Browse › 2012 › May

May 2012

May 9

Stay spiritually minded during life transitions

May 9, 2012

We are often reminded that the times when we cannot find time for the Lord are when we need Him most. This is especially applicable to students near the end of the school year. About this time each year I take the time to look back on the year past and ponder how I can make improvements for the future.

Standing in solidarity with the homeless at Tent City

May 9, 2012

To help raise money and awareness for poverty and homelessness, about 265 Catholic high school students pitched tents outside Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., May 3 to show their solidarity with the less fortunate. Hosted by ShareLife in co-operation with the archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth, the inaugural Tent City event in Midland didn’t go as planned. A thunderstorm that blew through broke tents and sent students from the Toronto, Durham, Dufferin-Peel, Simcoe-Muskoka and La Conseil Scholaire de Centre-Sud Catholic school boards to an overnight sleep inside the Shrine.

Special Toronto Mass will commemorate church musicians

May 9, 2012

TORONTO - There’s a lot to sing about in the revised Roman Missal, and hundreds of Catholic musicians plan to do just that at Toronto’s Annuciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish on Pentecost Sunday. By late April, the Office of Lay Formation had already signed up more than 200 musicians for a May 27 Mass with Cardinal Thomas Collins. The Mass will celebrate the last year spent preparing for and then implementing new Mass texts musically. Registration for the event will be open right up until the baton drops for the entrance hymn, said Lay Formation executive director Bill Target.

Defending Catholic education high on Marino Gazzola’s OCSTA agenda

May 9, 2012

TORONTO - Marino Gazzola, the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association’s (OCSTA) new president, said he will be working to defend and promote the Catholic school system during his two-year term. Gazzola was chosen the trustees’ association president at its 82nd Annual General Meeting held in Kingston, Ont., April 26-28.

Brothers take two paths to same destination

May 9, 2012

TORONTO - Some brothers share a love of sports, others the same taste in music. But brothers Ryan and Favin Alemao share something different — a life path like no other. Ryan, 27, and Favin, 24, are in formation for the priesthood at Toronto’s St. Augustine’s Seminary. And though both come from the same family, have had similar experiences and look incredibly alike — some even mistake them for twins — both reached the same point in very different ways.

Church can educate, blow the whistle on human trafficking, say police

May 9, 2012

VATICAN CITY - By partnering with law enforcement agencies, the Catholic Church and other organizations can help victims identify human traffickers and bring them to justice. "The Catholic Church has a huge role to play with 1.1 billion Catholics across the world. With their networks they can make (society) hostile to traffickers and be safe havens for victims," said a young British woman who was tricked into prostitution in Italy. The woman, who goes by the pseudonym Sophie Hayes for her protection, was one of a number of speakers at a Vatican conference on combating human trafficking May 8.

At audience, Pope says he feels supported by Catholics' prayers

May 9, 2012

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI said knowing that Catholics around the world pray for him has given him strength and confidence since his election seven years ago. "From the first moment of my election as the successor of Peter, I always have felt supported by your prayers, by the prayers of the church, especially in the most difficult moments," he said May 9 at his weekly general audience.

May 10

New Arizona law cuts off all state funds to abortion providers

May 10, 2012

PHOENIX - Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation May 4 that prevents the state of Arizona or any local government from using taxpayer dollars to contract with organizations that offer abortion as part of their services. Brewer signed the measure at a reception held in Scottsdale by the Susan B. Anthony List, an organization that works to elect pro-life candidates to public office.

Fire strikes Senator O'Connor House

May 10, 2012

TORONTO - A heritage building being restored to its former glory on the Senator O'Connor College School campus was ravaged by a two-alarm blaze Wednesday afternoon. Two staff members inside the school's library spotted thick black smoke billowing from the roof of the O'Connor House just before 3 p.m. One phoned 911 while the other notified the school office. "They alerted me they had called 911 and then I pulled the fire alarm for the school," said principal Susan Baker.

Archbishop hopes June congress will help heal wounds of Irish church

May 10, 2012

VATICAN CITY - The wounds and divisions within the Catholic Church in Ireland make the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin an important moment for renewal and reconciliation, said Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. The archbishop spoke at a Vatican news conference May 10 as a growing chorus of voices called for the resignation of Ireland's Catholic primate, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, over allegations he did not do enough to stop an abusive priest in the 1970s.

