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February 2012

February 8

Register delivery changes on the way

February 8, 2012

Next to printing a high-quality newspaper each week, there is nothing more important than getting The Catholic Register into the hands of our readers in a timely, cost-effective manner. For many years, that has meant using Canada Post as our primary delivery method. But over the next few weeks The Register will cease using the mailman to deliver the paper to the vast majority of our readers.

World Youth Day officials in Brazil unveil winning logo for 2013

February 8, 2012

RIO DE JANEIRO - Officials of World Youth Day 2013 unveiled the winning logo for the event at a ceremony attended by more than 100 Brazilian bishops, government officials and local organizers. Gustavo Huguenin, 25, creator of the winning logo, is a Brazilian from the interior of Rio de Janeiro state. The contest was opened to anyone, and the logo was chosen by a Vatican council from more than 200 entries from around the world.

Vatican sex abuse investigator says bishops should be more accountable

February 8, 2012

ROME - The Vatican's top sex abuse investigator called for greater accountability under church law of bishops who shield or fail to discipline pedophile priests. Msgr. Charles Scicluna, promoter of justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, made his remarks to reporters in Rome Feb. 8, after addressing an international symposium on clerical sex abuse.

February 9

Church officials step up relief efforts to quake victims

February 9, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - Catholic officials are stepping up relief efforts to provide assistance to victims of an earthquake that struck Negros Oriental province Feb. 6. San Carlos Diocese on Negros Island is organizing relief groups to deliver food and water to thousands of people who remain isolated after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the eastern part of the island, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. The quake destroyed or damaged bridges and buildings and triggered landslides. As of Feb. 9, the official death toll was 26, but rescuers said there was little hope of finding any of the 71 missing alive, UCA News reported.

Nuncio to Syria says priests in Homs choose to remain despite violence

February 9, 2012

WASHINGTON - Some priests have decided to stay in battle-scarred Homs, Syria, even as government forces intensified their strikes against the heart of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, said the Vatican's nuncio to Syria. Archbishop Mario Zenari told Catholic News Service in an email Feb. 9 that he had been in almost daily contact with priests in Homs and that "with respect to their safety, the situation is, in certain respects, uncertain."

Hong Kong cardinal warns of 'schism' within Chinese church

February 9, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Chinese Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun warned that the Chinese Catholic Church is "on the verge of a schism" between communities cooperating with government structures and those who refuse to register with government authorities, and he called on the Vatican and other Catholics to shun "organisms that are not only foreign but clearly hostile to the church" in China. Cardinal Zen, retired bishop of Hong Kong, made his comments in an article published Feb. 8 by Asia News, a missionary news agency based in Rome.

February 10

Catholic movie reviews - The Vow, Journey 2, Safe House & Chronicle

February 10, 2012

Thinking of heading to the movies this weekend? Our latest selection of reviews arrives just in time for Valentines Day.

Pope says world must help Africans in Sahel

February 10, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to address the problems of poverty and malnutrition in Africa's Sahel region. "The Sahel was seriously threatened again in recent months by a notable decrease in food resources and by famine caused by a lack of rain and the resulting increase in desertification," the pope told members of the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel. He said that for residents of the Sahel, "living conditions are deteriorating."

Don't wait for explosion: Speakers say church must prevent abuse

February 10, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The take-away message from a Vatican-backed symposium on clerical sex abuse was clear: Victims, truth and justice come first. And the church can no longer wait for a crisis to erupt before it begins to address the scandal of abuse. "We do not need to wait for a bomb to explode. Preventing it from exploding is the best response," said Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle.

Obama compromise on U.S. contraceptive mandate gets mixed reviews

February 10, 2012

WASHINGTON - In an move that appears unlikely to end the controversy over a federal mandate that all health insurance plans include contraception and sterilization free of charge, President Barack Obama outlined a plan that would allow religious employers not to offer such services to their employees but would compel insurance companies to do so. The president announced the policy in a brief statement Feb. 10 but took no questions.

February 11

Waterloo education director proud of the difference made over 27 years in Catholic schools

February 11, 2012

With almost 15 years as the director of education for Waterloo Region’s Catholic schools, Roger Lawler says he’s seen the difference that Catholic schools make. In fact, he’s a better person for it. “I have seen how an entire school community wraps itself around students and families who are in pain,” Lawler told The Catholic Register.

A caring man worthy of the red hat

February 11, 2012

A consistory for new cardinals is a serious affair. Forgive me then for telling a story about Thomas Christopher Cardinal-designate Collins that is less than serious, but with a serious point about the man. Which is how Toronto’s new cardinal usually does it himself — serious substance in a man who does not take himself too seriously. On Feb. 18, Collins will receive the red hat, a cardinal’s biretta fashioned from watered silk. One of my first encounters with him involved another hat — a toque, to be precise.

