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May 2012

May 29

Pope condemns massacre in Syria, urges prayers, dialogue for peace

May 29, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in condemning a massacre in Syria, and he called for Christian and Muslim leaders in the country to guide their faithful in prayer and collaboration to restore peace and calm. The massacre in Houla May 25-26 left about 108 people dead, including 49 children and 34 women. The U.N. Security Council May 27 condemned the massacre of civilians and, while not pinning all the blame on the Syrian government, it accused the government of inappropriately using heavy weapons in a residential area.

Vatican pledges to restore trust, transparency in search for truth

May 29, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said it is committed to restoring a sense of trust and transparency as it seeks the truth behind leaks of letters written by Vatican officials to each other and Pope Benedict XVI. Paolo Gabriele -- the pope's private assistant accused of having a cache of illicitly obtained Vatican documents -- was still under arrest and would face his first round of formal preliminary questioning by Vatican judges "later this week or early next week," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said May 29.

Pope likens world to latter-day Babel, announces new doctors of church

May 29, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The modern world is a latter-day Babel, where arrogance inspired by technological progress leads people to play God and sets them against each other, a predicament from which people can escape only through divinely inspired humility and love, said Pope Benedict XVI. The pope made his remarks during his homily May 27, Pentecost Sunday, during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.

Rio+20: Canadian still trying to map a sustainable future for the world

May 29, 2012

LIMA, Peru - Twenty years ago, a 12-year-old girl stood before government officials from most of the world's countries and pleaded for her future. Worried about pollution and overuse of natural resources on her finite planet, she begged, "If you don't know how to fix it, please don't break it." The occasion was the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which ended with the world's countries committing -- at least on paper -- to make environmental concerns a priority and eliminate unsustainable forms of production and consumption. Above all, delegates agreed that development must not jeopardize the welfare of future generations."

Striving to seek God ‘in all things’ on Impact mission

May 29, 2012

A year ago, Archbishop Anthony Mancini of Halifax wrote a letter to the people of his diocese about the New Evangelization. He challenged Catholics, saying, “Become true and active disciples of Christ, committed to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel, again, as if for the first time.” The “New Evangelization” is a call from Blessed John Paul II for every believer to come to a deeper understanding of their personal faith. This summer, I’m doing this as part of Catholic Christian Outreach’s (CCO) summer mission, Impact, in Halifax. Impact is a 15-week mission trip for university students. We are working in 11 parishes across the archdiocese of Halifax. And it is no coincidence that the theme of Impact 2012, “Behold, I make all things new” from Revelations 21:5, can be found directly in Mancini’s letter.

Sun, storms, wilderness, deserts and spirituality

May 29, 2012

A number of years ago, accompanied by an excellent Jesuit director, I did a 30-day retreat using the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. In the third week of that retreat there’s a meditation on Jesus’ agony in the garden. I did the meditation to the best of my abilities and met with my director to discuss the result. He wasn’t satisfied and asked me to repeat the exercise. I did, reported back to him, and found him again dissatisfied. I was at a loss to grasp exactly what he wanted me to achieve through that meditation, though obviously I was missing something. He kept trying to explain to me that Ignatius had a concept wherein one was supposed to take the material of a meditation and “apply it to the senses” and I was somehow not getting that part.

Jesus’ blood bears witness to God’s love

May 29, 2012

Body and Blood of Christ (Year B) June 10 (Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 116; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26) From the beginning of human history until our own day, blood has both repelled and fascinated humans. It has played a prominent role in religion, politics and, unfortunately, entertainment. The ancient Hebrews believed that blood was the bearer of life itself, and as such must always be treated with reverence and respect. People were forbidden to ingest the blood of animals. Human blood that had been spilled always required recompense and justice. Blood was powerful — it was offered to the gods or to God in sacrifice. It could both purify and ward off evil. The blood of Passover over Israelite doors turned aside the angel of death.

Poetry can open us to Church’s gifts

May 29, 2012

Jonathan recalled his conflict with a co-worker. In mid-sentence, he paused for a full minute, then said, “I’m not an angry person, am I? I don’t want to be an angry person.” Why is it so difficult, sometimes, to acknowledge we’re angry? Even those of us who are pretty good at showing anger can find it hard to own. We might fear its power, or have experience of the ways anger can unleash terrible harm. Yet some Church Fathers thought anger existed in Paradise: could we imagine anger an unfallen, pure gift of God? A force that works within us, creatively rather than destructively?

Society of St. Pius X shouldn’t be judged by the acts of few

May 29, 2012

I met a young man who habitually goes to Masses said by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X. It may surprise many that he lacked horns and a pointed tail and refrained from making anti-Semitic remarks. He was just a nice, dark-haired young man in a cable-knit sweater, a British soldier between tours of duty in Afghanistan. I think of this nice young man every time I read yet another article in a Catholic newspaper or on a Catholic blog about the supposed anti-Semitism of the Society of St. Pius X. I think of the anti-Semitic comments I have heard in my life, none of which were uttered by members of the SSPX.

