{mosimage}TORONTO - It is “astonishing” and “pathetic” that Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is advocating that Canada fund overseas abortions as part of a strategy to improve health care for women and children, said Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins and Calgary Bishop Fred Henry.

The bishops were responding to statements made by the opposition leader after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada, as president of the G8, would champion an international initiative to bring basic health care to mothers and children in the world’s poorest countries. Ignatieff declared his party would only support the initiative if Harper’s measures included provisions for abortion and contraception.

{mosimage}VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI will create six new saints Oct. 17, including Blessed André Bessette, the first Canadian-born man to become a saint.

Brother André founded St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal in Montreal and was known for his intense piety, famed for miraculous cures and praised for his dedication to building the shrine to honour St. Joseph.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - A former military Chaplain General, a Roman Catholic, has been charged with sexual assault following alleged incidents 38 years ago at Canadian Forces Base Borden.

Military investigators confirmed the charge on Feb. 16. The current Chaplain General, Brigadier-General David Kettle, issued a statement in which he said his office is co-operating fully in an investigation by the Military Police and the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada.

OTTAWA - Due to recent episcopal nominations as well as the death of Timmins Bishop Paul Marchand, a number of dioceses will see some changes in the near future.

Fr. Patrick Lafleur has been elected administrator of the diocese of Timmins after the death of Marchand, S.S.M., On July 24.

OTTAWA - A new web site for the Canadian edition of the Roman Missal will help Catholics across Canada to understand the contents of the new book.

The web site can be found at www.romanmissal.ca.

Available this fall, the web site includes resources for preparing parish bulletins and workshops. It also has links to Roman Missal-related materials from the National Liturgy Office and the Publications Service of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, who will be producing the missal.

Also, parishioners can access the web sites of Catholic dioceses across Canada concerning the Roman Missal as well as links from the Vatican and English-speaking conferences of bishops around the world.

On July 30, 2011, fourteen Sisters from the Canadian Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated their jubilee anniversaries of religious profession at the Motherhouse in Waterdown, Ontario.

In addition, ten Sisters from the Atlantic-Midwest Province joined them for the festivities. The Atlantic-Midwest province is located in the United States.

Shown in the photograph below are 14 Sisters of the Canadian Province of the School Sisters of Notre Dame celebrated their Jubilees on July 30, 2011.

With them are ten sisters from the Atlantic-Midwest Province (indicated by the asterisk) who also celebrated their Jubilees this year.

MONTREAL — Montreal Auxiliary Bishop André Gazaille has been named the new bishop of Nicolet, Que., south of Trois-Rivieres.

Gazaille, who was named bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on July 11, fills the post vacated by Bishop Raymond St-Gelais who resigned due to age after 22 years at the helm of the diocese, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law.

Born in Montreal, Gazaille studied theology and pastoral ministry at the Montreal Grand Séminaire and at the University of Montreal. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of Montreal in 1971. Gazaille was ordained bishop in March 2006 and has since served as an auxiliary bishop in Montreal.

The diocese of Nicolet has 119 diocesan priests, 15 priests who are members of societies of apostolic life, 386 religious brothers and sisters, and 26 permanent pastoral agents serving 200,000 Catholics in 65 parishes and missions.

Associate Editor Michael Swan of The Catholic Register was recently awarded one first-place and two second-place prizes for outstanding writing at the annual awards banquet of The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

In total, The Register won five awards in the North American wide competition of Catholic newspapers. Those honours follow the 14 awards, including best religious newspaper in Canada, The Register won earlier this year at the Canadian Church Press awards ceremony.

Swan’s first-place prize was in the category of Best Personality Profile for a front-page feature titled “Deacon Judge Rules with Conviction.” [read article here]

It explored how Alf Stong, a deacon in the Church, relies on his Catholic values in adjudicating the law.

All Toronto area Catholic School boards managed average or better than average pass rates on province-wide standardized literacy tests this year.

Students in the York Catholic and Dufferin-Peel Catholic board scored above the provincial average of 83 per cent.

Eighty-eight per cent of Grade 10 YCDSB students who wrote the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test for the first time were successful. Also, more students with special education needs wrote the test compared to last year and the students experienced a five per cent increase in achievement.

“Our test scores continue to be among the highest in the province and this is something we are proud of,” said Elizabeth Crowe, chair of the YCDSB. “However, at the heart of those scores is the great teaching and learning happening in our schools. Our schools are clearly engaged, vibrant hubs of activity, focused on student achievement.”

At the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, 85 per cent of DPCDSB students were successful. This is the fifth year in a row that Dufferin-Peel Catholic District Students exceeded the provincial average.

TORONTO - The Youth Speak News team of writers gathered at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto May 27-29 for the annual Youth Speak News retreat.

The weekend combined faith, journalism workshops and fun.