
Michael Swan, The Catholic Register
Michael is Associate Editor of The Catholic Register.
He is an award-winning writer and photographer and holds a Master of Arts degree from New York University.
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June 30, 2010
The unique path taken by Toronto's diaconate

Priests in Dachau — facing their deaths, resigned to their imprisonment and steeped in a near monastic routine of prayer and work — began to ask themselves what had gone wrong with the world and the Church, that saving sacrament of their world. They came to the conclusion that priests were living in isolation from the people of God and that the Church needed a way to break through.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
June 29, 2010
Economy trumps justice at G20

"We've entered a world where the only language that matters is economics," said Redemptorist Father Paul Hansen after the motorcades of world leaders had left town.
The leaders of the world's 20 largest economies agreed to cut their government deficits in half by 2013 and stop growth of public debt relative to Gross Domestic Product by 2016 at the summit held in Toronto June 26-27. Voluntary financial constraints on government borrowing will allow poorer countries to participate in a healthier world economy, said the final G20 communique.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA

Everybody who made a principled stand on the issues in peaceful demonstrations during the G20 was tarred with the same brush as Black Bloc protesters who covered their faces and smashed windows, said Dillon. Out of an estimated 10,000 protesters, perhaps 150 were engaged in property damage, Dillon said.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
June 24, 2010
Church, soccer intertwined in Slovenian life

The Green Dragons of Slovenia at the World Cup in South Africa — and at the parish hall in Etobicoke — were ready to take on the Americans.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA

“Since it (homosexuality) is not something chosen, it’s not a moral issue,” said Collins, speaking at an SMC Alive faith formation meeting June 13.
While being sexually attracted to people of the same gender is not a sin, turning that attraction into an all-encompassing identity and entering sexual relationships based on same-sex attractions directly contravenes the Christian value of chastity, said the archbishop. Same-sex attractions, which the Church calls objectively disordered, are a struggle and not an identity, he said.
“What I am is precious in God’s sight. To say you are one of your struggles — no, no, no. Do not let yourself be put into a box,” said Collins.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
May 31, 2010
Diabetic volunteers need threatens health care study

Dr. David Jenkins needs 400 people with type two diabetes — the kind people normally get over the age of 45, but is increasingly showing up among overweight young people. After months of advertising, Jenkins has recruited fewer than 70 volunteers to take on special diets and monitor their health.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
August 4, 2010
Register's longest-serving paperboy hangs up his bag
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - Hubert Krampert's 40-year run in bringing The Catholic Register to the residents of Mississauga Lifecare Centre has come to an end.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
April 29, 2010
Economy to blame as ShareLife slashed funding to D&P

The ShareLife advisory board cut its allocation to Development and Peace to $900,000 this year, a $225,000 reduction from last year’s contribution of $1.125 million.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
April 26, 2010
For food banks, recession still hits hard

“There are more people going to food banks and less food being donated, both by individuals as well as our corporate partners,” Ontario Association of Food Banks executive director Adam Spence told The Catholic Register. “Those two items come together to make it a very challenging time for food banks.”
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA
January 26, 2007
Payday loans institutes are modern usury
TORONTO - Jose Martin is a labourer at a construction site in Toronto. The job does not pay much so his family — his disabled wife and three children — supplements his income with social welfare provisions. However, welfare does not cater for everything the Martins need.
Published in
Canada: Toronto-GTA