Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

MP invites civil society to join the fight against human trafficking

November 7, 2012

OTTAWA - It is one thing to set victims of human trafficking free but quite another to get them started on a new life. “They believe they are good for nothing,” said Conservative MP Joy Smith. “This is so wrong. It breaks my heart. A lot of these girls were lost and had no support to get back on their feet.” With that in mind Smith has launched a foundation to invite the public to participate in the fight against human trafficking. The Joy Smith Foundation is a registered, non-profit organization where “every red cent goes to the victims and the NGOs that take care of them,” Smith said. The foundation is a follow-up to the federal government’s National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking announced in June 2012. Non-political and non-partisan, the foundation is all about the victims,, Smith said. Victims are “so traumatized they need support” to “start their lives again,” she said. They “need a vision” to rebuild their lives. “I’m trying to be a role model for the public to show them what they can do,” Smith said. The money goes to the victims to provide rehabilitation to prepare them for a new life outside the sex trade; for clothing, counselling, housing, and money, “all those important everyday things.” She recalled the court testimony of one trafficking victim who said she felt “good for nothing except giving sex to men.” The foundation’s other component is building awareness of the plight of trafficking victims and the “unsung heroes” among police officers who rescue them and the NGOs that look after them, Smith said. “These people need to be thanked.” Smith said people do not realize how hard it is to work in the human trafficking field and the kinds of blocks one runs into, from “judicial blocks” to the blocks from one’s peers in the police force. The work can be discouraging and depressing because the damage to trafficked women and children is so horrible, she said. “It’s all about love, your love for girls and a desire to give them a fresh start,” she said. Smith is the first MP in Canadian history to cause amendments to the Criminal Code twice through private member’s bills. Bill C-310 added a mandatory five-year sentence to those convicted of trafficking children under 18, and C-268 made human trafficking an extra-territorial offence, allowing prosecution of Canadian citizens or residents for trafficking crimes committed in other countries. More information about the foundation can be found at www.joysmithfoundation.com

Pro-lifers must adapt their message, MPs say

November 2, 2012

TORONTO - Political lobbying is not just about what you say, it’s how you say it, according to a pair of Conservative MPs. That was just one of the tips Stephen Woodworth and Brad Trost gave to those attending the National Pro Life Conference. “Although I am in Parliament, I happen to believe that the world does not stop and end inside the House of Commons,” said Woodworth, MP for Kitchener Centre. “The real important work that needs to be done is outside the chamber of the House of Commons.” Much of this has to do with language and scope, Woodworth told those attending the third and final day of the conference hosted by Alliance for Life Ontario in Toronto Oct. 25-27. Woodworth said too many MPs are pre-occupied with the word abortion. By adjusting the language and widening the scope of the message, the pro-life movement will garner more support by avoiding sensitive words — something Woodworth admits is easier said than done. “People don’t necessarily take away from words the meaning that I take away from them,” Woodworth said. “We have members of Parliament who are actually suggesting, in relation to Motion 312, that the Prime Minister should have a veto over the independence of backbench MPs.” Woodworth said some MPs “couldn’t see the democratic tradition and the value of backbench independence” and “they were willing to sacrifice because of their pre-occupation with the word abortion.” Although Motion 312 — Woodworth’s motion for a debate on when life begins — did not mention the word abortion, it led to its failure. But Woodworth does not completely blame the failure on those MPs pre-occupied with abortion — pro-lifers are at fault too for not being able to adapt how they communicate their message. “If you simply go in with your truth and you fail to recognize the truths that others are concerned about, you won’t make that connection, you won’t develop that relationship and you won’t be listened to,” he said. “If you cannot convince someone that a child is a human being before birth you are not going to convince them about abortion.” While Woodworth focused heavily on how to convey the message, Trost addressed how to understand a politician’s position on the pro-life cause. “The weakest link in Canada’s pro-life movement has been political,” said Trost, MP for Saskatoon-Humboldt. “In Canada we know the political aspect is very important and the political aspect needs to change and evolve and we need legislation to start moving it forward.” As a Liberal turned Conservative, but a constant pro-life supporter, Trost cautioned the audience to never assume which way a politician will vote. “People don’t actually know what they’re voting for or what they’re voting on (when electing politicians),” said Trost. “Politicians can do one thing in Ottawa and another thing in the constituency. People are shocked when they find that out.” He continued by stressing the importance of checking an MP’s voting records to see who stands strongly on either side of the issue, but also exposes those in the middle who’d be easier to influence. “If you don’t know where your MP has voted, get involved, talk to them. A lot of these people who have come in from professional careers may not have fixed views. "