Fr. Stan Fortuna’s Renewal tour hits Toronto [w/ audio]

May 10, 2012

TORONTO - The funky former professional jazz musician Fr. Stan Fortuna from New York’s Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal will perform two shows in Toronto this month. Fortuna and his Fodera five-string bass will first appear on May 18 at the Poetry Jazz Cafe in Kensington Market. “I’m going to be playing with a young Catholic-Italian pianist, Carmen Spada, and a drummer,” said Fortuna, ordained in 1990. “It’s going to be great, we’re just going to improvise and play some jazz standards and I’ll do some of my stuff too.”

Pining for religion’s golden age with Ross Douthat's "Bad Religion"

May 10, 2012

Heretics, heresy, lost opportunities and misdirection — Bad Religion has it all. Depending on where and when you first read about Bad Religion — the book, not the band — you might be of the opinion it is a smart, thoughtful take on the United States and the importance of religion. Or you might be pretty sure it is a sloppily assembled defense of some of the most retrograde Christianity imaginable.

May 11

Catholic leaders reject Obama's support for same-sex marriage

May 11, 2012

WASHINGTON - Catholic leaders rejected U.S. President Barack Obama's May 9 declaration in a television interview that "personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married." "President Obama's words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, in a May 9 statement. "We cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better."

Messengers of hope, peace still face persecution, Pope says

May 11, 2012

VATICAN CITY - People spreading the Gospel are still subject to persecution even though they are bringing a message of peace and hope to a world marked by crises, anxiety and desperation, Pope Benedict XVI said. "However, despite the problems and tragic reality of persecution, the church does not get discouraged, it remains faithful to the Lord's mandate," knowing that witnesses and martyrs always have been numerous and indispensible for evangelization, he said.

Traditionalist leader says Society of St. Pius X could divide over unity with Rome

May 11, 2012

MENZINGEN, Switzerland (CNS) -- The leader of a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics spoke in unusually hopeful terms about a possible reconciliation with Rome, but acknowledged significant internal resistance to such a move, which he said might lead to the group splitting apart. Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, spoke to Catholic News Service May 11 at the society's headquarters in Switzerland about the latest events in more than two years of efforts at reconciliation with the Vatican.

Catholic Movie Reviews - The Perfect Family & Tim Burton's Dark Shadows

May 11, 2012

The Perfect Family has received a lot of coverage in the Catholic media for it's depiction of Catholic women, is it worth your time? Elsewhere Tim Burton's blockbuster Dark Shadows reboot looks to knock The Avengers off the top of the box office.

Archbishop Prendergast blasts lies that support abortion at March for Life 2012 mass

May 11, 2012

OTTAWA - Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast blasted the false sense of personhood that results in abortion on demand in Canada. “We need to challenge the false idea that abortion is merely a private, personal decision,” the archbishop said in a homily at one of several Masses in conjunction with the National March for Life May 10. “The truth is, abortion hurts everyone — the developing child in the womb, the mother, the father, the extended family, the community and even our culture.

Pining for religion’s golden age with Ross Douthat's "Bad Religion"

May 11, 2012

May 12

22-year-old Patrick Murray bringing new life to sacred music

May 12, 2012

TORONTO - At first glance, Patrick Murray is pretty much the antithesis of a choral music composer. The lanky, plaid-wearing fellow with a quick laugh and easy smile has been making a name for himself with his impressive compositions, most recently for his work “Book of Lamentations,” a choral composition based on a 10th-century Christian text that will be premiered by the prestigious Canadian Men’s Chorus. And he’s just 22 years old. “It is extremely structured, extremely singable and the structural complexity of it is extremely interesting and very advanced, I think, for someone who is 22 years old,” said Greg Rainville, founder and artistic director of the Canadian Men’s Chorus.

May 13

March for Life breaks record, draws nearly 20,000 people to Parliament Hill [w/ video]

May 13, 2012

OTTAWA - The National March for Life drew almost 20,000 people to Parliament Hill May 10, making it the noisiest, youngest and most densely packed gathering in the March’s 15-year history. An estimated 60 per cent of marchers were under 30, marching on the theme “Abortion Hurts Everyone.” Marchers arrived on the Hill around noon to find police had barricaded about one-quarter of the lawn, reserving it for pro-abortion demonstrators. This forced the March for Life participants to crunch together, shoulder to shoulder, though only about 50 people appeared to represent the other side. The lawn reserved for pro-abortion demonstrators remained empty, as the counter-demonstrators formed a thin but noisy line along a section of the metal barricade.