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October 2011

October 5

Service cuts bad for your health

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - A new study by St. Michael’s Hospital that makes a link between poverty and poor health is being endorsed by Catholic agencies. The Toronto study indicates that people instinctively understand that poverty and income disparity are dangerous to their health, said epidemiologist Patricia O’Campo, one of the authors of the study. “It really is inequities that are driving risk for adverse health and mortality,” O’Campo said.

God will guide, protect those who follow him, pope says

October 5, 2011

VATICAN CITY - God will always guide, protect and nourish those intent on following him, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Following Jesus, the good shepherd, we will be certain we are on the right path and that the Lord will always guide us, be with us and we will lack nothing," the pope said Oct. 5 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square. With an estimated 20,000 people gathered in the square, the pope continued a series of talks about praying with the Psalms, focusing on Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I lack." Looking at psalm -- "a text familiar to and loved by all" -- the pope said, "If we walk behind the good shepherd, no matter how difficult, twisting or long the path of our lives may seem, even if often it seems we are in a spiritual desert without water," we can be sure God will protect and provide for us. The psalm is an expression of "radical trust in God's loving care," which reaches its highest expression in the death and resurrection of Jesus, who gave his life to save his flock, the pope said. Greeting English speakers at the audience, the pope offered his "prayerful good wishes" to the 35 men scheduled to be ordained transitional deacons Oct. 6 by U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The new deacons are preparing for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Pope Benedict also greeted a delegation of Orthodox scholars from the theology faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. The faculty awarded Pope Benedict its "Apostle Jason of Thessaloniki Gold Medal," which the pope said was "an eloquent sign of the growing understanding and dialogue between Catholic and Orthodox Christians." Addressing the Orthodox in English, the pope said he hoped the improved relations would be "a harbinger of ever greater progress in our efforts to respond in fidelity, truth and charity to the Lord's summons to unity." At the end of the audience, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of Little Rock, Ark., personally handed Pope Benedict a copy of the "Catholic Study Bible," an edition released in June as part of the Little Rock Scripture Study program.

Oratorio rises out of composer’s Holocaust obsession

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - Composer Zane Zalis has a story to tell. Give him 90 minutes, 200 singers and a huge orchestra and Zalis will lead you through an emotional tale of the Holocaust. I Believe is a 12-part oratorio that marshals enormous, complex orchestral forces but tells its story with popular, musical theatre singers. The work will get its Toronto premiere at Roy Thomson Hall Oct. 25 as a kind of lead-in to the 31st annual Holocaust Education Week, Nov. 1-9. Zalis, who grew up Ukrainian Catholic but later slid his family over to the Roman rite, intended his oratorio to be educational and accessible to young listeners.

Bishops, CCODP forum clears air on problem issues

October 5, 2011

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops and its development agency have begun a new forum for dialogue on contentious issues that should go a long way to preventing controversial explosions like that which came down upon the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace last spring, said the agency’s executive director. “The meeting clarified that both CCODP and the CCCB mutually agree it is important to involve local bishops from the Global South in the dialogue, discussion and rapport that are part of development work,” said a joint communiqué issued Sept. 26. “It also agreed that when CCODP identifies questions or concerns about this, it will consult with the CCCB Standing Committee.”

Social programs are in public interest

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - Investing in social programs that tackle poverty makes “economic sense,” according to a new report by a federal advisory group on poverty. “It is in the public interest for all governments in Canada’s federation to invest in preventing poverty and improving economic and social well-being,” said the National Council of Welfare in its report “The Dollars and Sense of Solving Poverty.” According to the report, released in late September, the cost of poverty in 2007 was estimated at more than double the $12.6 billion “poverty gap” — the amount it would have cost to ensure that all Canadians had an income above the poverty line. In 2009, more than three million Canadians were living in poverty and the national poverty rate was 9.6 per cent.

Veteran reporter debunks myths surrounding the Vatican

October 5, 2011

OTTAWA - Veteran Rome-based reporter and author John Allen Jr. says there is no such thing as “the Vatican” as commonly portrayed by the mainstream media. “Only seen from afar” is the Vatican perceived as a bunch of “Stepford wives all in lockstep,” the National Catholic Reporter’s senior correspondent recently told the Canadian Catholic School Trustees Association annual conference here. Those who work in the Vatican come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have sometimes widely differing viewpoints, he said.