Pro-life activist Linda Gibbons counts on Christ’s strength

November 1, 2012

OTTAWA - Pro-life activist and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medalist Linda Gibbons is back in prison, certain she is doing God’s work for praying outside an abortion facility. Police moved in and arrested her Oct. 30 after the 64-year-old great-grandmother prayed outside of the Morgentaler abortuary on Hillsdale Avenue in Toronto, breaking a temporary injunction prohibiting demonstrators from coming too close to the facility and impeding its business. Gibbons carried her usual sign depicting a picture of an infant and the words: “Why Mom? When I have so much to give.” Police moved in after about an hour and a half and arrested Gibbons. “We will remain free in our love, we will not be coerced by the government to turn our backs on the unborn child,” Gibbons told CCN in an exclusive phone interview from Toronto days before her latest arrest. “If that lands us in court, that’s a gift, another providential opportunity to do the Lord’s work. “When hoping and praying become a criminal activity, where is our freedom?” she asked. Gibbons said her fellow inmates often ask her how she can stand the confinement, and being away from her family. “I always tell the girls, ‘One day at a time with Jesus.’ It is Christ’s strength that gives you that fortitude to persevere,” she said. The injunction dates back to 1989 after the former Morgentaler clinic on Harbord Street was firebombed. Morgentaler built a bigger and more secure facility at the Hillsdale Avenue location that is covered by the temporary injunction creating a bubble zone around it. Gibbons recalled the first time she was arrested. She and some fellow pro-lifers were in the alley behind the facility praying in a circle. They were not blocking the entrance or talking to people or doing anything that might impede Morgentaler’s business operation, she said. She knew she would lose her job at military headquarters if she was arrested. But the words of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane came to her: “Can you not pray with me for one hour?” She realized her job “is something I must lay down.” “Anything I put before Christ is not where I should be at the moment,” she said. “Doing the will of Christ is my first duty and the duty of the moment.” In between arrests Gibbons used to try to get a job so as to maintain her apartment, but she realized hanging onto her home or an income was unrealistic. “For 20 years, I have had no government support; I’m on no government program,” she said. “Pro-lifers have are carrying me through.” A great-grandmother of two, Gibbons does miss her family when she’s in prison. “I see this as a cost of doing business with the government,” she said. “I’m trying to leave a legacy for my grandchildren, so they don’t have to live in a society burdened by abortion.”

