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February 2011

February 5

Fake Controversies and Real Concerns?

February 5, 2011

It clearly is the little things that preoccupy us. While Catholics around the world are riveted by events in Egypt, struggle with issues such as the proposed Justice reforms in this country, wrestle with questions of chastity, or a host of other serious issues, the mainstream media is fixated on the question of whether Benedict XVI’s organs will be donated on the occasion of his death. Now this is an issue that the Church has been clear about since as long ago as 1956 and we have to thank rumours out of Germany for the ‘controversy’. But given that organ donors are such a small proportion of the population it seems odd to pounce on the story of the Pope. This headline from the British Newspaper, The Independent, gives a sense of how anything can be twisted into a slam: “ Pope’s Organs are Too Holy to Donate to Mortals says Church”. A cynic might ask how many national leaders, including Britain’s Prime Minister, carry organ donor cards. One thing we do know is that the trend worldwide is down and making the issue about the Pope is actually silly. This weekend events in Egypt continue to evolve and anxiety among Catholics and Christians continues to remain high, especially after the appearance of the Muslim Brotherhood late this week at demonstrations and the Iranian government put its seal approval on what it saw as ‘an Islamic Renaissance in the Middle East’. But as The Catholic Register and others are reporting, the issue is clearly not yet about religions with ‘leaders of Egypt’s Christian minority increasingly are joining the calls for historic change and reform’. Rumours of the bombing of a Christian Church in the Sinai on Saturday didn’t help clarify matters nor calm worries. And the anxiety is not confined to Egypt. Secretary Hilary Clinton’s description of region wide unrest as evidence of ‘ a perfect storm’ simply hints at the truly complex nature of what is unfolding and a Saturday story from the Catholic News Service featuring the thoughts of Muhammad al-Sammak, secretary general of Lebanon's Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue went to the heart of what everyone is contemplating when he noted that "It is true that the situation of Christians in the Middle East is not good". Commonweal Magazine has two fascinating pieces on events this week in Egypt and well worth a read, though as with much that is being written about this rapidly unfolding and confusing situation, be prepared to come away with more questions than answers.

February 8

Egypt's protesters want their slice of the future

February 8, 2011

OTTAWA - Egyptian protesters are mostly males aged 25-34 who are highly educated, plugged into the world’s social media and networks but frustrated because they can’t find work, said Carl Hétu, national secretary of CNEWA Canada (Catholic Near East Welfare Association). “They are now asking for their share,” he said, noting the plight of young people is similar in countries all over the Middle East. The issue in Egypt is whether the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist group, will try to appropriate the movement, he said. But the Muslim Brotherhood is not the only player, he added, noting that the elite of Egypt “will not let go” and will be faithful to President Hosni Mubarak.

February 9

The wrong choice

February 9, 2011

The Monsignor Feeney Foundation of London, Ont., is one of those unsung organizations that operates in relative obscurity doing good work on behalf of the Catholic community. Its web site says the foundation has raised $4 million since 1983 for a long list of mostly educational causes. So it’s a shame that, for most of us, our introduction to this worthy organization comes after its directors took a significant misstep and then declined to acknowledge their error, let alone offer to fix it. At issue is contracting Stephen Lewis to headline a fund-raising event — “An evening with Stephen Lewis!” — at which Lewis, according to organizers, was to speak about poverty, children and education.

Hateful taste in art

February 9, 2011

On Jan. 29, a small private art gallery in Toronto issued a press release publicizing an upcoming show that includes a portrait of Pope Benedict riddled with bullet-like holes and a representation of U.S. President Barak Obama crucified on a cross. As its own headline put it, “Pope shot, Obama crucified…” The release commented casually about the sex abuse scandal in the Church, even though it’s not clear that the exhibit itself does. Most media outlets paid little attention to the release. Those that did handed the gallery publicity it could only dream about. After all, attacking the Church may generate a few angry letters and phone calls but it won’t harm your reputation in media and arts circles.

‘Fr. Oprah’ has become a bore, not some noble man fighting the evil Church

February 9, 2011

MIAMI Alberto Cutié is back — not that he really ever went away. He has a small Episcopal parish here in Miami, and is flogging his new book, getting ready for his own TV show. You remember Fr. Oprah, no? Ordained for the archdiocese of Miami in 1995, the photogenic and bilingually articulate priest developed a successful radio and television ministry, becoming something of a Latino celebrity — hence the nickname. In May 2009 a tabloid newspaper published photographs of Cutié on the beach with his mistress, conducting himself in a manner contrary to his priestly promises.

