful drive by some commentators to bring down the Catholic Church completely — the visible institution, of course, but also its mission of announcing the Kingdom of God.

The Church must be held to a higher standard

April 16, 2010

Some allegations have staying power no matter how often they are refuted. For the past month, articles and broadcasts have abounded with reports about the sexual-abuse scandal and claims of cover-up at the highest levels of the Church. Most allegations concerned events in Europe and the United States, and spread wildly after suggestions that even Pope Benedict XVI may have known of or approved a decision to return a German priest offender to ministry. Led by The New York Times, there were efforts to implicate the Pope — in his former capacity as a cardinal and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — with failing to act promptly in a U.S. case. The allegations and The Times’ role in spreading them have been widely and justifiably refuted and discredited, including by The Times itself, albeit with less prominence than it gave the original report.