Notre Dame sisters on the move

November 1, 2012

TORONTO - When Angela Farrell was unsure about a career change, she turned for guidance to the sisters at the Notre Dame convent in Toronto. “I think of the convent as the North Star,” she said. “This is the true north and you orient from there.” So she is saddened now to learn that her North Star will soon be dark. After 60 years, the convent on Kingston Road in Toronto’s east end is closing. The packing has already begun and the nuns, several in their 80s, are to all be moved by next August, although the date is not set in stone, says Sr. Eileen Power. She is clear the sisters are not leaving Toronto, but will cease to live in community as they move to other locations in the city. “We have been engaged in a process of long-term planning for some time now in our congregation and in our province and many other communities are doing this too,” said Power, the local house leader. “The location is no longer meeting our housing needs.” The convent and property will be sold but Power said she has no idea who the buyer will be. “Only God knows that right now,” she said. The convent has housed up to 20 people but is currently home to just 11 sisters, some of whom have lived there more than 40 years. The youngest is in her early 40s but most are retired. There are about two dozen Notre Dame sisters living in Toronto, said Power. “The sisters here are looking to the future with hope and courage and they are hearing God’s call in this,” she said. When Farrell was growing up in the neighbourhood, the convent was a much busier place. The Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame provided teachers for many east-end Catholic schools and, in 1941, founded Notre Dame High School, which still operates nearby the convent. Farrell almost always lived close to the sisters. A graduate of Notre Dame, she has taught religion and belonged to the chaplaincy team at the school the past 12 years. “My whole growing up was shaped by the presence of the sisters and there was always a sense of structure and security in knowing they were there,” she said. The order has been in Toronto for 80 years. The first nuns arrived in 1932 at the invitation of Archbishop Neil McNeil to bolster Toronto’s Catholic teaching community, originally settling in a convent near St. Brigid’s Church. Over the years, the sisters taught in more than 20 elementary schools and several high schools. They’ve also been active in parishes through outreach to the poor, catechetics, retreats and social justice initiatives. As their numbers increased, and after Notre Dame High School was built, the sisters obtained a plot of land near the school for a convent. It has been occupied since 1952 but, with vocations in dramatic decline, some difficult decisions were required. “I think most families experience this,” Power said. “The kids grow up and move away and three or four bedrooms are empty and the parents say, ‘We need to do something now.’ We don’t have a lot of younger people at the moment here in Toronto.” Power said it is important that the order prudently manage its resources. “We pool our resources as sisters and then we support people who are doing other ministries,” she said, highlighting activities for social justice in Central America, Africa, Japan, France, the United States, as well as across Canada. Nancy Devitt-Tremblay, a Notre Dame graduate (class of 1974), says the sisters gave the incredible gift of education to her mother’s generation. “My mother grew up in an inner-city parish at a time when her brothers didn’t go to high school,” said Devitt-Tremblay, a teacher at Senator O’Connor College School. “If Notre Dame hadn’t opened, she probably wouldn’t have had a high school education.” Ursula Thomson was a part of that generation. One of 16 members of the first graduating class in 1944, she keeps in touch with Notre Dame nuns almost 70 years later. She is grateful for the kindness, intelligence and devotion of the sisters. The relocation process for the 11 nuns still in the convent will be co-ordinated between the leadership and administrative team in Halifax, Power said.

75 years living the Gospel

November 1, 2012

The Felician Sisters this year look back on 75 years of careful, quiet and competent work on behalf of people the rest of us have brushed aside. A human scale and a human touch have been their hallmark. “Our goals are more modest in terms of structures and things like that,” explains Felician Sister Shelley Marie Jeffrey. “We just think it’s more important to touch people’s spirit than to be behind something that people will look at and say ‘Wow.’ ” In 1937, in the teeth of the Great Depression, most of the sisters were Polish immigrants or daughters of Polish immigrants. They arrived in a poor, immigrant neighbourhood near Dundas and Bathurst Streets where men were unemployed or on the road or both and women were struggling to keep families together and their kids in school. The sisters set themselves up as go-betweens, translating and interpreting the English world to the Polish immigrants, helping the kids with homework, gathering women to talk over troubles and challenges, keeping the youngest safe and occupied. In the forms of after-school programs, youth drop-ins, ESL classes for adults and computer classes, the work the Felicians began in 1937 continues today. “We still work with immigrants. There are a lot of families whom we serve that are new to Canada,” Jeffrey said. In 1937 the broken economy produced its share of broken people. That hasn’t changed either. The sisters still feed and clothe people who are never going to be contributors to the economy. “The people we serve are the lepers of society,” Jeffrey said. “I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. But they’re the outcast people that we don’t want around. They’re mentally ill.They’re addicted. They don’t present themselves very well.” Hot meals and clean clothes available at the St. Felix Centre only open the door to what the Felicians really offer to the poor, said St. Felix Centre executive director Paddy Bowen. “We are not in the business of changing people. We are in the business of accepting them — where they are and what they are.” Foundations and governments mostly want agencies to fix the poor — get them jobs, find housing, cure addictions and illnesses. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the sisters are there for a different purpose, said Bowen. “We are actually not in the fixing or changing or transforming arena. Although, what you find of course is that there is nothing more transforming than being accepted,” she said. The next step after acceptance is community. By offering people meals in a human-scale, intimate dining room and allowing time to sit and talk, the sisters have for years invited people into their community. It’s that sense of community that makes the St. Felix Centre a little different from the 75 other drop-ins in Toronto. The St. Felix Centre community extends well beyond the poor, homeless and socially isolated. The centre runs with just seven full-time staff and 450 volunteers. But this last year the invitation has gone a step further. The Felicians no longer live in the gingerbread mansion that was their convent back in 1937. A group of women and their children now occupy the house, which will soon undergo renovations so it can comfortably house even more. “We developed that program specifically not to be a rooming house,” said Jeffrey. “But to be a community. That’s what we know. We know the value of it and we know the challenges of it.” It’s a classic case of a religious order sharing its charism — letting everybody in on their mission. “Our call is to live in Franciscan community. It is to live in simplicity. It’s to be responsive,” Jeffrey said. “We’re not unique in that, but we find ways to be unique. We’ve never specialized in one ministry. There are no two people in our community doing the same thing.” Nor are the Felicians satisfied to keep doing the same thing year after year. The neighbourhood around the St. Felix Centre is changing rapidly with injections of new money , condos and professionals who choose a downtown lifestyle. The sisters have been looking around to see where their talent for creating community might be needed more. At 2195 Jane St., a 46-year-old, 11-storey tower operated by Toronto Community Housing Corp., the sisters have launched a weekly communal dinner for Jane- Finch residents. Depending how local partners and the community react, the program may expand to seven days a week. For the sisters, discernment means slowly and carefully figuring out what people really need and how they can help. “Given our resources, given our experience, what can we offer that other people can’t?” is the central question, said Jeffrey. “The Felicians are down to under 40 in Canada,” said Bowen. “How often do we see a group of people who just selflessly dedicate their lives to living for other people? “The new evangelization is terribly challenging but it’s also really exciting,” said Jeffrey. “Our main approach to evangelization here is, we don’t try to evangelize except by the way we live the Gospel values.”