Cardinal Collins suited to lead Church against its detractors

February 11, 2012

I came back to the Church some 10 years ago, after a sojourn in the outer rooms of the Christian mansion. Being a journalist, and because I wanted to sing out the good news, I wrote about it in a newspaper column. There were numerous notes and letters; some predicting a future in hell or some earthly nastiness, but most of them kind and helpful. One of the most surprising came from the archbishop of Edmonton. It was simple, informal and overwhelmingly friendly and supportive, written, it explained, from the archbishop’s office. Which, the writer told me, was a Tim Horton’s across the road from the cathedral. I had just met Thomas Collins, soon to be our newest cardinal, thank God.

February 12

From humble beginnings Collins will rise to cardinal

February 12, 2012

Despite its grand Catholic church at the top of the hill, Guelph, Ont., is a modest place and home to modest people. A little bit of Guelph’s heroic modesty lurks in the tabernacle of Our Lady Immaculate Church up on the hill. Somehow in the 1970s the tabernacle door was damaged such that it no longer locked. It was replaced by a more modern tabernacle that some in the parish thought conflicted with their church’s neogothic architecture. “It was an ugly, monstrous looking thing,” declares John Valeriote, lawyer, amateur historian and stalwart of Guelph’s Catholic community.

February 13

Cardinal's installation ceremony more streamlined than in the past

February 13, 2012

VATICAN CITY - In part to avoid giving the impression that becoming a cardinal is a sacrament or quasi-sacrament, Pope Benedict XVI will use a revised, streamlined prayer service to create 21 new cardinals Feb. 18. In previous years, the installation ceremony consisted of the consistory on Saturday where the new cardinals received their red hats and the assignment of their titular churches in Rome, followed by a Mass on Sunday where the Pope presented each new cardinal with a ring as “the sign of dignity, pastoral care and the most solid communion with the See of Peter.” This time, the new cardinals will receive their hats, rings and assignments during the Feb. 18 ceremony. They still will celebrate Mass with the Pope the next day. At the beginning of the Mass, the first of the new cardinals — Cardinal-designate Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples — will express thanks to the Pope on behalf of the group.

Collins will enter College of Cardinals as a cardinal priest

February 13, 2012

When Archbishop Thomas Collins accepts the ring and biretta from Pope Benedict XVI he will be a cardinal priest — the middle rank between cardinal deacons and cardinal bishops. Some time after the ceremony he will also receive a titular church in Rome. Dividing the College of Cardinals into bishops, priests and deacons can be a tad confusing, given that all cardinals must receive episcopal ordination upon being named to the college if they aren’t already bishops. The internal ranking of cardinals reflects a number of historical precedents.

Responsibilities of the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church

February 13, 2012

The most important duty of a cardinal is to elect the Pope, but the responsibilities of the College of Cardinals have steadily evolved over the centuries. Cardinals are personally selected by the Pope. They give counsel to the Pope, contribute to the governance of the Church and act as papal envoys. Some are officers of the Roman Curia while many serve as bishops of major diocese around the world. Cardinals have been responsible for electing popes since 1059. They remain eligible to vote until age 80 and the number of voting cardinals is limited to 120.

"A sly sense of humour couples with serious love of the faith" - Archbishop Prendergast

February 13, 2012

OTTAWA - Over the years, Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast has come to appreciate the depth of Archbishop Thomas Collins’ scholarship, his love for the Scriptures, his joy in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and his courage in professing his faith in the public square. Though Prendergast had crossed paths many times with Collins, it wasn’t until the two were in Rome together in 1999 to receive the pallium that they began to know each other. The pallium is a wool band the Holy Father presents to Metropolitan Archbishops as a sign of their jurisdiction in the Universal Church and of their closeness to the Pope.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte expects nothing less than excellence from Collins

February 13, 2012

OTTAWA - When asked what advice or encouragement Cardinal-designate Thomas Collins might need in his new position, Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte laughed. “I will it say it’s courage,” the cardinal said from his office in Montreal. “To be a cardinal, it’s a lot of work. It is not only to elect the Pope!” Collins will become a member of many congregations, or dicasteries, in the Holy See, Turcotte said. “Cardinals are the counsellors of the Pope in those different congregations.” He can expect to do a lot more travelling to Rome, he added.

Salt+Light has consistory covered

February 13, 2012

Although the consistory to elevate Archbishop Thomas Collins to cardinal is being held in the Vatican, the events of this historic week are only an alarm clock (or rooster) away for most Canadians. Salt + Light Television will be carrying the major events live and showing others on tape delay. That means that, due to the six-hour time difference between Rome and Toronto, viewers will need to be in front of their televisions in the wee hours of the morning to witness Collins receive his red hat from Pope Benedict XVI.