Pony up for a good memory at the Triple Crown

May 29, 2012

Should the Canadian-owned racehorse I’ll Have Another pull off one of the rarest feats in sports next weekend and win the Triple Crown, I am sure it will evoke a memory of Holy Cross Elementary School in east-end Toronto and an affable nun who used to be the principal. I’ll Have Another is the plucky thoroughbred owned by Windsor, Ont., native J. Paul Reddam and ridden by an underdog jockey named Mario Gutierrez, who earned his spurs at the racing outpost known as Hastings Park in Vancouver.

Time to leave Afghanistan

May 29, 2012

Canada joined the war in Afghanistan in 2002 for just reasons but now it’s time to bring the troops home. So Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the right call in finally ending Canada’s physical engagement in that war-weary nation. Actually, it was overdue. Canadian troops still in Afghanistan on training assignments, about 900 of them, will all be home by March 2014, despite neither the surrender nor defeat of the Taliban. Compared to most other larger, richer NATO allies, Canada contributed more than its fair share in lives and resources to the cause of the beleaguered Afghans. But exiting a war is more difficult than entering one.

It’s about conscience, not contraception

May 29, 2012

Oh this is good, this is very good, this is very good indeed! The Roman Catholic Church in the United States has at last decided to draw a line in the theological sand and tell the administration that separation of Church and state means more than the state telling Christians to shut up. Forty-three Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions have filed suit in federal court to stop three government agencies from implementing a mandate that would require them to cover contraceptives and sterilization in their health plans.

Nigerian Catholicism at forefront of universal Church

May 29, 2012

There is a new archbishop in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. That might not strike you as big news, but it is. The last time Lagos had a new archbishop was in 1973. Cardinal Anthony Okugie, now 76, retired in May after an astonishing 39 years as archbishop. His successor, Archbishop Alfred Martins, is already 52, so likely will only serve for about 25 years or so. In the four decades since Cardinal Okugie was appointed, Nigerian Catholicism has come to the forefront of the universal Church. Nigeria’s explosive growth, its sending of missionary priests to the dying Churches of Europe and North America, and its face to face confrontation with militant Islam all have lessons to teach Catholics the world over.

McGuinty speaks on GSA controversy: ‘I’m accountable to all faiths’

May 29, 2012

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has rejected Cardinal Thomas Collins call for flexibility and inclusivity, insisting that gay-straight alliances will be enforced by law and available for every student in the province who wants one. Speaking on May 29, the morning after Collins issued his objections to controversial Bill-13, McGuinty said Collins has his “responsibilities” but “I have a different set of responsibilities.”

Father of suicide victim pleads for anti-bullying bill that protects all students

May 29, 2012

OTTAWA - The father of suicide victim Jamie Hubley made an emotional plea for the Ontario government to stop focussing on same-sex bullying and draft an anti-bullying law that does not single out any group for special treatment. “I ask you to protect every child equally,” said Ottawa City Councilor Hubley. He was speaking May 22 at an Ontario government social policy committee hearing on two proposed anti-bullying bills, the government’s Bill 13 and the Conservative’s Bill 14 (renamed Bill 80).

Brampton parish church hit by suspected pipe bomb

May 29, 2012

A suspected pipe bomb thrown through a window at 3:45 a.m. set off sprinklers and filled Brampton’s St. Jerome’s Church with smoke Tuesday, May 29. There are early reports that one person was treated for smoke inhalation and the bomb squad was called in. Police sent a robot into the church to investigate a suspicious package. The explosive device was put in a secure container to be detonated later.

May 30

TCDSB ombudsman motion shot down

May 30, 2012

TORONTO - An initiative to improve the accountability of the Toronto Catholic District School Board by appointing an independent ombudsman has hit a legislative roadblock. “The ministry is telling us that we cannot create our own ombudsman role,” said Ward 9 trustee Jo-Ann Davis, who is leading the initiative. “It seems odd to me that our Ministry of Education is not allowing Toronto Catholic to be as accountable as it wants to be.”

Proulx elected president of Canadian Religious Conference

May 30, 2012

MONTREAL - The new attitude initiated by the Second Vatican Council and the changes in society in the last 50 years has deeply affected the life of the Church and the life of religious communities, 290 leaders of religious communities in Canada were told. The leaders gathered here May 24-28 for the bi-annual assembly of the Canadian Religious Conference (CRC) at which time they also chose a new executive.

Professor Tom Langan had a ‘great love for the Catholic tradition’

May 30, 2012

Early in his philosophy career, Professor Tom Langan was fired for being too left wing. Years later he helped found the Canadian Catholic Civil Rights League, an organization often called reactionary. Langan died May 25 at Bridgepoint Hospital. For the last five months of his life at Bridgepoint, Langan was surrounded by family, friends and former students. He was fired in the 1950s by his Jesuit-founded alma mater, St. Louis University. But Langan wasn’t unemployed long. Indiana University took him on and he eventually rose to chair of the philosophy department.

Pax Christi still trying to drum up national support

May 30, 2012

TORONTO - The dream of a cross-country Canadian Pax Christi organization is alive in Toronto, but struggling to find a foothold elsewhere. Since the Toronto group of about 30 dedicated peace activists won the right to be called Pax Christi — Toronto it has received all kinds of inquiries about its work, but the group has struggled to translate that interest into membership. “We’re getting more people interested,” said founding member Deacon Steve Barringer.