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June 22, 2010
G8 Logo [images/stories/logos/logos10/g8logo.jpg]TORONTO - G8 countries have issued themselves a glowing report card complimenting themselves on how "The G8 has acted as a force for positive change and its actions have made a difference in addressing global challenges." However, an independent academic assessment of G8 performance and comments by aid agencies and activists from poor countries aren't quite so kind. Canada has lost its traditional second place ranking in the G8 Research Group analysis, keeping just 17 of 24 commitments it made at the last G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy.
June 24, 2010
ROME - In the basement of an Italian insurance company’s modern office building, Vatican archeologists, armed with lasers, discovered important historical evidence about the development of Christian devotion to the apostles. At Rome’s Catacombs of St. Thecla, in the burial chamber of a Roman noblewoman, they have discovered what they said are the oldest existing paintings of Sts. Peter, Paul, Andrew and John. Technicians working for the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology discovered the painting of St. Paul in June 2009 just as the Year of St. Paul was ending. Barbara Mazzei, who was in charge of the restoration work, said June 22 that she and her team members knew there were more images under the crust of calcium carbonate, but excitement over the discovery of St. Paul in the year dedicated to him led them to announce the discovery even before the rest of the work was completed. Presenting the complete restoration of the burial chamber to reporters a year later, Msgr. Giovanni Carru said that the catacombs “are an eloquent witness of Christianity in its origins.” catacombs [images/stories/international/international10/catacombs.jpg]Into the fourth century, Christians in Italy tried to bury their dead near the tomb of a martyr. The walls of the tombs of the wealthy were decorated with Christian symbols, biblical scenes and references to the martyr. At the Catacombs of St. Thecla, the noblewoman’s burial chamber — now referred to as the Cubicle of the Apostles — dates from late in the fourth century. The arch over the vestibule features a fresco of a group of figures the Vatican experts described as “The College of the Apostles.” The ceiling of the burial chamber itself features the most typical icon found in the catacombs, Christ the Good Shepherd, but the four corners of the ceiling are decorated with medallions featuring the four apostles, said Mazzei.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet [images/stories/canada_bishops/ouellet.jpg]Rumours that Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet will replace the prefect of the congregation of bishops at the Vatican are just speculation, said an archdiocesan spokesperson. “We won’t comment on those rumours because they are rumours, especially (because of) the fact that the actual prefect has not retired yet,” said Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre, director of communications for the archdiocese of Quebec.
Justice [images/stories/misc/misc08/justice.jpg]A Quebec parents’ group is hailing a court ruling that allows a private Montreal Catholic high school to be exempt from a provincially mandated ethics course as a victory for freedom of religion and parental rights. On June 21, Quebec’s Superior Court slammed the “totalitarian” approach of the Quebec government and ruled that Loyola High School can not be forced to teach the controversial Ethics and Religious Culture course because it infringes upon their charter rights of free expression and religion.
CCIC logo [images/stories/logos/logos10/cciclogo.jpg]The umbrella group for 90 religious and secular development aid groups has laid off all but eight of its employees, put its building up for sale and emptied its $500,000 reserve fund for severance packages as it waits for final word on a funding decision from CIDA that’s now three months overdue. The Canadian Council for International Co-operation is assuming it won’t get the $1.7 million the federal government normally contributes to its $2.4-million budget, said executive director Gerry Barr.
Sacred Heart of Jesus parish [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/worldcupkorea.jpg]TORONTO - Wearing South Korea’s trademark red shirts, parishioners at Etobicoke’s Sacred Heart of Jesus parish have caught the World Cup soccer fever. For the team’s third game of the World Cup in South Africa on June 22, against Nigeria, parishioners, including pastor Fr. Min-Kyu Antigonus Park, cheered their team on. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, sending South Korea into the Round of 16.
Slovenian fans [images/stories/toronto/toronto10/sloveniansoccer.jpg]TORONTO - It started off so well for the Slovenians gathered in the parking lot of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in the southwest corner of Toronto — painting faces, waving flags, blasting vuvuzelas and drinking Slovenian beer at 9:30 a.m. on June 18. The Green Dragons of Slovenia at the World Cup in South Africa — and at the parish hall in Etobicoke — were ready to take on the Americans.
TRCC logo [images/stories/logos/logos10/trcclogo.jpg]Canadians often express pride in building a nation that respects and celebrates cultural diversity. But as true as that might be today, our national back-patting takes a short view of history. For most of Canada’s existence, Ottawa directed a cruel policy at aboriginal peoples that is rightly likened to cultural genocide. Canadians are being asked to confront that dark era at a series of public events organized by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools. The first of seven meetings, held recently in Winnipeg, saw dozens of survivors and their families courageously step to a microphone and have their personal stories preserved as a paragraph in Canadian history.
