Features

Diane VautourTORONTO - Diane Vautour likes to bring history to life. And for doing so on a daily basis at Toronto’s Loretto College High School, she was awarded a Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History at a ceremony at Rideau Hall on Nov. 19.

“Teaching at an all-girls’ school, I want to emphasize women’s history, from a women’s point of view,” Vautour, 32, told The Register.

“It’s not just an add-on or an extra page in a textbook.”

Equity policy won't trample Catholic rights

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Teacher pupilsTORONTO - Ontario Catholic schools will not be required under the province’s controversial equity and inclusive education strategy to maintain gay support clubs, according to a ministry spokesman.

Gary Wheeler said in an e-mail that the province’s new equity policy, which has sparked concern from Ontario bishops and Catholic educators, has “flexibility” that will permit Catholic boards to operate “within the context of denominational rights of Roman Catholics.”

Catholic student UN delegates hear they must work for justice

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Jenny Cafiso TORONTO - Promoting the option for the poor and working for justice go hand-in-hand with the Gospel values that students are learning at Catholic schools, says Jenny Cafiso, director of Canadian Jesuits International.

And the United Nations, a forum of diverse nations, beliefs and ideas, is precisely the place where Catholics should be making their voices heard on behalf of the marginalized, she said.

Catholic education celebrates the Spirit

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celebraating spiritTORONTO - Catholic schools will be “celebrating the Spirit” when the annual celebration of Catholic Education Week arrives in May.

The theme for this year’s week, May 1-6, borrows from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Haitians endure long road to reconstruction

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Haiti enduresThe Jan. 12 earthquake was over in minutes, but the disaster will be with the Haitian people for many years. While people find a way to get by, there are more tests of faith, hope and charity to come as time passes. Living in tents, carrying water in buckets, walking past mounds of rubble and garbage Haitians have to find the strength each day to carry on.

 

 

 

U.S. and Canadian students rally behind Carleton pro-life group

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arrest careltonOTTAWA (CCN)—National pro-life student associations in the United States and Canada have thrown their support behind Carleton Lifeline, a pro-life group facing discrimination on the Carleton University campus in Ottawa.

Carleton University’s pro-life club was told earlier this week that it must become pro-choice if it wants to receive student union funding and recognition on campus (read full story).

Students for Life of America (SFLA) and National Campus Life Network (NCLN) launched StandWithCarleton.com as a sign of solidarity with the Lifeline, which has been decertified by the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA).  That means the pro-life club has lost access to funds from compulsory student dues as well as the recognition that allows them to use public spaces on campus for meetings and publicity.

Carleton pro-life group told to become pro-choice to receive funding

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Ruth LoboOTTAWA - Carleton University’s pro-life club must become pro-choice if it wants to receive student union funding and recognition on campus.

The Carleton Student Union Association (CUSA) revoked the club status of Carleton LifeLine and said it must change a clause in its constitution which violates CUSA's anti-discrimination policy supporting “a woman’s right to choose” in order to be recertified.

Restorative justice leads inmates down new path

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prison cellEditor’s note: Restorative Justice Week has been marked for the past 20 years by the ecumenical organization that co-ordinates Christian chaplaincy in Canada’s federal prisons. This year, the Nov. 14-21 event comes on the heals of sweeping changes in how criminals are sentenced and how they are reintegrated into society. The Catholic Register looks at how the Church works with prisoners as they re-enter our world.

As he sat in jail month after month trying to make sense of his life, Bruce Rowe one day knew he wasn’t quite so interested in freedom.

“I realized when I was inside all of that didn’t matter if I didn’t become a better person,” said Rowe.

Prison does nothing for jailed, victims

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Don Trembley Don Trembley started committing armed robbery when he was 12. He grew up to be an honest-to-God Montreal bank robber. The last time he was incarcerated he split seven years between Joyceville Institution in Kingston, Ont., and Warkworth Institution near Campbellford, Ont., for armed robbery, weapons dangerous and assault causing bodily harm.

He’s a big guy in a leather vest with a long grey ponytail and a silver cross hanging by a silver chain around his neck. In a Toronto halfway house now, he will remain under the supervision of the prison system for years to come.

American basilica's beauty ranks with European cathedrals

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St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, N.C.ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The picturesque city of Asheville in North Carolina is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Among its many tourist attractions is a remarkable spiritual gem — the Basilica of St. Lawrence.

Located in the city’s core, its striking copper-covered dome, which is the focus of attention when first viewing the basilica, and exquisite interior give it a place of honour among American houses of worship.

Moustaches for Movember at St. Mike's College School

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movemberTORONTO - Jamie Dowell will be growing a moustache this month. But vanity has nothing to do with it.

Dowell, a Grade 12 student at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, is taking part in the school’s inaugural Movember campaign — a global initiative where men grow moustaches and raise money to increase awareness and funds for prostate cancer.

“Prostate cancer will probably affect at least someone we know in our lives and, being men, it’s something that we should have a basic knowledge about and support it in every way we can,” said Dowell.