Toronto remembers the Holocaust

November 1, 2012

TORONTO - Pope John Paul II called for the healing and purification of memories in 1994 as he looked forward to the new millennium. The 32nd annual Toronto Holocaust Education Week will try to put that healing and purification in context by concentrating on a "Culture of Memory." Schools, parishes, libraries, synagogues, theatres and art galleries will all take part in eight days of events examining the history of the Nazi plan which killed off six million Jews in the name of a "final solution." The Toronto event is the largest annual Holocaust education undertaking in the world. The Nov. 1 to 8 program will open with a conversation at the Royal Ontario Museum between authors Nathan Englander and Sara Horowitz about how literature has dealt with the Holocaust, 7:30 p.m., Nov. 1. Englander is author of a short story collection called What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and Horowitz teaches a course at Toronto's York University called "Imagining Anne Frank: The Girl, the Diary, the Afterlives." The closing night will feature the Artists of the Royal Conservatory ARC Ensemble performing music by composers who survived the death camps. The Nov. 8 performance at the Beth Tzedec Congregation synagogue will close with a candlelight commemoration of the 74th anniversary of Kristallnacht and Canadian war veterans honouring Remembrance Day. Other notable events include a lecture by Polish theologian and sociologist Zbigniew Nosowski on efforts of the Polish Church to promote interest in Poland's Jewish roots and Polish Catholics who restore Jewish cemeteries at the University of St. Michael's College Nov. 7. Reinhold Boschki, a University of Bonn professor of education and advisor to the German conference of Catholic bishops, speaks about the future of Holocaust education at Kehillat Shaarei Torah Nov. 7. Sr. Audrey Gerwing will moderate a discussion following a screening of The Ninth Day, a film about Abbe Henri Kremer on a nine-day leave from the Dachau concentration camp at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church Nov. 7. The complete program can be downloaded at http://holocaustcentre.com. Most events are free.

