News/Canada
The Pentecost Eve procession crowned the May 21-24 Youth Summit/Montée Jeunesse here. The summits began in the years leading up to the 2008 International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec City as a way of harnessing youth creativity and energy. Now the Summits continue as a fruit of the congress. The Ottawa summit was the sixth and the first held outside of Quebec.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet fires back at critics with funding demand
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic NewsOTTAWA (CCN) — Cardinal Marc Ouellet has vowed not to be silenced on the “crime” of abortion and has answered his critics by demanding federal government funding to assist pregnant women.
In an interview on May 23 and at a press conference May 27, Ouellet expressed surprise at harsh political and media reaction to his recent comments in which he stated that abortion is a moral crime even in cases of rape. He was vilified in the media and one popular La Presse columnist called him an ayatollah and extremist and wished the cardinal would die from a slow, painful illness.
Cardinal Ouellet abortion comments ignite 'hateful response'
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News“Why should we push a woman who has been the victim of a crime to commit one of her own,” Ouellet told a pro-life conference in Quebec City May 15, prompting a province-wide backlash.
Pro-life momentum on upswing as March for Life draws 12,500
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic NewsOTTAWA - The largest ever March for Life May 13 marked growing momentum for the pro-life movement.
The crowd estimated at 12,500 celebrated the recent defeat of the euthanasia and assisted suicide Bill C-384 and Parliament’s vote to not include abortion in a Canadian-led G8 maternal and child health initiative.
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.
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.”
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.
Northern bishop Chatlain takes time to learn aboriginal reality
By Carolyn Girard, The Catholic RegisterChatlain, who took charge of the diocese two years ago, was in Toronto April 21 to speak about its needs at the annual Tastes of Heaven gala dinner hosted by Catholic Missions In Canada.
Chatlain said the approach of the Church in the north has significantly changed. The Church promotes the use of aboriginal culture and language rather than trying to eradicate it like some priests and religious had done in the past. This requires clergy and lay missionaries to understand what they’re getting into.
Abortion is not on Canada's maternal health plan plate
By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News“Canadians want to see the foreign aid money used for things to help save the lives of women and children in ways that unite the Canadian people,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said April 27 in response to a question from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff who accused the government of reversing Canada’s 25-year-old “consensus” on the issue.
Hope running out for Iraqi Christians
By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register“We have to create a climate now for the Christians to stay, for the Christians to go back to Iraq and go back to the villages in Galilee. That’s the hope,” said Prendergast.