Hollywood keeps dumbing-down the demonic

February 9, 2011

“What were you expecting?” the veteran demon-fighter Fr. Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) asks his young apprentice Michael (Colin O’Donoghue) after an uneventful exorcism in The Rite, now playing in movie theatres across southern Ontario. “Spinning heads? Pea soup?” At those lines, you could almost feel a satisfied smile go around the audience. The vivid allusion, everybody knew, was to The Exorcist (1973), Hollywood’s first and best attempt to do a film about Catholics casting out devils. It was director Mikael Håfström’s heavy-handed way to remind movie-goers of what was already, by that point, perfectly obvious: that The Rite is meant to be a serious contribution to that horror sub-genre, the demon movie, created by The Exorcist almost 40 years ago. It isn’t, but certainly not for lack of trying.

Jesus commands us to share our love with all

February 9, 2011

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Feb. 20 (Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48) What does it mean to be holy? People often toss the word around carelessly but when pressed to define the term they are at a loss. In the Old Testament the term meant that which is set apart — something special and undefiled. The Book of Leviticus — certainly not everyone’s favourite book of the Bible — contains some very interesting and challenging commands in its Holiness Code. The passage tells us that holiness is one of the defining descriptions of God. God is holy and God commands the Israelites to be the same. This holiness is manifested in behaviour and attitudes that differ from the typically human and the text is quick to elaborate. Hatred is out, as is the bearing of grudges and the taking of revenge. That alone signals a huge modification of ordinary human behaviour and if practised would result in a very different world. But then comes the big one: you shall love your neighbour as yourself. It should sound familiar for Jesus quotes this passage in the Gospels as part of the greatest commandment.

Pakistan 'surrenders' to blasphemy law

February 9, 2011

LAHORE, Pakistan - The head of the Catholic Church in Pakistan expressed outrage at the government’s decision to withdraw a private member’s bill proposing changes in the country’s blasphemy law, calling it “an act of surrender.” “It’s a mistake giving in to pressure by Islamic parties,” Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, president of Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told the Asian church news agency UCA News. “The government has totally caved in and there seems no prospect of changes in the controversial legislation in the near future.” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly Feb. 2 that the government never intended to change the law and had disbanded the committee reviewing it. The blasphemy law makes insulting the Quran punishable by life imprisonment, and calls for the death penalty for insulting Mohammed.

Assisted suicide hearings criss-cross Quebec

February 9, 2011

GATINEAU, Que. - As Quebec marked Suicide Prevention Week Jan. 30-Feb. 5, the province’s Select Committee on Dying with Dignity held hearings here testing support for legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide. The irony did not escape Linda Couture, who directs Living With Dignity, a grassroots, non-religious organization that has been monitoring the hearings as the committee travels across Quebec. The committee made up of members of Quebec’s National Assembly (MNAs) has been holding public hearings in cities across Quebec since September. Couture has attended most of them. The committee wraps up its hearings at the end of February and will then work on a written report.

New round of talks in Anglican-Catholic dialogue

February 9, 2011

As Catholics and Anglicans sit down again for official theological dialogue this spring, they face the challenge of adding to some of the most substantial and carefully reasoned theological documents written in the last 35 years. “It’s been some of the best theology of the 20th century, and we’re into the 21st century now. It’s excellent theology,” said Margaret O’Gara, a former Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) member and professor at Toronto’s University of St. Michael’s College. A new stage of ARCIC discussions opens May 17 to 27 at the Monastery of Bose in northern Italy. The international dialogue group has been asked by the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams and Pope Benedict XVI to examine “the Church as communion — local and universal” and “how in communion the local and universal Church comes to discern right ethical teaching.”

Putting our faith first

February 9, 2011

As Valentine’s Day approaches, my friends ask me what I’m doing on Feb. 14. They usually ask because they want to share their own plans which usually involve chocolates, small gifts and a romantic dinner with their significant other. Although this day is exaggerated by retailers, it is safe to say that many young people — Catholics included — put great significance on finding their true love and being in a relationship. Yet how much significance must we put on the relationship we are in as Catholics? How can we put our Catholic faith first? Nowadays, relationships are too often associated with sex. The media portrays sex as an exciting and fun activity. The more promiscuous you are, the sexier and more wanted you become is the basic message. The modern world seems to have mistaken romance and sex as something that come in a package. Some people justify their actions by saying sex is just part of a healthy relationship.