Supreme Court to hear prostitution appeal

November 1, 2012

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that upheld most of a lower court’s decision to strike down some of Canada’s prostitution laws. The federal government had applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in late May. Prostitution is not illegal in Canada, but activities surrounding it are: soliciting for the purposes of prostitution, running a brothel or bawdy house and living off the avails of prostitution or pimping. But in a landmark ruling March 26, the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered a decision that legalizes brothels and allows prostitutes to hire protection and other staff. Public solicitation and pimping remain illegal but the court ruled that prostitutes have a constitutional right to work in safe environments such as an organized brothel. However, the Ontario court suspended implementation of its decision for one year to give Parliament time to amend the criminal code. The Catholic Civil Rights League welcomed news of the appeal. “With our partners REAL Women of Canada and Christian Legal Fellowship, we have been intervenors in this case from its beginning in Ontario Superior Court,” said league executive director Joanne McGarry. “Our position was and remains that while the law is not perfect, any liberalization of it would not improve prostitutes’ safety, and would make it easier to lure and exploit vulnerable girls and women “Evidence from other jurisdictions suggests that when legalization occurs, the illegal side of the business continues to flourish,” she said in a statement. REAL Women of Canada national vice president Gwendolyn Landolt says she and the other two groups expect to file their intention to intervene by next April. Landolt said REAL Women would like to see prostitution itself prohibited. “We do want to see that women who are prostitutes have an option to get off the streets, into safe houses and to receive treatment,” said Landolt, who noted many have problems with alcohol or drugs and sell sex to maintain their addictions. “They need help. You don’t encourage them by widening the law.” She said cases where prostitution laws have been loosened have not brought more safe conditions for prostitutes. “Brothels do not protect women,” she said. “In the Netherlands, one-third of brothels had to be shut down because the criminal element became involved. “Prostitution is inherently dangerous, no matter what circumstances are involved.” Landolt warned about the consequences to women and children who are being trafficked into, out of or across Canada into the sex trade. Canada is already a transit country for traffickers bringing sex slaves into the United States, she said. Aboriginal women and children are especially vulnerable to trafficking. “Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative criminal undertakings in the world,” she said, along with the sale of illegal weapons and the drug trade.

