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March 2011

March 30

Good Shepherd Brothers on frontline for half a century

March 30, 2011

The Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd and their volunteers have been helping the needy in Hamilton, Ont., for 50 years. [images/stories/canada/canada11/littlebrothersgoodshepherd.jpg]It has been 50 years of feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and clothing the naked for the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd in Hamilton, Ont. “We’re the largest provider of community social services and health services in the Hamilton community — particularly in the area of mental health,” Br. Richard MacPhee, executive director of Good Shepherd Centres, told The Catholic Register. Among the celebrations marking the milestone is a 50th anniversary breakfast at Liuna Station in Hamilton on April 19 with featured speaker Br. Justin Howson, superior general of the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd. And on June 18, Bishop Douglas Crosby will celebrate an anniversary Mass at Christ the King Cathedral.

Pope seeks dialogue for Libya

March 30, 2011

A rebel fighter fires a cannon during a battle with forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi near Ras Lanuf, a major oil port in Libya. The Pope has called for a sus- pension of fighting and for a start to dialogue to restore peace. (CNS photo/Goran Tomasevic, Reuters) [images/stories/international/internation11/libyapopedialogue.jpg]VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has appealed for a suspension of fighting in Libya and the immediate start of a serious dialogue aimed at restoring peace to the North African country. The Pope said he was increasingly concerned at the news from Libya, where rebels supported by U.S., Canadian and European air strikes have battled the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Following a UN directive authorizing all necessary measures to protect civilians, an international coalition of forces, led by warplanes from the United States, Canada, Britain and France, have been pounding Libyan military targets. The military mission was to be taken over by NATO on March 31 under the command of a Canadian, Lieutenant-General Charlie Bouchard.

Bishops offer views on international talks on Libya

March 30, 2011

A rebel fighter guards the final checkpoint on the road from Bin Jawad toward Nawfiliyah, where forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi have halted a rapid rebel advance in eastern Libya March 29. (CNS photo/Finbarr O'Reilly, Reuters) [images/stories/international/internation11/libyalondonsoldier.jpg]VATICAN CITY - The Vatican observer at the London conference on Libya said the situation in the North African country is forcing the international community to examine its obligation to intervene when the lives and rights of civilians are being threatened. Meanwhile, another prelate, the bishop in Libya's capital, Tripoli, said it appears to him that people just want the fighting to continue. "They want to continue the war," Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli of Tripoli told Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. "Arming part of the Libyan population against another part other doesn't seem to me to be a moral solution."

One student’s fight to make roads safer

March 30, 2011

Alex Don, left, a student at Burlington, Ont.’s Assumption High School, with CAW president Ken Lewenza at Queen’s Park for the first reading of Bill-161. [images/stories/canada/canada11/studentroadsafe.jpg]TORONTO - Although some teens may not like the idea of being labelled a new driver, at least one believes a special plate to indicate a car’s driver has a provisional licence would make the roads safer. Alex Don, an 18-year-old student at Burlington, Ont.’s Assumption High School, proposed such an idea to provincial politicians, which has led to Bill-161, the Novice Driver “P” Plate Act, that was introduced in the Ontario Legislature and passed first reading March 10. “It’s difficult to get the G2 (graduated licence) and start driving on the highway,” said Don whose idea sparked the private member’s bill for the “P” licence plate. “There have been some naysayers who say they’re a great driver and don’t need to be branded,” said Don, but a majority of the teens he’s spoken with agree with the idea of a “P” plate.

Gay-straight alliances turn into ‘lightning rod’ of controversy

March 30, 2011

TCDSB trustee, John Del Grande [images/stories/canada/canada11/johndelgrandemar30bw.jpg]TORONTO - Demands from the NDP’s education critic that the Ontario government force Catholic schools to accept gay-straight alliances are off base because Catholic schools already have government-approved equity programs for students, regardless of their sexual orientation, according to Catholic education groups. Nancy Kirby, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, rejected the NDP’s assertion that gay-straight alliances should be the exclusive support group in all Ontario schools for students with same-sex attractions. Catholic schools have always promoted non-discrimination in the classroom and have supports in place for students with same-sex attractions, she said. Following a decision by the principal at Mississauga’s St. Joseph Catholic High School to disallow a gay-straight alliance, NDP MPP Rosario Marchese said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty should compel Catholic school boards to establish GSAs in order to conform with the government’s equity policy.

Collins begins timetable for formation of Canadian ordinariates

March 30, 2011

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins has asked Canadians interested in joining a personal ordinariate for former Anglicans to signal their intention to join in writing by May 31. He told the Anglicanorum Coetibus Conference held in Mississauga March 24-26 he wanted to “clarify the commitment” of individuals to find out “who wants to proceed, understanding exactly what it means.” Collins, who is the episcopal delegate representing the Holy See in the formation of a personal ordinariate for former Anglicans within the Catholic Church, stressed the importance of individual conscience and that each individual have “fully informed consent to this.” Though May 31 is not a deadline and Anglicans can commit to joining later, Collins said he wanted to provide the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with an idea of preliminary numbers.

Will real issues be up for election debate?

March 30, 2011

Poverty, life issues, seniors may be lost in 'horse-race politics' of election campaign [images/stories/canada/canada11/editorialelections.jpg]It’s hard to know what will be decided in the May 2 election, but it’s just as hard to imagine that Canadians will decide well unless we inject respect, sincerity, honesty and a few high-minded ideals into our political culture. We can’t run a country on vitriolic rhetoric, political tactics and cheap-shot ads, said Christian think-tank director Peter Stockland. Looking at the latest attack ads turned Stockland’s stomach. “I was absolutely appalled that a government and a lot of people in that government would unleash something like that,” said the director of the Cardus Centre for Cultural Renewal. “Where’s the charity?” The Conservative ads claim Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is dangerously soft on crime, and a Liberal government would make people unsafe in their homes and neighbourhoods.

March 31

46-member Cantores Celestes enhances Artist's Lauds

March 31, 2011

Trisha Postle plays the hurdy gurdy as she musically leads morning prayer from the Divine Office for the feast of St. Joseph, March 26 at Regis College. (Photo by Michael Swan) [images/stories/features/freature11/hurdygurdylauds.jpg]Jesuit Fr. Gilles Mongeau has been cultivating an occassional community of artists who gather once or twice a year for an artists' liturgy. On the feast of St. Joseph, March 26, the artists' liturgy took the form of morning prayer from the Divine Office. The singers contributing to this liturgy, and singing as you view these photographs, are the 46-member Cantores Celestes. The amatuer women's choir has been singing together for 22 years, and over those years has raised more than $30,000 for charity. Singing for a liturgy rather than a concert allows the choir to connect with its repertoire of religious music in a very different way, said conductor Kelly Galbraith. ... View the images in the slideshow that is embedded below or click here to load a larger version in a new window. Use the small icon, [images/stories/features/freature11/fullscreenslideshowbutton.jpg], in the bottom right corner of the player to view the slideshow in full-screen mode.