Exploring McLuhan’s message at Nuit Blanche

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - About 25 young adults took to the streets during Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s yearly all-night art festival, to explore the spiritual connections behind the exhibits. The group gathered as part of Hike and Prayer, organized by Faith Connections, a ministry for young adults run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto. “It was an opportunity for young adults to meet each other, to reflect on the spiritual side of art and to participate in the city of Toronto,” said program director Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt.

Making an impact on 15-week missions trip

October 5, 2011

What would happen if I said yes to God and gave up one summer for His glory? That is the question I set out to answer when I said yes to Impact Canada. Impact is a 15-week missions trip with Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO). Every summer, students gather in a different Canadian city to carry on the new evangelization. Alongside 56 university students from across the country and under the guidance of a dedicated CCO staff team, I spent my summer in our nation’s capital sharing God’s love. Through living in community, working in a parish and being surrounded by people on fire for Him, I came to find new purpose in my life.

St. Mike’s helps fight malaria through Spread the Net walk

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - Malaria kills an African child about every 45 seconds. But there’s a simple and cost-effective solution: bed nets. And students at Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School want to raise enough money to protect between 7,500 and 10,000 affected children. As part of the Spread the Net Challenge, a program co-founded by business leader Belinda Stronach and television personality Rick Mercer in 2006, schools across Canada are competing to raise the most money for the cause. In addition to providing the highest number of bed nets, the winning schools at the elementary, high school and university levels will be featured on an episode of The Rick Mercer Report in March 2012.

Foundation to honour choir school founder Ronan’s legacy

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - The founders of St. Michael’s Choir School believed no boy should ever be turned away because of money. That principle has endured to this day but what has changed since 1937 is an economic climate that makes implementing it a greater challenge than ever. To address that, the school will mark its 75th anniversary by launching a new foundation to raise funds for bursaries, scholarships and other special projects.

Vatican newspaper criticizes BBC change to 'common era' dating

October 5, 2011

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican newspaper said it was "historically senseless hypocrisy" for the BBC to drop the dating abbreviations BC and AD on the grounds that they might offend non-Christians. In a front-page commentary Oct. 4, L'Osservatore Romano said the change reflected a wider effort to "cancel every trace of Christianity from Western culture." The British media corporation recently announced it would replace BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, or Year of the Lord) with B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era.) It said the new terms were a "religiously neutral" alternative.

Calgary’s Bishop Henry supports bill to curb controversial Section 13

October 5, 2011

OTTAWA - Calgary Bishop Fred Henry has come out in support of a bill introduced by a Conservative MP that would strike the controversial Section 13 from the Canadian Human Rights Act. Henry, who faced human rights complaints in 2005 for writing a pastoral letter defending traditional marriage, said Section 13 and its provincial counterparts “need to either be eliminated or subjected to an extensive re-write.” Section 13 deems discriminatory any action “likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt” if they are “identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”

Ex-Playboy producer surrendered to God

October 5, 2011

TORONTO - Everything about the porn industry is fake, former Playboy TV producer Donny Pauling told an audience of about 175 students at York University on Sept. 27 at a lecture organized by its Catholic chaplaincy team. Partnering with Matt Fradd, founder of the Porn Effect, a web site dedicated to fighting pornography, the two exposed painful secrets surrounding Pauling’s old business. “I’m sorry if you think porn’s not a big deal,” Pauling said. “I think it is a big deal.”

Office of Religious Freedoms talks launched

October 5, 2011

OTTAWA - With more than 100 religious leaders in attendance on Oct. 3, the International Affairs Minister opened formal consultation on the creation of Canada’s first Office of Religious Freedoms. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the office, which was promised by the Tories in the last election, is intended to “promote and protect freedom of religion and belief, consistent with core Canadian values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.” “Most importantly,” Baird said, “it will demonstrate that Canada truly is a free society.”