Andrachuk says schools will uphold Catholic values

October 30, 2012

The chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board has issued an open letter to parents and media that is a frank rebuke to Ontario's education minister. In her letter dated Oct. 30, board chair Ann Andrachuk declared that Toronto schools will remain committed to a curriculum "that affirms the value of all human life and forms the foundation of our Catholic education system." Andrachuk's letter came three weeks after Eduction Minister Laurel Broten sparked outrage by comments that equated pro-life teaching with misogyny and suggested that pro-life activities were in contravention of Bill-13, the government's anti-bullying legislation. "Taking away a woman's right to choose could arguably be one of the most misogynistic actions," Broten told reporters on Oct. 10. Andrachuk did not name Broten in her letter. But it is clear her comments were directed at the education minister. Andrachuk mentions how events of recent weeks have sparked a debate about the place of Catholic values in a publicly funded school system. "By remaining faithful to Catholic Christian principles, we not only meet, but far exceed the expectations of the policies of the Ministry of Education," Andrachuk wrote. "Indeed, the focus on these values allows us to go beyond government legislated mandates." Andrachuk pointed out that respecting the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death is a fundamental Catholic tenet and forms a key component of a curriculum that teaches "the values of peace, justice and respect for the sacredness of human life." "This Christian anthropology or world view embraces and cherishes the dignity and worth of each and every person," she wrote. "Are these not universal human values that should be shared and cherished by everyone on this precious planet? "Ours is an inclusive learning community rooted in the love of Christ. We educate students to grow in grace and knowledge, and to lead lives of faith, hope and charity." Andrachuk also pointed out that Catholics are not alone in respecting all human life. "Acknowledging that human life begins at conception is a deeply held tenet of many world-wide religions including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism," she wrote. Andrachuk also highlighted programs operated in Catholic schools that provide extensive social, academic and spiritual supports for pregnant teens. That support includes ensuring maternity uniforms "to reinforce the message of inclusivity." Additionally, said Andrachuk, schools "do not abandon teens who make other choices," but instead offer counseling and "unconditional love and support." "The measure of any civilized society is the way it deals with its most vulnerable and those in need, especially in times of crisis," she wrote. Andrachuk said that Catholic schools will continue to reinforce the belief that "we are our brother’s keeper based on the universal values of peace, hope, love, respect and social justice." "If the educational environment of a school is not the appropriate place for the teaching of these intrinsic human values – then where?" Below is the complete text of the open letter from Ann Andrachuk, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Toronto Catholic District School Board Oct. 30, 2012 Catholic Values are Human Values The events of recent weeks have renewed the debate on whether religious, and in particular Catholic values, have any place in a publicly-funded school system. But, whose values are these really? At the Toronto Catholic District School Board we inspire excellence by educating the hands, hearts and minds of students to create responsible citizens who give witness to Catholic social teachings through the values of peace, justice and respect for the sacredness of human life. This Christian anthropology or world view embraces and cherishes the dignity and worth of each and every person. Are these not universal human values that should be shared and cherished by everyone on this precious planet? Ours is an inclusive learning community rooted in the love of Christ. We educate students to grow in grace and knowledge, and to lead lives of faith, hope and charity. As members of one of Canada’s largest school boards, our staff and students are challenged to transform the world through faith, innovation and action. This is consistent with the distinctive expectations of all Ontario Catholic Schools. These expectations are determined and shaped by the vision and destiny of the human person emerging from our faith tradition. TCDSB schools deliver a curriculum that affirms the value of all human life and forms the foundation of our Catholic education system. The sanctity and respect for human life from conception onwards to every stage of life is a fundamental teaching for both men and women. We are not alone in this belief. Acknowledging that human life begins at conception is a deeply-held tenet of many world-wide religions including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. By remaining faithful to Catholic Christian principles, we not only meet, but far exceed the expectations of the policies of the Ministry of Education. Indeed, the focus on these values allows us to go beyond government legislated mandates. Real world examples of these include: our integrated approach to equity and inclusivity and the TCDSB’s three-decade long integrated and holistic respecting differences approach to deal with bullying. The personalized and unconditional support given to every student who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy is typical of this Catholic values-based tradition. We place their physical and emotional health at the very center of our care. Chaplaincy team leaders, guidance counselors, principals and classroom teachers collectively play a crucial, non-judgmental role to help the individual student feel supported, cared for and loved in a situation that is often emotionally and physically challenging. Students dealing with this personal crisis naturally feel scared and isolated. We work to bridge this gap by helping join the student and parents together to discuss next steps. In many cases this involves a staff member accompanying the student home to help break the news. For our students over 18, we advise them of their rights to privacy and share information about confidential resources like Birthright. We also ensure they are aware of the special services offered by Rosalie Hall and the Massey Centre. Our message is that they do not need to travel this journey alone and that an entire caring community is here to help both academically and spiritually. From social workers and pastors to specially trained counselors and educators, we reassure the student that she is welcome to stay in the school as long as her health allows. Accommodations are offered to her schedule, including home instruction or other ways to continue her studies. The Board has asked school uniform suppliers to provide maternity-sized apparel to reinforce the message of inclusivity. Also true to our Catholic values, we do not abandon those who make other choices. Students in this circumstance generally return to school traumatized, with solitary feelings of guilt and despondency. One-to-one support is of even greater importance to these students and their future success. Similarly, we extend our arms out to serve as a security blanket of unconditional love and respect. We work hard to ensure they are not stigmatized in the eyes of their peers or the school community and that they have the same access to social support networks. Some critics will delight in pointing out the apparent contradiction that we treat those who make other choices in the same open and generous manner. We see no such contradiction. The measure of any civilized society is the way it deals with its most vulnerable and those in need, especially in times of crisis. For our part, Catholic values guide the TCDSB’s profound reverence for each individual, and a commitment to live the message of love in the Gospel. This is our obligation to all those entrusted to our care in Catholic education. Whether they are students or educators, we strive to offer our school community an authentic pathway of faith, hope, love and charity, reinforced with the virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. We live in a cynical, modern, secular and often cruel world dominated by a narcissistic “me first” value system. At this critical tipping point in the life of our planet, is this not the right time to reinforce the belief that we are our brother’s keeper based on the universal values of peace, hope, love, respect and social justice for all? If the educational environment of a school is not the appropriate place for the teaching of these intrinsic human values – then where? And if not now – when? For us at the TCDSB the answers are self-evident. As the world’s largest Catholic school board we do not take this leadership role lightly. Supported by a new multi-year strategic plan, the TCDSB will proudly forge ahead with our global vision to transform the world through witness, faith, innovation and action.