Catholics protest artist's deliberately provocative show

February 9, 2011

Peter Alexander Por [images/stories/arts/arts11/popepainting.jpg]TORONTO - A private Toronto art gallery has received thousands of e-mails protesting its controversial exhibit featuring a “bullet-ridden” Pope Benedict XVI. Bezpala Brown Gallery president Darrell Brown said the gallery received about 8,000 e-mails in one hour from the American Catholic group America Needs Fatima which launched a web campaign against Peter Alexander Por’s exhibit “Persona Non Grata: The Veil of History,” running at the gallery Feb. 5-25. Brown first promoted the exhibit with a provocative press release called “Pope shot, Obama crucified at the Bezpala Brown Gallery.” “Pope Benedict XVI’s portrait is riddled with bullet holes, a less than subtle expression of the hurt and anger directed at a pontiff and an institution that has abandoned its flock, choosing to focus on dogma while its subjects suffer and, in many instances, die from its archaic policies,” the release read, referring to the clergy abuse scandal that has rocked the Church.

1,000 years of rare Bibles on display at Toronto library until June

February 9, 2011

St. John Bible [images/stories/arts/arts11/stjohnbible.jpg]TORONTO - You don’t often get to see a Wicked Bible. There aren’t many of them left. That’s because King Charles I ordered them all burned. The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library of the University of Toronto has a Wicked Bible on display until June 3, along with dozens of other rare and fascinating Bibles. The 1631 Wicked Bible contained perhaps the most famous typo in the history of the English language. In Exodus 22:14 a compositor left out the word “not,” leaving the commandment to read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” But there’s much more than giggles to the exhibition “Great and Manifold: A Celebration of the Bible in English.” The Bibles on display span just over a millennium, ranging from an 11th century Greek New Testament from Constantinople bearing the name “Torontoensis” to an illuminated Book of Psalms in English produced over the last decade by calligraphers and artists under the direction of Benedictine monks in Collegeville, Minnesota. Pinned to the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, “Great and Manifold” is a compact epic journey through the history of English language, politics, spirituality and culture as it relates to this one book.

Family juggles family, faith and demanding career

February 9, 2011

The Cannings [images/stories/features/freature11/catholicparenting2.jpg]TORONTO - The camera zooms in on new mom Lisa Canning who beams with enthusiasm as she talks about energy-efficient decor with Toronto TV host Marilyn Denis. The 26-year-old interior decorator was one of the experts on CTV’s inaugural The Marilyn Denis Show last month. Aside from running her own interior design business, she talks enthusiastically about how motherhood has helped her mature in her Catholic faith as she and her husband, Josh, raise their two children. “When I became a mom for the first time, something shifted quick in me that I am completely responsible for the soul of this person. When I saw (my son) in my arms, I realized I have a huge responsibility,” she said. Faith has been central in the Cannings’ marriage and parenthood. The Cannings are former student campus ministers at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto. (Josh is now Newman’s chaplaincy co-ordinator.)

Catholic parenting instills moral values

February 9, 2011

Sister helping brother [images/stories/features/freature11/catholicparenting.jpg]Mississauga. ont. - It’s become a daily morning routine for five-year-old Theresa Rebello. The third youngest of 10 children, Theresa helps her two-year-old brother Luke get ready to go to Mass with her mom and the younger kids while her older siblings head off to school with dad. In the Rebello family, learning the faith starts early. “With parenting, (we asked ourselves) what is our goal 20 years from now?” said Theresa’s mother, 38-year-old Liz Rebello of Toronto. “We always have that end. This is what I want them to be. We want them to be free and responsible adults with a good moral upbringing.” Teaching kids about faith and values is what’s missing in a much-talked-about memoir by Yale University law professor Amy Chua. In a new book, Battle Hymn of a Mother Tiger, Chua writes about her “Chinese style of parenting” that has produced two over-achieving daughters. Chua explains how her kids live by stringent rules: no sleepovers, school plays or getting a grade less than an A, a style she says encouraged her children to excel.

