TORONTO - Torontonians will not be flocking to shopping malls this Christmas, or any other statutory holidays, after city council voted to kill a proposal to extend shopping on holidays.
Council voted against the proposal May 12 and have sent it back to committee for more study.
Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins published an open letter to council May 11 urging councillors to "strongly oppose" the proposal that would have seen stores allowed to open on Christmas, Easter Sunday, Good Friday and other holidays.
Collins fights city hall on Christmas shopping
By Catholic Register StaffToronto Archbishop Thomas Collins has published an open letter to Toronto city council to “strongly oppose” a proposal to permit shopping on holidays, including Christmas and Good Friday.
“Our whole community is made poorer when times sacred to the human spirit are sacrificed so that the last drop of profit may be extracted,” wrote Collins.
Walk with Jesus: A multi-media presentation
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterIt was a chance for students to absorb the Bible through their feet, according to photographer and reporter Michael Swan. His audio-visual slide-show presentation can be viewed below.
Catholics need to share their faith
By Carolyn Girard, The Catholic RegisterElizabeth Wodham of Sarnia, Ont., considers herself an active Catholic, participating as a eucharistic minister and in other aspects of parish life. But to her, missions are an important part of evangelization and she laments the fact that nothing Catholic promotes the missions as much as MissionFest, a non-denominational event which features an exhibit tent for missionary organizations. The 15th annual MissionFest took place in Toronto April 16-18.
Toronto to host Chinese Catholic conference
By Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic RegisterThe 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.
Funding cuts threaten Montreal Catholic newspaper's future
By Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic RegisterCatholic Times Editor Eric Durocher told The Catholic Register it’s been an “extremely difficult year” managing the paper after being hit with a $30,000 cut in funding from Pillars Trust Fund, which provides about half of the newspaper’s operating capital.
Meagan Bebenek's legacy is not forgotten
By Sheila Dabu Nonato, The Catholic RegisterBut the five-year-old junior kindergarten student has left a lasting legacy which was commemorated in the April 27 “Circle of Angels with Hope,” an annual event started after Meagan’s death from brain cancer.
Doctors fear abortion flip flop at G8
By Carolyn Girard, The Catholic Register“I bet that will happen if it gets on the table (at the G8 Summit in June in Huntsville, Ont.)” said Dr. Robert Walley, executive director of MaterCare International.
Walley said his greatest concern, if abortion creeps in, is that it will affect the criteria for obtaining funding. He said the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has repeatedly rejected MaterCare’s request for funding solely on the basis of services he does not provide.
Rae won't let abortion go away
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic NewsSpeaking to a coalition of nine major non-governmental organizations on May 4, Rae first lauded initiatives to provide basic health care for women and children, but then said he must remain consistent by bringing up “reproductive and sexual health” and a “woman’s right to choose.”
Toronto archdiocese's abuse protocol committee ready to get to work
By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register“I’ve asked people to come to the first meeting (during the second week of May) with their suggestions and difficulties and so on,” said archdiocese of Toronto judicial vicar Fr. Brian Clough. “They’re bringing different backgrounds and different viewpoints and we’re going to have to listen.”
KAIROS reapplies for CIDA funding
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterKAIROS has reapplied to the Canadian International Development Agency to restore some of the funding that was cut off Nov. 30. At the time CIDA officials claimed KAIROS’ regular five-year funding agreement was rejected because the church-based group’s international program no longer fit CIDA priorities. However, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told a conference in Jerusalem his government had cut KAIROS funding because it supported anti-Semitism.