The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor and The Catholic Register are proud to present the 2013 Student Writing Award.

The theme for the 2013 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity comes from cf. Micah 6:6-8 "What does God require of us?"

Students are invited to carefully reflect on the Scripture passage: cf. Micah 6: 6-8 and submit a 500-word essay that identifies: "Three areas which should be addressed as we work to achieve full and visible Christian unity."

1st Place Prize: An iPad mini, 16GB

2nd Place Prize: A Kobo Arc

The best essays will be edited by professional journalists and published in The Catholic Register and here at catholicregister.org.

Contest Rules:

All submissions will be read by a panel including professional journalists, and judge on over all merit. Contestants must be 14-18 years of age, and currently enrolled in an Ontario secondary school or equivalent program. Essays must be no longer than 500 words in length and submitted before contest closing date.

Deadline for entries is January 18, 2013

For further information please contact: (416) 934-3400 x344 or (416) 934-3410 x404

Please send all submissions to:

The Catholic Register
1155 Yonge St. Suite 401
Toronto, ON
M4T 1W2

or email:

Attn: "Writing Award" to editor@catholicregister.org

or fax:

(416) 934-3409

School is in for winter at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto.

The college's 38 sessional lecturers, teaching assistants and continuing education instructors, who have been on strike the last week, reached a tentative agreement with university administrators at 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, Nov. 22.

On the CUPE Local 3902 web site the union's bargaining team requested that the St. Michael's staff go back to work immediately.  

A ratification vote will be held by write-in ballot until the end of the day Friday.

Under the tentative agreement union members with a certain amount of experience will receive preference in awarding new teaching contracts, the union bargaining chief told The Catholic Register. Job security for contract employees was the major issue that sent the union out to the picket lines Nov. 15.

A day earlier, Celtic Mythology lecturer Daniel Brielmaier, speaking for CUPE Local 3902 Unit 4, said student papers weren't getting marked and some classes had been cancelled.

"Students are feeling an impact,"he said. "We don't like that they're feeling it."

St. Mike's administration claimed the strike hadn't been felt by very many students.

"The effect is relatively small at this point," said Robert Edgett, the executive director of alumni affairs and development who is acting as media liaison for the Catholic college at the University of Toronto. "But our concern continues to be for students. We want to be sure that their term and exams are held. That's why we're working so hard to come to some resolution."

Talks had been delayed a day while the administration worked out a new offer.

The union, which represents academic staff on contracts of less than 12 months, was pushing for a greater degree of job security. The mostly younger academics wanted a right of first refusal if their course is being offered again.

The system of repeat short-term contracts with no assurance of future work has been hardest on theology lecturers, many of whom have been teaching the same course for years but never know whether they will work again next year, said Brielmaier.

"We just want to get a contract and go back to teaching," said Local 3902 chair Abe Nasirzadeh.

Wanted: Christmas artists

The Catholic Register's popular children's drawing contest is back!

Msgr. Serge Poitras, P.H., has been named the new bishop of Timmins in Northern Ontario.

Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement Nov. 10. At the time of his appointment, Bishop-elect Poitras was Adjunct Under Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops at the Holy See. He succeeds Bishop Paul Marchand, who died in office in 2011.  Since then, Fr. Patrick Lafleur has been diocesan administrator.

Poitras was born on May 27, 1949, in Jonquière, Que. After studies in Chicoutimi and Quebec City, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 27, 1973, for the diocese of Chicoutimi. He holds a Master’s degree in theology from Laval University and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.

During his ministry as a priest, Poitras served the Cathedral parish of Chicoutimi as assistant pastor, the Chicoutimi minor seminary as a professor, and the diocesan centre where he was responsible for pastoral ministry with students. From 1990 to 2000, he taught at the Grand Séminaire of Montreal, where he was a member of the formation team, as well as director of studies from 1998 to 2000. During this time, he also provided pastoral assistance in a number of Montreal parishes.

In 2000, he was appointed French-language secretary at the apostolic nunciature to Canada. The Holy Father subsequently named him Adjunct Under Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops on Dec. 29, 2010.

The Timmins diocese has 26 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 50,605, which is served by 18 diocesan priests, four priests who are members of religious communities, 17 religious Sisters and Brothers, six permanent deacons and five lay pastoral assistants.

ANTIGONISH, N.S. - The diocese of Antigonish in Nova Scotia no longer owes $16 million to 125 victims of clerical sexual abuse.

The diocese has made its final payment to settle a class-action lawsuit, the Canadian Press reports. The settlement was negotiated by former Bishop Raymond Lahey, who was arrested on charges of importing child pornography just three weeks after announcing the deal to settle claims dating as far back as the 1950s.

The lawsuit was initiated in 2002 by Ron Martin, whose brother committed suicide that year leaving a note about abuse he suffered at the hands of Fr. Hugh Vincent MacDonald. MacDonald was charged in 2003 but died before his trial could come to a conclusion.

The last payment is not the end of the process of healing, said diocesan spokesman Fr. Don MacGillivray.

“Healing always takes time,” MacGillivray told the Canadian Press. “But I’m a person of hope, and that’s what my faith calls me to be.”

The diocese put 150 properties up for sale, dumped its shares in the local weekly paper, The Casket, and drained savings from parishes to come up with the full settlement.

SYDNEY, N.S. - Cape Breton University recognized the contributions of Sr. Margaret Harquail to the school’s business program by naming a garden space in her honour.

Harquail Gardens is the new name of the space between the Verschuren Centre and the Shannon School of Business.

