On June 20, KAIROS will be reminding the Canadian government of its pledge to support indigenous rights in Canada.

The ecumenical group of 11 Christian churches and organizations has planned a Day of Action on Parliament Hill that day, part of its Roll with the Declaration campaign, to make sure the government doesn’t forget it endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in November 2010.

Roll with the Declaration is a campaign run by KAIROS which will bring Canadians from coast to coast to Ottawa to support indigenous rights.

“Endorsement is but one small step — a necessary step, of course — for the Canadian government,” said Julie Graham, the KAIROS education and campaign program co-ordinator. “We don’t want it to be something written down on paper and forgotten about.”

OTTAWA - It’s rare for an outspoken, socially conservative Catholic to host a prime time news and opinion program on a mainstream media network, and Sun Media’s Brian Lilley is not wasting his moment.

When his 9 p.m. (ET) program Byline launched April 18 on the new Sun News channel, Sun Media’s senior parliamentary reporter waded right into one of the most politically incorrect subjects inside the Ottawa Queensway — abortion.

“I like a good debate, so I jump right in and say, ‘let’s talk about this,’ ” said Lilley in an interview in the conference room of Sun Media’s brand new newsroom and studio in Ottawa.

“It’s assumed that a lot of these issues are settled. The abortion issue is settled and we don’t need to ever discuss it. That is the prevailing view. And then it’s discussed in the dying days of every election campaign as an issue to scare people,” he said, noting none of the major political parties are pro-life.

OTTAWA - The funeral service for a Grade 12 student killed in a shop accident at Ottawa's Mother Teresa Catholic High School will be held June 3.

The service for 18-year-old Eric Leighton is scheduled for Ottawa's St. Patrick's Church.

Leighton died when an explosion ripped through an auto shop at Mother Teresa High School May 26. Five others were injured. Police reported the students had been cutting through metal making barbecues when residue in a 55-gallon drum exploded.

Leighton was found "without vital signs" at the scene but paramedics "initiated advance resuscitative measures" and by the time he reached hospital, he had regained a pulse. Leighton, however, died in hospital later in the day, according to police.

OTTAWA - The retirement of two Supreme Court justices this summer gives Prime Minister Stephen Harper a chance to shape the court, but few expect he will appoint activist judges who will try to swing the court in a conservative direction.

Those on the front lines of court battles for religious freedom and moral issues prefer it that way. Catholic Civil Rights League president Phil Horgan, a Toronto-based lawyer, said he hopes Harper will choose justices who will interpret the existing laws and resist any temptation to make them.  

“When you are acting as an umpire on competing claims, you try to make the best decision without overstepping the bounds of the judicial role,” he said. “It’s one thing to be the referee; it’s another thing to rewrite the rules of the game.”       

Horgan wants judges that recognize the role of Parliament. For those who like an activist bench, he asks, “Are they prepared for the day when that activism doesn’t go in their favour?” He hopes the judges that will replace Justices Louise Charron and Ian Binnie are “cognizant of a healthy pluralism” in Canadian society.

OTTAWA - Bishop Raymond Lahey’s sentencing hearing will take place June 24, when the judge gets to hear testimony from a forensic psychiatrist.

Lahey, 70, pleaded guilty to importing child pornography May 4 and opted to go directly to jail rather than stay out on bail until a date could be arranged for Dr. James Bradford to testify about his psychological evaluation. A charge of distribution of child pornography was dropped.

The bishop faces a minimum one-year jail term, but he could receive a sentence as high as 10 years.

OTTAWA - An explosion ripped through an auto shop at Ottawa's Mother Teresa Catholic High School May 26, killing Grade 12 student Eric Leighton, 18, and injuring five others.

Police reported the students had been cutting through metal making barbecues when residue in a 55-gallon drum exploded.

Leighton was found "without vital signs" at the scene but paramedics "initiated advance resuscitative measures" and by the time he reached hospital, he had regained a pulse.  Leighton, however, died in hospital later in the day, according to police.

Paramedics assessed four other students and a 33-year old teacher at the scene.  They were sent to hospital for monitoring of possible concussive injuries.

TORONTO - An exhibit featuring a hand-written and illustrated biblical Scroll of Esther highlights the “bridge” between Christianity and Judaism, says Toronto-based scribe Laya Crust.

Crust wrote the Hebrew text of the Scroll of Esther on animal parchment using historical tools and materials. The scroll features 16 columns of Hebrew text and 32 full-colour illustrations in the style of 16th-century Persian art bringing to life the ancient story of Queen Esther. The exhibit opened at Toronto’s University of St. Michael’s College May 18 and runs until June 18.

“It was a very exciting and a wonderful way to connect with the (biblical) text and wonderful to know that it’s an ecumenical text that’s embraced by the Christian faith, by Christians around the world, as well as by Jews and has that additional bridge of religion and God,” Crust told The Catholic Register.

TORONTO - Michael Coren, Catholic author and journalist, has been chosen this year’s recipient of the Catholic Civil Rights League’s Archbishop Adam Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life.

The annual award recognizes outstanding lay achievement in advocacy, education, life issues and philanthropy.

“Michael’s really done a lot to promote Catholic understanding,” said Joanne McGarry, executive director of the CCRL. She said that Coren was chosen because of his “consistent and clear defence of Catholic teaching in the media.”

“I’m more than happy to be out on the front lines defending the Church, my Church, but the blows, the abuse and the attacks certainly cut deep at times,” said Coren. “So this honour, this affirmation, is wonderful. For someone who always has something to say, I’m almost speechless.”

The following is a list of the clergy appointments for the Archdiocese of Toronto that take effect on June 30. Listed is the priest’s name and the parish they will serve.

For the sixth year in a row Canada’s birth rate has inched up, but a polarized job market and pressure on young couples to obtain and pay for their education before starting a family is pushing mothers up against a biological wall.

Statistics Canada reported the nation’s fertility rate for 2008 was 1.68 children per woman, up slightly from 1.66 per woman in 2007. The 2008 fertility rate produced 377,886 babies, a 2.7-per-cent increase over 2007.

Much of the increase can be attributed to the population bulge of children of baby boomers, the so-called “echo generation,” now in their 20s and 30s.

“Canada, in terms of fertility, is the middle of the pack (compared to other Western nations),” said Vanier Institute for the Family director of programs Katherine Scott. “Obviously, we’re below the replacement rate of 2.1.”