{mosimage}Jose Ruba, from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical reform, says McGill University should be ashamed of students who interrupted a presentation he was invited to give on campus.

Ruba, a defender of the pro-life view, was invited by a university sanctioned club, Choose Life, to present “Echoes of the Holocaust” Oct. 6, only to be interrupted for nearly a full two hours by hecklers who shouted and chanted songs like “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

{mosimage}TORONTO - The inconspicuous yet flourishing school is nearly invisible to passersby — housed in a complex of old townhouses, now joined, that take up the length of an entire block in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood.

But the successful philosophy seminary started in 1989 by the priests of St. Philip Neri Oratory in Toronto is anything but secret. The Oratorians  have seen 100 of their students go on to become priests since 1989 and the momentum only seems to be building.

{mosimage}TORONTO - A new survey ranks the University of Toronto tops among Canada’s 86 universities for the services it offers to pregnant and parenting students.

The survey, conducted by summer interns at the Toronto-based deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research , looked at whether Canada’s universities provide services deemed important by parenting students, based on research done in the United States by Feminists for Life.

{mosimage}Canadian Physicians for Life hosted its sixth annual medical students forum in Calgary Nov. 20-22 to discuss abortion, euthanasia, conscience rights and medical pro-life clubs.

The lineup of speakers and workshop leaders — chosen to help equip pro-life medical students with knowledge and confidence on emerging issues of concern — was to include Margaret Somerville, professor of law and medicine at McGill University and founding director of McGill’s Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law. She planned to speak to students about euthanasia and the topic of human dignity.

{mosimage}After denying club status to a student pro-life club, the Lakehead University Student Union has posted an attack on its web site from one of its members likening the pro-life members to murderers.

“This group represents the same mentality of those who threatened the life of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the same mentality of those who gunned down Dr. George Tiller this past May and the same mentality that would follow a radical statist agenda in order to grant the state power over individuals,” alleged student union vice president Josh Kolic in an online letter addressed to the student body, posted Nov. 6.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Many Catholic students at Carleton University turn to their faith as a coping mechanism as high tuition fees become increasingly stressful.

Michael Bingham, a first-year Computer Science student, acknowledged high tuition costs have made it very difficult and stressful for students. While his financial situation is not as grave as some, Bingham admits that with tuition being where it is, he could see himself “having a difficult time if I were in their situation.”

{mosimage}For the first time ever, 12 Catholic movements and organizations met in Toronto to discuss how to “build the Body of Christ on campus” Nov. 30-Dec.1.

Bishop Fred Colli, representing the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops at the event, said the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry board recognized the importance of talking about a comprehensive ministry that would better serve students.

{mosimage}LONDON - Fr. Stevan Wlusek, installed this month as the new rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in London , is well known for his compassion and strength in the face of suffering, .

A recent example of the 52-year-old priests’ endurance came just weeks before he took over as rector from then-Fr. Bill McGrattan, who was ordained a bishop on Jan. 12 to serve in the archdiocese of Toronto. Days before Christmas, Wlusek was injured when a truck backed into his legs in a parking lot, pinning him against his own vehicle. He escaped without any broken bones and was back on his feet in January, still recovering from the injury, but smiling, energetic and excited to plunge into his new responsibilities.

{mosimage}TORONTO - After nearly 100 years, the stained glass windows that dazzle the St. Augustine’s Seminary chapel are showing their age.

As their 2013 centennial approaches, the seminary hopes to raise the $300,000 needed to have the chapel windows repaired before the frames and fills deteriorate completely.

{mosimage}Catholic higher education is about to establish a new outpost in Peterborough.

Peterborough Bishop Nicola DeAngelis has collected $1.6 million in donations and entered into talks with Trent University in hopes of offering university level liberal arts courses at Sacred Heart parish in downtown Peterborough.

The first non-credit courses at Sacred Heart College could be up and running as soon as this September.