October 6

Weekly Crossword #2 - Oct 9th 2011

October 6, 2011

See how you get on with the latest crossword in our new series. Select "file > print" in your browser to print off your own copy. Catholic Register crossword #2 [images/stories/larger2011/crossword2.jpg] ACROSS 1. Napoleon’s exile island 5. October birthstone 9. Bill 12. Bake 14. Baseball’s ____ Ruth 15. Coffee 16. Slogan 17. Aphrodite’s son 18. Bullring shouts 19. Doctor of the Church who was born in fourth-century Egypt 21. Achy 22. Farm females 23. Occurrences 25. Procession 29. Snare 30. Baseball family name 31. Challenge 34. Humiliate 38. Mobs 40. Actor ___ Chaney 41. Wearies 42. Follow 43. Director ____ Preminger 45. Robin’s home 46. “Smooth Operator” singer 48. 1978 musical starring John Travolta 50. Baby’s toy 53. Skin opening 55. Jai ____ 56. Famed theologian and Bishop of Ruspe who was born in fifth-century Tunisia 62. Nickel or dime 63. Israel’s airline 64. _____ firma 65. Feminine suffix 66. Jochebed’s wife 67. Obstacles 68. Gel 69. Sews lace 70. Observes DOWN 1. Catholic humorist, ____ Bombeck 2. Booty 3. Tub 4. Famed film canine 5. Extremely overweight 6. Capital of France 7. ____ Ben Adhem 8. Inferior 9. Eagle’s claw 10. Prevent 11. Foundations 13. In good shape 15. _________ Bakhita (Saint and Canossian nun who was born in Sudan in 1864) 20. Amazed 24. Immense 25. Leaf 26. Actor ____ Alda 27. Howard and Silver 28. Author of “Confessions” who was born in third-century Algeria 29. Big top 32. Cosmetic additive 33. Go bad 35. Zone 36. Muddle 37. Villa d’___ 39. Fasten 44. Mythical monster 47. Beat 49. Leases 50. Contests 51. Unaccompanied 52. Pollute 53. Factory 54. Leers 57. Arm bone 58. Perfect scores 59. Dies ____ 60. Impel 61. Backtalk Catholic Crossword #1 Solution Catholic Crossword #1 solution [images/stories/_larger2011/crossword2_solution.jpg] Designed by: Bob Carson

Mexican priests face death, extortion from drug cartels

October 6, 2011

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Ministering in a city where crime is pervasive and murders occur at an alarming rate, Columban Father Kevin Mullins knows he's been very fortunate. While he has personally escaped the violence, the Australian-born priest has been touched by it through the lives of his parishioners at Corpus Christi Church in the poor neighbourhood of Puerto de Anapra. During Advent 2008, though, there was a time when parishioners and fellow priests were praying for his soul, thinking he had been killed during an attack by drug cartel gunmen.

Teaching Toronto kids the importance of a healthy ‘lunchbox smorgasbord’

October 6, 2011

TORONTO - Chef Anthony Rose was at St. Anthony’s Catholic School to show a Grade 1 class how to create a “lunchbox smorgasbord” of healthy foods. But first, the Drake Hotel chef had to define the word for his captive audience. “Smorgasbord means a bit of everything,” Rose told about 20 students at a healthy eating session to shine the spotlight on the importance of student nutrition programs. The Oct. 5 initiative marked the City of Toronto’s Feeding Toronto’s Hungry Students Week which runs from Oct. 3 to 7.

Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs knew the value of communication, Jesuit says

October 6, 2011

VATICAN CITY - Like Pope Pius XI, who founded Vatican Radio and built the Vatican train station, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs recognized the importance of expanding communication, a Jesuit told Vatican Radio. Jobs, 56, died Oct. 5 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Father Antonio Spadaro, the new editor of the influential Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica, told Vatican Radio that Jobs made technology part of the lives of millions and millions of people, not just technicians.

October 7

Pope says Indonesia can be example of interreligious harmony for world

October 7, 2011

VATICAN CITY - By promoting dialogue and defending the rights of minorities, Catholics in Indonesia will contribute to the harmony of their nation and will be an example to people in other parts of the world, Pope Benedict XVI told the country's bishops. "Continue to bear witness to the image and likeness of God in each man, woman and child, regardless of their faith, by encouraging everyone to be open to dialogue in the service of peace and harmony," the pope told the bishops Oct. 7. The 36 bishops of Indonesia were making their "ad limina" visits to brief the pope and Vatican officials on what is happening in their dioceses. Catholics make up about 3 percent of the population in Indonesia; Muslims account for more than 85 percent of the population, and there are significant communities of Protestants, Hindus and Buddhists.

Companions of the Cross founder Fr. Bedard dies after long illness

October 7, 2011

OTTAWA - Fr. Robert Bedard, founder of the Companions of the Cross, a society of apostolic life in the Catholic Church, died on Oct. 6. He was 82. Fr. Bedard was born and raised in Ottawa and ordained a priest at Blessed Sacrament Church in Ottawa on June 6, 1955. For many years, he was a teacher at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa.