TORONTO - Annie Farlow would have turned five on May 25. She died in 2005, 80 days after being born with a congenital genetic disorder called Trisomy 13.

Five years later, Annie’s parents are still fighting to get answers about how their baby died.

Tim and Barbara Farlow, the parents of nine children, filed suit in small claims court against Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital in 2007. It has since become a medical malpractice lawsuit that was transferred to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice last September.

TORONTO - Some supporters of Nathan Phillips Square’s Peace Garden say moving one of Toronto’s monuments to peace away from the centre of the square as part of a facelift is like pushing to the side the message of nuclear disarmament.

The move is part of the City of Toronto’s $42.7-million, two-year Nathan Phillips Square Revitalization Plan.

Order of Canada recipient Setsuko Thurlow, who survived the 1945 Hiroshima nuclear bombing as a 13-year-old, says she’s “disappointed” about the relocation.

{mosimage}TORONTO-After a dispute with its landlord forced the Caritas Foundation out of its headquarters of the past 16 years, the North York Catholic charity hopes to raise $1 million to build its own centre.

More than 400 people gathered at its biggest annual fundraising gala to date on March 27 at The Royalton Banquet Hall.
All proceeds of the black tie, $200-a-ticket event were donated to fund Caritas’ work with recovering addicts and individuals with mental illness.

The event raised the largest amount of donations in its five-year history, with $100,000 being pledged towards Caritas’ work.

{mosimage}TORONTO-The Newman Centre will be launching a new initiative to assist its chaplaincy outreach to students at the University of Toronto.

Fr. Michael Machacek, pastor and executive director of the Newman Centre parish and chaplaincy at the university’s downtown campus, said the new initiative will address the chaplaincy needs of the Monday-to-Friday commuter students and provide more programs and activities during the daytime such as faith-sharing and socials.

There are also plans to raise the Newman Centre’s profile within the university and get the word out about its student outreach, he said.

Plans for the new initiative will be unveiled at the April 13 annual Newman Foundation fundraising dinner. The event, called “Getting to Know Newman,” will feature a personal tour of the centre and information about its outreach and spiritual programs.

{mosimage}TORONTO-The Toronto Catholic District School Board is embracing social media and looking to the future of Catholic education in Canada’s largest public Catholic board, says education director Ann Perron.

Perron said the board is embracing technology with the webcasts she initiated and the board launched when she first started last year. This could expand further as the board looks at incorporating more social media in schools, including a possible Facebook page for the board, but plans haven’t been finalized yet.

The webcasts are YouTube postings of Perron informing the Toronto Catholic education community about the latest happenings at the board, including the celebration of different communities each month, such as Celtic heritage month in March and Asian heritage month in April. YouTube is a forum that can be easily accessed by parents and students, Perron said.

{mosimage}TORONTO-The glaring media spotlight, public scrutiny and even attacks on the Catholic Church over recent abuse allegations presents a time of great challenge but also an opportunity to refocus on our baptismal call to live out the Gospel teachings, says Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins.

The archbishop has found himself addressing the matter frequently over recent days, with media and those in the pews, as allegations continue to swirl around a sex abuse scandal and cover-up by some clergy in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Brazil and the United States.

“Throughout the world, (some) priests have done unspeakable evil. We should be grateful for the attention that the media is devoting to the sins of Catholic clergy, even if constant repetition may give it the false impression that Catholic clergy are particularly sinful,” Collins told a crowd of more than 400 people at St. Michael’s Cathedral March 30 at the annual Chrism Mass.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Leslie Gimpes, a student at Mississauga’s St. Joseph Catholic High School, joined more than 75 students from three Toronto-area high schools at busy subway stops in the city March 24 to raise awareness and funds for ShareLife.

ShareLife is the archdiocese of Toronto’s charitable fundraising arm. It supports more than 30 agencies in the archdiocese, including Covenant House Toronto, a homeless shelter for youth, Catholic Family Services in the Greater Toronto Area and Rosalie Hall, which helps young mothers and their children.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Fr. Michael Troy was known to the first class of Neil McNeil High School graduates as a spiritual father and well-respected leader. So much so that students called him the “Big Daddy” of Neil McNeil.

Fr. Troy, C.S.Sp., was the founding principal of the high school in 1957. He died at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital March 19. He was 93.

TORONTO - Toronto will be hosting the 30th North America Chinese Catholic Clergy, Religious and Laity Convention on the challenges facing Chinese Catholics next month.

The June 25 to 28 conference “Chinese Catholics living in a changing multi-ethnic society” is being hosted by the Chinese Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The council is made up of the four Chinese Catholic parishes in the archdiocese.

BRAMPTON, Ont. - A man who lost his job is anxious about how to pay the bills. He’s run out of savings, his credit cards are maxed out. This causes anxiety, depression, even domestic abuse as tensions mount at home, taking a toll on the family.

A woman who suffers abuse at the hands of her husband is afraid to file a report with police. Her children who witness the abuse are traumatized.