“Just as it is important for our university to progress, it is equally important for us to recognize those who have been instrumental to our success,” said Dr. John Harker, Cape Breton University’s president. “Sr. Harquail had a vision for our fine business school, and through hard work and commitment she helped shape the school into what it is today. The Harquail Gardens will be a lovely reminder of Sr. Harquail’s spirit and her contribution to the business community.”

Harquail established the School of Business Administration at the University College of Cape Breton, as well as the Canadian Institute of Management (CIM) certificate program. Harquail was also instrumental in establishing the College of Cape Breton as a university.

On hand for the ceremony was Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, Harquail’s nephew.

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“My father is waiting for me, I have to go home,” said Victoria, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s disease.

She was participating in a senior’s bingo game in Scarborough and talking with a 12-year-old boy with autism named Joseph.

Joseph, accompanied by his Uncle Sam, had been volunteering at the bingo game every Wednesday for the past three years. Over that time he’d forged a special relationship with Victoria.

“Victoria loves Joseph,” said Sam. “She gets really upset if Joseph is not here and does not want to play bingo. I think it’s because her father’s name was Joseph.”

Sam, a manager of a grocery store, knows the importance of volunteering and is determined to teach Joseph that you don’t have to be paid for everything you do. Managing his staff has taught Sam that a generous person is a far better employee than a greedy one. So he believes that teaching generosity to Joseph will help the boy in his life and future career.

Learning the importance of giving back, Sam believes, can change someone’s outlook on life. He learned that lesson from a Grade 11 teacher.

“My teacher said that whoever went on a weekend retreat on the importance of volunteering would get an A in her class,” he recalls. “I liked the idea of getting an A, so I went. It had a huge impact on me and made a real difference in my life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but only being 15, I was young and impressionable. It made me a better Catholic.”

One way that Sam gives back today is through a life insurance policy from the Knights of Columbus that names ShareLife as the beneficiary. A gift of insurance can be a wonderful way to create a legacy for your parish or favourite charity. Here are three simple ways you can make a gift of insurance:

o You can purchase a new policy and name the Church as the owner and beneficiary of the policy. This entitles you to receive a tax receipt for the annual premiums.

o Alternatively, you can be listed as the owner of the policy and name the Church as the beneficiary. This method lets your estate receive the tax receipt at the time of death,

o Finally, you can gift a policy you already own, naming the Church as the owner and beneficiary, and receive an immediate tax receipt for the fair value of your policy. You then continue to pay the premiums and get a tax receipt.

A simple way to reduce your tax burden through giving

The average person should be able to read this in 60 seconds.

Here is a simple idea on how you can combine a portfolio of securities, charitable giving and the reduction of your estate’s tax burden.

The government does not require you to pay capital gains on securities that have gone up in value if you gift them directly to a registered Canadian charity. Many people do not know that the archdiocese of Toronto is able to receive gifts of securities for all our 225 parishes and archdiocesan charities.

If you are considering a gift to the Church in your Will and have a portfolio of appreciated securities, consider gifting them directly to the Church instead of selling them and then donating the cash. This could help save your estate capital gains taxes. Talk to your lawyer about how to draw up the instructions for your estate trustee to do this as this simple strategy could help save your estate a lot of money in taxes.

A helpful hint: When drafting your Will make sure your lawyer has the proper legal wording if you intend to include your parish in your Will. If you attend St. Patrick’s parish, for example, the proper legal title would be: Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation for the Diocese of Toronto, in Canada for the benefit of St. Patrick’s parish. Because the archdiocese has eight St. Patrick’s parishes, the proper mailing address needs to be included to ensure that your gift goes to the right place.

Have your lawyer contact the archdiocese beforehand to request the proper legal title. Call (416) 934-3411 or e-mail development@archtoronto.org.

After a lifetime of diligent saving and investing, many Canadians find themselves in the fortunate position of being able to support those charitable endeavours that they deem most worthy. Supporting charities is a distinguishing trait of Canadians among global economies, and we are ever-ready to lend a helping hand when there is need.

The methods by which Canadians can support their charity of choice have broadened over the past few years, and we now have the opportunity to be even more generous while receiving more tax incentive than ever before. One of more popular strategies is the designation of a charity as the beneficiary of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF). This allows donors to receive income during their retirement in a tax-efficient manner, and then pass on the remainder of their retirement accounts to their chosen charity.

If an individual designates a charity as the beneficiary of their RRSP or RRIF, there are a few key points to remember:

o The proceeds from the RRSP or RRIF can flow directly to the named charity after the donor passes away, avoiding the delay of probate and the cost of executor fees. Many banks or brokerages will not withhold taxes at source, so the entire amount of the RRSP or RRIF will be donated.

o The funds which flow from the RRSP or RRIF to the charity will still be reported as income to the donor in the year they pass away, and there will be taxes owing. The estate will be able to claim the charitable donation on the final tax return, which will offset the tax liability. The example below illustrates this in more detail.

o The donated amount can result in a tax credit of up to 100 per cent of your net income in the year you pass away. This means that designating an RRSP or RRIF to charity will result in zero tax liability in most cases.

To illustrate these key points, take the example of Andrew, who has designated his parish as the beneficiary of his RRIF. His RRIF is comprised of stocks and bonds valued at $100,000 at the time of death. This means that if Andrew is in the top tax bracket, he will have taxes payable of $46,400. The donation will allow his estate to claim a tax credit of $46,400. Thus, Andrew’s parish receives the benefit of his donation, and Andrew’s family and estate do not incur any tax payable because of his generosity.

Proper planning can ensure your philanthropic goals are met and you get the benefit of tax incentives to reward your generosity.