Hurricane Sandy forces rally cancellation

October 29, 2012

A rally that was to be held by advocates of defunding abortion in Ontario has been blown off course by Hurricane Sandy. The rally, organized by Campaign Life Coalition Youth, was to be held at Queen's Park on Tuesday. But it has been postponed due to predictions for Toronto of high winds and heavy rains from the hurricane that is battering the U.S. eastern seaboard. Organizers said the event will be held at a date to be determined. The rally was intended to pressure politicians to cease paying for abortions and start treating it like other elective medical procedures that are not funded by OHIP.

Kateri teaches us to have hope

October 28, 2012

St. Kateri teaches us our response in faith to Jesus Christ brings healing, said Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith at a Thanksgiving Mass in Rome Oct. 22. “Among the most striking aspects of her witness is the miraculous transformation of her face soon after her death,” said the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in his homily at St. John Lateran, Rome’s cathedral church. “From the age of four, terribly scarred by the smallpox, her face was restored to its original beauty only minutes after she had died.” Smith noted Kateri said “Jesus, I love you,” just before she died, showing how her response to Christ’s love preceded the healing. “How greatly do we need this lesson from Kateri today,” he said. “We may not bear physical scars, but so many today carry deep emotional and psychological ones. “These are inflicted not by smallpox but by poverty, addiction, loneliness and betrayal. They are caused by the abuse suffered by Kateri’s modern-day sisters and brothers in their time at residential schools,” he said. “So much pain, so many emotional scars. Yet Kateri teaches us that no wound, however deep, should leave us without hope.” The archbishop called the facial healing “an outward sign of the interior transformation that is given to all who hand over their lives to Christ, and who do so in love.” The Mass, televised live by Salt + Light Television, drew more than 2,500 people, many of them Canadian pilgrims. Almost 20 Canadian bishops were present, including concelebrants Bishop Lionel Gendron and Auxiliary Bishop Louis Dicaire of Saint Jean-Longueuil, who serve the diocese that includes the Mohawk territory where St. Kateri died. The all-party delegation led by Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Andrew Scheer, attended as did Canada’s ambassador to the Holy See, Anne Leahy. “The meeting of God’s loving initiative with a grace-filled human response is on beautiful display in the life of St. Kateri,” said Smith, who said her name Tekakwitha was one of the earliest signs. Tekakwitha has a variety of interpretations: “she who feels her way ahead,” “moving forward slowly,” “one who bumps into things,” but also “one who places things in order” or “to put all into place,” the archbishop said. “It is, of course, true that Kateri’s physical sight was seriously compromised due to the smallpox from which she suffered,” he said. “What is equally true, however, and what is of far greater significance, is that her inner vision was clear. “Deep within her heart she had received the gift of seeing clearly the truth of Christ and His Church. It is as if God, through the very name Tekakwitha and the life of the one who bore it, has drawn attention to the limits of human vision in order to point us to the true sight that comes from faith.” Smith tied the canonization of North America’s first female indigenous saint with the Year of Faith and the Synod on New Evangelization taking place in Rome until Oct. 28. “Kateri reminds us that this new evangelization, to be effective, must not only be proposed anew but also find an open and ready welcome in the heart of the recipient,” he said. “When the Jesuit missionary, Fr. de Lamberville, spoke of our Lord and the Christian faith, the Gospel message of life and hope found a home within her.” He called Kateri’s response to the Gospel message a “work of grace.” “Only with the help of God’s grace are we able, like Kateri, to make of our entire lives a living and pleasing sacrifice to God, as St. Paul exhorts us to do,” he said. “Only with divine assistance do we become, like Kateri, the mothers, brothers and sisters of Christ by doing the will of His — and our — heavenly Father.” An estimated 1,500 Canadian pilgrims attended the canonization in St. Peter’s Square, most of them from First Nations and other aboriginal communities. Among the 17 Canadian bishops was Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins. “Throughout her short life, St. Kateri never abandoned her faith,” said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in an Oct. 21 statement. “The canonization of St. Kateri is a great honour and joyous occasion for the many North Americans and aboriginal peoples who cherish her witness of faith and strength of character. The Government of Canada stands with those who are celebrating her life on this day in Canada, the United States and throughout the world.” The canonization Mass Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Oct. 21 is available via the cccb.ca web site or at www.saltandlighttv.org.