Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Toronto parish gets jump on Vatican’s call for apologetics

February 29, 2012

TORONTO - The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has recently encouraged a more widespread effort to get apologetic material into the hands of Catholics, but Toronto’s St. Benedict’s parish is way ahead of the game. Eliseo Zompanti started the St. Benedict’s Catholic Apologetics and Bible Study group a year-and-a-half ago at St. Benedict’s parish. He said apologetics — being able to explain and defend the faith — is like a 2,000-year-old armoury that the Church has amassed.

Ecumenism talk coming to Toronto

February 29, 2012

TORONTO - The man charged with bringing unity to the body of Christ by 350 churches world-wide is coming to Toronto to speak about “The unity we seek: Exploring the hopes and challenges of modern ecumenism.” Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, will talk about the state of ecumenism at St. Andrew’s Church, next to Roy Thomson Hall in downtown Toronto, March 14 at 7 p.m.

Anonymous Toronto donor to match the donations of new ShareLife contributors

February 29, 2012

TORONTO - A Toronto parishioner who wishes to remain anonymous has committed to matching up to $650,000 of donations collected during ShareLife’s 2012 campaign. “We have a parishioner in the archdiocese of Toronto who has come forward to offer to match all new and increased gifts to the ShareLife campaign this year,” said ShareLife’s executive director Arthur Peters. “This person’s only goal is to see the campaign succeed.”

Parents fight to save Kingston school

February 29, 2012

After educating Catholic youth for 60 years in the Strathcona Park community in Kingston, Ont., the doors to St. Paul Catholic Elementary School, among others, may permanently close following the local school board’s accommodation review process. But there is a voice to St. Paul which is not letting the school be put to rest quietly. Shortly after word filtered out in 2011 that St. Paul could be among the schools targetted for closure by the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, Sarah Mignault and several other concerned community members began the Save St. Paul Action Committee.

Hamilton fundraiser a success

February 29, 2012

About 900 guests filled all four halls inside Hamilton’s Carmen’s Banquet Centre Feb. 25 to sip cocktails, enjoy a four-course meal and bust a move at the Bishop’s Charities Dinner Dance. The annual event with Bishop Douglas Crosby helps raise money for a number of charities. Organized by the Knights of Columbus’ Fred Miscio, with help from fellow members, this year marked the 27th anniversary of the annual event which Miscio coined successful as always.

London diocese severs ties with Assumption fundraising company

February 29, 2012

WINDSOR, Ont. - The diocese of London has fired the company charged with raising funds for an extensive restoration and expansion of Windsor’s oldest and most historic church, Our Lady of Assumption. In a statement posted on the diocese’s web site Feb. 22, the diocese and Assumption Church stated they were “not satisfied with the results achieved so far and have decided to end our relationship with” Philanthropic Management Consultants Inc. (PMC) to manage a $9.8-million campaign to pay for the restoration.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission seeks more government co-operation

February 27, 2012

Churches need to define how they're going to help repair the damage residential schools did to aboriginal culture in Canada and the federal government must cough up the millions of documents that future historians will need to tell the story of Canada's effort to assimilate First Nations' people, says the interim report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The report marks the halfway point of the five-year mandate of the commission. It warns that government reluctance to provide full and meaningful access to Library and Archives Canada records threatens the mandate of the commission. The TRC intends to go to court to force greater government co-operation.

Windsor abuse victims launch suit against abuser, diocese, Basilians

February 24, 2012

WINDSOR, Ont. - Four former Windsor students of Fr. William ”Hod” Hodgson Marshall are suing the priest, the Congregation of St. Basil and the diocese of London for claims arising from sexual abuse for which the now 89-year-old priest has been convicted. Marshall was sentenced last June to two years in jail after pleading guilty to 17 counts of indecent assault between 1962 and 1985 for cases that arose in Windsor, Toronto and Sudbury. Marshall was a teacher, coach and principal at schools in those cities.

Torontonians show great interest in Collins’ step up in the Church

February 22, 2012

TORONTO - Cardinal Thomas Collins was big news over the two weeks leading up to his elevation to the College of Cardinals. Every major news organization in Canada covered the event in Rome with news reports, analysis, feature interviews, photos, videos and live blogging. Canada’s largest newspaper kicked its coverage off with a two-part profile of Collins that ate up pages of precious newsprint. “It was acres, wasn’t it?” said Toronto Star associate editor Alison Uncles. “It was thousands of words.”

Multi-party support for anti-suicide bill

February 22, 2012

OTTAWA - A bill to create a national suicide-prevention strategy received overwhelming multi-party support Feb. 15, sailing through a second reading vote 285-3 in the House of Commons. Bill C-300: An Act Respecting a Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention, now goes to committee for further study. A national suicide prevention strategy was among the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Palliative and Compassionate Care that the bill’s sponsor, Conservative MP Harold Albrecht, chaired with NDP MP Joe Comartin.