{mosimage}OTTAWA - The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has slammed press coverage in The National Post and La Presse newspapers suggesting the Catholic Church has inadequately responded to the sexual abuse crisis.

Both papers carried March 18 articles on abuse of minors by those in the church.

Singing the praises of Danny Boy

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Danny Boy runs after the red ball, with his golden brown tail wagging from side to side and panting with a doggy-style grin from ear to ear.

The year-old toy poodle is a resident favourite at St. Bernard’s Retirement Residence on Finch Avenue West run by the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood .

“We began to see that people, their eyes light up when they see him, especially when people are coming in the beginning because of the life they left behind,” said residence administrator Sr. Francis Bisland.

Vatican Observatory tries to understand God through science

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{mosimage}TORONTO - The Vatican has its eyes on outer space to bridge the divide between science and religion and promote good science, said Fr. José G. Funes, S.J., director of the Vatican Observatory.

Funes was in Toronto March 16 to give the Naming the Holy lecture at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto on “The Evolving Universe.” The lecture is sponsored by the Newman Centre and the Regis College Jesuit community.

Anglican Catholic Church of Canada seeks unity

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{mosimage}OTTAWA - The Anglican Catholic Church of Canada College of Bishops has sent a formal letter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome asking that the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus be implemented in Canada.

Released last November by the Vatican, the Apostolic Constitution opened the door for Anglicans to become Catholic while retaining aspects of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony. In asking that a personal ordinariate be established in Canada, the Anglican Catholic Church is following similar requests from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Toronto Chaldeans pray for homeland

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Toronto’s Chaldean Catholic community continues to pray for peace in the wake of further violence affecting Christians in Iraq.

“We go with prayer and in this Holy Week, we ask our Lord Jesus Christ, King of Peace, to make peace in this country. All our hearts go to the (people in Iraq),” Chaldean Archbishop Hanna Zora told The Catholic Register.

Euthanasia bill pitched again in Canada

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{mosimage}OTTAWA - Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde made yet another pitch for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the House of Commons March 16 with her private member’s Bill C-384.

Only about 10 MPs were in the House for the debate. It will have one hour of debate before a vote on second reading. If it passes it will be sent to committee for further study.

Archangel Michael icon donated to archdiocese of Toronto

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{mosimage}TORONTO - A window on the Kingdom of God now hangs in the chapel at the archdiocese of Toronto’s Catholic Pastoral Centre.

Icon painter Janusz Charczuk donated the painting of the archangel Michael to the archdiocese. The icon of the patron saint of the archdiocese of Toronto took three months to paint using traditional materials and techniques, including a base of 16 layers of gesso made from marble dust, and hand-mixed colours in egg tempura.

St. Mike’s to host media conference

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{mosimage}TORONTO - The University of St. Michael’s College will host a conference March 26 on “Evangelization in the Media.”

The main topic  is the role of evangelization in television, movies and music.

“This was not supposed to be a media conference, but an ethics conference,” said Daniel Gibson, president of Compass Catholic Fellowship , which is organizing the event.

Rolheiser calls for a 'culture of vocations'

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{mosimage}TORONTO - Two hundred people gathered to network and talk about fostering a culture of vocations at the National Association of Vocation and Formation Directors bi-annual conference March 14-17 in Toronto.

The “Let our Lives Speak” Vocations Alive Conference welcomed representatives from close to 150 religious groups and several lay groups — namely the Serran Foundation of Canada , the Catholic Women’s League , Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry and Catholic Christian Outreach . NAVFD’s focus in the past two years has been on encouraging its members to help young people discern not only the priesthood and religious life but also the married and single life.

Food a spiritual experience from planting to table

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TORONTO - Food forms a relationship between people, the Earth and God and thus should be a spiritual experience from production to consumption.

Fr. Jim Profit, S.J., underscored this message during an evening of Lenten reflection hosted at the Newman Centre by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace and Faith Connections March 8.

Toronto Catholics raise $3.7 million for Haiti

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{mosimage}TORONTO - At almost $3.7 million, Catholics in the archdiocese of Toronto collectively made one of the largest donations from a North American diocese for Haiti earthquake relief.

It is the largest donation from a Canadian Catholic diocese.