{mosimage}OTTAWA - A former Quebec justice minister has launched a petition aimed at bringing Pope Benedict XVI to Quebec City for the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in June.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The Dalai Lama, whose name is Tenzin Gyatso, has a hard enough time convincing people he is a simple, 72-year-old monk and a refugee. That the spiritual leader who embodies both Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism could convince 16,000 who came to see him at the Rogers Centre Halloween evening that he is a man of science and a champion of the secular borders on miraculous.

TORONTO - Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church just got a $1-million facelift. In just under one year art restorer Carlos Nunes and his team has restored the downtown Toronto parish to look as it did in 1908, except for a few new additions reflecting the culture of its Chinese congregation.    

{mosimage}THORNHILL, Ont. - There hasn’t always been a St. Luke’s, but just about. The parish has been there in one form or another ever since Bishop Michael Power decided Upper Canada needed another Catholic church between Toronto and Newmarket in 1844. It cost $1,000 to buy land for the church, rectory and cemetery that began St. Luke’s long history in 1847.

{mosimage}MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - In a world driven to distraction by hyper-competition, the challenge of the Catholic teacher is to help children discover that they are important for who they are, not what they’ve done. That was the message of Jean Vanier to a group of more than 1,900 educators who gathered here Oct. 26.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Heritage Toronto presented the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto with a French and English plaque commemorating 150 years since founding the former House of Providence, now Providence Healthcare.

{mosimage}TORONTO - In his debut Cardinal’s Dinner speech, Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins called on Catholics to “follow in the footsteps of St. Paul” to discover how to be witnesses of the Gospel in contemporary society.

{mosimage}Things are so bad at the provincial jail in Saskatoon that three bishops — Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran — have gone public with their concerns, describing how men are forced to urinate into bottles because there isn’t enough staff to accompany them from dormitory-style cell blocks to the washroom.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - The Dalai Lama brought a message of peace and reconciliation to Ottawa Oct. 28-30, urging China to grant the Tibetan people the rights to preserve their language, culture and spirituality.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace delivered 153,000 postcards to Parliament Hill Oct. 24, urging the Conservative government to ensure Canadian mining companies act responsibly when operating abroad.