Toronto Copts fear for Egypt's future

February 9, 2011

Egypt Protest [images/stories/international/internation11/egyptprotest3.jpg]TORONTO - As the Muslim Brotherhood spoke directly with Egypt’s government and as Christian leaders and Muslim scholars paraded together through Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Toronto’s tiny Coptic Catholic community prayed for peace and wisdom in Egypt, and for the safety of their relatives back home. “This is our part, to collect our voice and go to God,” said Magda Megalli after Mass Feb. 6 at Holy Family Coptic Catholic Church in Toronto’s west end. Most Holy Family parishioners send money monthly back to their families, said parish priest Fr. Bishoi Anis. The protests and street fighting that began in Cairo on Jan. 24 and the apparent end to Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule have left Toronto Copts feeling stunned and helpless, he said. “What can you do here, here in Canada?” Anis asked.

Canada measured by how we treat immigrants

February 9, 2011

Lois Wilson [images/stories/toronto_people/wilsonlois.jpg]TORONTO - If Scripture is a guide, the measure of Canada as a Christian country may be the nation’s immigration and refugee policies, the Very Rev. Lois Wilson told a couple dozen people gathered at the University of Toronto’s Newman Centre chapel Feb. 1. Wilson was lecturing as part of the Jesuit-sponsored Naming the Holy series at the Newman Centre. Under the title “Who is my neighbour? Immigration, citizenship and refugees,” Wilson pointed out how “the alien, the orphan and the widow” are “just all over the Scriptures.” Old Testament law regarding treatment of aliens, orphans and widows establishes the importance of the individual in Western culture and law, said Wilson. In the New Testament Jesus Himself is an outsider who scandalously communicates with other outsiders — Samaritans, women, lepers, etc.

Food for the soul

February 9, 2011

Food for the soul [images/stories/ysn/ysn11/soulfood.jpg]TORONTO - Faith Connections “Soul Food” continues the adventure in food and faith for young adults. The sequel to the faith-based ecumenical group “Eat, Pray, Share,” which took place last fall, its first of eight sessions begins Feb. 23 and wraps up May 14. “I still felt called to offer some kind of group experience where we could continue to grow in faith and also take the group in some new direction based on the feedback,” said facilitator Genevieve Anderson, a high school chaplain with the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and former Faith Connections co-ordinator. Partnering with Faith Connections, the young adult ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Anderson said Soul Food offers participants a chance to understand how food and spirituality are related. At each session, different participants will take turns preparing a meal for the group. Cooking teams will be expected to arrive early to arrange each meal. Each session will be based on a spiritual theme, including “solidarity of incarnation” and “social justice.” The group will gather for the main course and will then discuss the session’s topic through prayer and reflection on various Scripture passages, books and articles. After dessert, the session will end with a call to action, in which a particular spiritual or food-related task to complete will be suggested to the group.

‘Movement becomes prayer’ at Faith Connections’ skating event

February 9, 2011

Skate and prayer [images/stories/ysn/ysn11/skateprayer.jpg]TORONTO - A group of young adult skaters waited patiently as the Zamboni finished cleaning the ice of the new Colonel Sam Smith Skating Trail in Toronto. It was a mix of sun and cloud with very little wind on this winter day, ideal weather for skating — and also for outdoor reflection. On Feb. 5, Faith Connections, a ministry for young adults run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, held its first ever Skate and Prayer event to provide young adults with the opportunity to slow down with God and enjoy the beauty of winter. Kelly Bourke, the interim program director with Faith Connections, said the Skate and Prayer event was a spin on Faith Connections’ Hike and Prayer event. As with Hike and Prayer, it provided young adults with a social, active and reflective or prayer component, said Bourke.

Can't find a chant choir? Well, start your own

February 9, 2011

Surinder Mundra [images/stories/arts/arts11/surindermundra.jpg]TORONTO - Looking for a choir to join, Surinder Mundra couldn’t find what he was looking for. He went to one Mass where the choir was singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” during the homily. In contrast, during the drive home from Mass, he was listening to Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, a composer of sacred music in the Renaissance. “It was backwards,” the concert pianist, piano teacher, organist and music director at both St. Patrick’s Church in Toronto and St. Georges Anglican Church in Pickering, Ont., told The Catholic Register. “I was listening to secular music in a Church. I had to leave the Church, go into my car and drive home to listen to liturgical music.” Disillusioned by this, along with the emphasis that many parish choirs have on performance instead of spirituality, Mundra decided to start his own choir. In 2006, he founded St. Patrick’s Gregorian Choir, which specializes in Gregorian chants in its proper liturgical context. One of the only of its kind in Toronto, the choir currently has 15 members.