Anglicans take historic steps toward unity

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Archbishop John HepworthSURREY, B.C. - At the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada’s triennial synod July 12-16, bishops, clergy and lay delegates from across Canada passed a resolution to endorse the March 12 letter its bishops sent to the Holy See seeking an Anglican ordinariate in Canada.

The synod also passed a resolution enabling the bishop and the provincial council to make all adjustments to the diocese’s canonical legislation for the formation of the ordinariate.

The ordinariates will allow Anglicans who accept the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Petrine Ministry to become Catholics while retaining their Anglican liturgy and other aspects of their patrimony.

Christian unity, Jerusalem peace linked for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

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There is no difference between praying for peace in Jerusalem and praying for Christian unity, according to the authors of prayers for next January’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The 102nd Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be celebrated Jan. 16 to 22 in Canada.

For the first time the ecumenical team that chose the theme and accompanying prayers for the week-long event is drawn from the churches of Jerusalem — the mother church for all Christians and the city that first witnessed the Resurrection.

Peace Garden's final day marks A-bomb victims

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Toronto City Hall lanternsTORONTO - The very last day in the life of the old Nathan Phillips Square Peace Garden will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the first use of an atomic weapon on a civilian population.

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae, Hiroshima atom bomb survivors Setsuko Thurlow and Joe Ohori, Juno Award nominee Tom Barlow, the Yakudo Drummers and other community groups will be featured Aug. 6 at the 65th anniversary of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and, three days later, Nagasaki. Aug. 7 the city will begin decommissioning the old Peace Garden.

Homeless left in the cold when it comes to getting medical help

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homelessTORONTO - Canada's universal health care system is pretty universal — except if you're homeless, according to a St. Michael's Hospital study.

One in six homeless people in Toronto, 17 per cent, say they need care for a medical condition and haven't been able to get it. Homeless women with dependent children have almost twice as much trouble getting to see a doctor as mothers generally do in Toronto, said the study by Dr. Stephen Hwang of the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital. The study will be published in the August edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

Lack of census data will hurt Catholic entities

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Canada 2011 CensusTORONTO - Making the long form of the 2011 census voluntary has got Catholic schools, social service agencies and Toronto archdiocesan administrators worried.

Religious affiliation, language spoken at home, immigration status, marital status and a great deal more is recorded on the long form of the Statistics Canada census, which in the past was sent out to 20 per cent of the population and had to be filled out or the recipient was penalized. Religious affiliation is one of a few categories recorded only every other census, once every 10 years.

Romeo Meleca's 'Pilgrimage of Love'

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Romeo MelecaTORONTO - For nearly 30 years, Romeo Meleca has shared Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross each time he has made his yearly 240-km trek to the Holy Cross of Teopoli in Gravenhurst, Ont.

“I’m always thinking, when I have pain, I think of God, (of) Jesus dying, nailed on the cross. I want to do more and more for Him,” Meleca said, sporting his trademark red banner, a pilgrimage shirt and hat. During the walk, he also carries a wooden cross adorned with a red banner.

Ouellet’s impact on Quebec a work in progress

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Cardinal Marc OuelletOTTAWA - History has yet to determine the legacy Cardinal Marc Ouellet has left Quebec, say those who know him.

But his longtime friends reveal a much different picture than the mainstream media’s depiction of a man ambitious for the papacy, a hardliner out of touch with Quebec and a harsh “ayatollah” who will be remembered for opposing abortion.

Chalice honoured as one of Canada's best charities

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ChaliceFrom its origins in the basement of a church in Springhill, N.S., to receiving the top rating among Canadian international aid organizations from MoneySense financial magazine, Catholic charity Chalice has come a long way in sharing Christ with those in need.

The Charity 100, a study released online through MoneySense in June, was designed to provide Canadians with an accurate picture of the top 100 charities in the country. Grouping organizations by category, such as health services, hospital foundations or environment, the study ranked each charity under a variety of criteria.

There's a new app for the new Mass

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Mass appTORONTO - The new Roman Missal is coming to an iPhone near you.

The new iPhone application is called the “The New Mass: The New Translation” and was released on July 7. The application allows cellphone users who have an iPhone or iPod device to download the missal for 99-cents and then read it on their screen.

D&P apology to Campaign Life clears the air

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D and P Campaign LifeTORONTO - The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has formally apologized to Campaign Life Coalition for "inaccurate" statements in a memo that called the pro-life lobby part of "the far right fringe element of North American society," linked Campaign Life with violent activists and accused it of misrepresenting facts and distorting reality to serve their ends.

Development and Peace formally retracted the statements in the memo and apologized in a June 30 letter to Campaign Life national president Jim Hughes.

Order of Canada recognizes nun's role in caring for humanity

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Order of CanadaOf the 74 people named to the Order of Canada on Canada Day, only one of them has spent a lifetime explaining to the world how to be human.

Sr. Simone Roach was named to Canada's highest honour for contributions to nursing, particularly her role in helping to write the first code of ethics for nursing in Canada. But that's just one small outgrowth from decades of scholarly dedication to the subject of caring.
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