June 25, 2010
Prom Night [images/stories/education/education10/promnight.jpg]AJAX, Ont. - There was nothing special about Jenny Lawlor’s prom night. It’s Lawlor who is special. Lawlor has Down syndrome and is one of about 25 special needs students at Archbishop Denis O’Connor High School in Ajax. Every year a few of the special needs kids attend the prom along with the graduating students. The special needs students are no less a part of 900-strong student body than any one else, said principal Mary Curran. That’s simple and obvious.
Over the years, I have come to appreciate two great examples of Jesuit missionaries in action. The first was the one given by St. Francis Xavier in India, Japan and finally attempting to enter China. Francis’ great love for God and God’s people, and his desire to do everything for the greater glory of God, consumed him until the end. The second was that of the Jesuits in the Paraguay Reductions, which were portrayed in the film The Mission. Francis and the Reductions exemplify for me the zeal, determination and dedication which every missionary must possess.
I have seen a play that I wish every Catholic with a strong stomach could see. It says more about sick contemporary culture than anything I’ve seen on stage for a very long time. The plot is based on the story of Jack Unterweger, an Austrian convicted of the 1974 murder of a girl. While serving a sentence for this crime, Unterweger took up writing. His stories and autobiography — all twaddle, it appears — won him fans and even the support of the literati.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 4 (Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20) How can we rejoice when there isn’t much to rejoice about? Calls to be joyful when we are in the midst of tragedy, depression or other difficulties can be hurtful and infuriating. And yet that is exactly what the prophet is telling the people of Israel to do. Jerusalem was in shambles — the exiles returned from Babylon to find ruin and decay. After decades there seemed to be no significant change and the beautiful images from the earlier prophecies began to ring rather hollow. Rejoice — right!
john kostoff [images/stories/education/education10/johnkostoff.jpg]TORONTO - When he was in Grade 8, John Kostoff had a choice to make: attend a prestigious high school with a longstanding tradition in academics and sports or an up-and-coming, smaller Toronto school run by the Holy Ghost Fathers. Kostoff had seen a newspaper photo of a child from Nigeria holding a sign reading “Thank you, Neil McNeil.” That sealed the deal for Kostoff, who chose Neil McNeil High School because of the school’s active involvement in helping survivors of the 1967-70 Nigerian Civil War.
infant Jesus football [images/stories/international/international10/soccerinfantjesus.jpg]MADRID - On June 11, Spanish soccer fans gathered at Blessed Manuel Domingo Sol Catholic Church in Madrid to watch host nation South Africa play Mexico in the first game of the FIFA World Cup. The church’s pastor, Fr. Esteban Diaz, says that bringing parishioners together for the games promotes good will and friendly relationships in his community. On a larger scale, he believes the quadrennial event is an opportunity to fight for peace.
St. Patrick School [images/stories/education/education10/stpatrick2.jpg]Another Toronto Catholic school is now slated to become an arts, media and technological school through new programming to begin in fall of 2011. St. Patrick Catholic Secondary School in Toronto’s east end was selected for a Grades 9-12 arts, media and technologies centre after a review of five city schools including Cardinal Newman, Jean Vanier, Neil McNeil, Notre Dame and St. Patrick’s.
tcdsb logo [images/stories/schoolB_logos/TCDSBLogo.jpg]A Catholic high school leadership and peer support course is being offered this August and will earn participating students a high school credit. The course, which will be taught by Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Secondary School teacher Steve DeQuintal, will take place at St. Sebastian’s Church, 20 Pauline Ave.
religious symbols [images/stories/misc/misc10/symbols.jpg]LONDON, Ont. - A movement dedicated to studying sacred texts to promote friendship between people of different faiths hosted its first Canadian conference at Huron University College in London June 27-30. Scriptural reasoning is a practice where Christians, Jews and Muslims study each other’s sacred texts. The goal is to give people of different faiths a way to transcend their religious differences and foster trust and understanding. This is the third scriptural reasoning conference to be hosted in North America.
As I look back over my high school career, which just ended, I realize that my fondest memories of the past four years are directly or indirectly connected to the Catholic faith. Though not one to readily admit that I enjoy school, attending Toronto’s Brebeuf College has given me a handful of experiences that I won’t soon forget.
Boy soldier [images/stories/canada/canada10/gunboy.jpg]WINNIPEG - Retired general Senator Romeo Dallaire told a packed audience of religious leaders that the proliferation of child soldiers in world conflicts is a sin and a crime against humanity. Dallaire, the retired general who led the ill-fated UN peacekeeping forces during the mid-1990s genocide in Rwanda, was addressing some 71 delegates and 130 observers at the opening session of the World Religions Summit June 21-23 at the University of Winnipeg.
Senator Romeo Dallaire [images/stories/canada/canada10/dallaire.jpg]WINNIPEG - Retired general Senator Romeo Dallaire told a packed audience of religion leaders that the proliferation of child soldiers in world conflicts is a sin and a crime against humanity. Dallaire, the retired general who led the ill-fated UN peacekeeping forces during the mid-1990s genocide in Rwanda, was addressing some 71 delegates and 130 observers at the opening session of the World Religions Summit, June 21-23 at the University of Winnipeg.