Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Monarchy succession change no big deal - O’Donoghue

November 9, 2011

TORONTO - The Commonwealth decision to let Catholics marry into the Royal Family but still exclude them from the throne doesn’t much impress Tony O’Donoghue. “Big deal,” said an underwhelmed O’Donoghue as he works away on a book about everything that’s wrong with Canada’s constitutional monarchy. “Just allowing whoever is in line for the throne to marry a Catholic, is that a big deal? I think that’s a lot of B.S.” O’Donoghue managed to get the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2003 to rule on the constitutional validity of the 1701 Act of Settlement, one of several laws that determine who may or may not be monarch. He wanted the Act of Settlement, which forms part of Canada’s Constitution, declared unconstitutional and invalid.

Stories from the path of Abraham

November 9, 2011

TORONTO - They won’t all agree, but they will acknowledge the common ground, if only because they’ve walked it together. Franciscan Friar of the Atonement Father Damian MacPherson, Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Rev. Dr. Karen Hamilton and Imam Abdul Hai Patel travelled together with an interfaith band of pilgrims to the Holy Land in September. Now they’re ready to report back. The four leaders will present a panel discussion called “Walking the Path of Abraham” at the Scarboro Missions headquarters, 2685 Kingston Rd., in Toronto Nov. 29, at 7 p.m.

Pro-life activist Linda Gibbons freed

November 7, 2011

TORONTO - Pro-life activist Linda Gibbons was freed from a maximum security Ontario prison on Nov. 4 after charges of disobeying a 17-year-old temporary court injunction prohibiting protests at several downtown Toronto abortion clinics were dismissed. Gibbons’ lawyer, Daniel Santoro, told The Catholic Register the charges were dismissed by Ontario Justice Alphonse T. Lacavera because the sheriff read an outdated injunction to Gibbons when he arrested her on Aug. 4 for breaching the 1994 temporary injunction.

Galway choir gets a glimpse of Toronto's Irish past

November 3, 2011

TORONTO - Perhaps they weren't all saints. But they're all together in Toronto's historic St. Michael's Cemetery. A touring Irish choir from County Galway got a glimpse at Toronto's Irish history touring the monuments at the mid-town cemetery on All Saints Day, Nov. 1. The Dunmore Church Choir was in Toronto to perform a benefit concert for L'Arche Toronto and a concert at St. Paul's Basilica. But time out to investigate the part of Irish history that had reached across the ocean in the 19th century was welcome, said tenor Martin Silke. "We survived. They were the pioneers," said Silke. "They must have been horrendously brave people, if you can imagine crossing the ocean in a 20-metre boat into the unknown. It's important to remember."

Human trafficking bill targets crimes outside Canada

November 2, 2011

OTTAWA - Human trafficking may soon join the list of crimes such as terrorism or child sex tourism that can be prosecuted in Canada even if the offence was committed in another country. Conservative MP Joy Smith has multi-party support for her latest anti-human trafficking private member’s bill C-310, which had its first of two hours of debate Oct. 25. It would amend the Criminal Code to add human trafficking to the list of offences by Canadians or permanent residents that can be prosecuted here if committed abroad.

D&P expects to hear on funding request by Dec. 1

November 2, 2011

The countdown is on to a Dec. 1 D-Day for the next five years of funding for the Canadian bishops’ international development agency. The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace has been quietly working the past two years on its proposal to spend almost $50 million of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) money over the next five years. Development and Peace has been combining CIDA funding with donations almost since the organization was founded in 1967.

Religious leaders call for spiritual solutions to climate change crisis

November 2, 2011

OTTAWA - Representatives of 30 faith communities and organizations have asked politicians to mine the world’s religious traditions for the spiritual resources to meet the climate change crisis. “Climate change is a global crisis and requires global solutions that put the well-being of all people first — especially the most vulnerable,” said the Canadian Interfaith Call for Leadership on Climate Change, issued after a meeting here Oct. 23 and 24 organized by Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ).

New Supreme Court of Canada justices have no record of activism

November 2, 2011

OTTAWA - Christian observers with an interest in Canada’s courts are pleased — so far — that the latest picks for Supreme Court of Canada justices have shown no record of judicial activism on the bench. Justice Michael Moldaver, a former Ontario appellate judge, and Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, a former Ontario government civil servant, were sworn in Oct. 27. A public ceremony will take place Nov. 14. “They don’t have a judicial history of being activists,” said REAL Women of Canada national vice president Gwen Landolt, a former Crown prosecutor. REAL Women frequently intervenes in cases involving moral issues. “They have been strictly interpreting the law in their decisions.”

Toronto shares in Assisi's peaceful spirit

October 28, 2011

TORONTO - In the hours before Pope Benedict XVI and world religious leaders gathered again at Assisi, in the name of St. Francis and in the name of peace, the Toronto Area Interfaith Council brought together Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Bahais, Zoroastrians, Protestants, Scientologists, First Nations and Roman Catholics to share songs, Scriptures and prayers dedicated to peace. About 60 people were there Oct. 26 in the Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity behind the Eaton Centre for an interfaith service that included chanted readings from the Koran, a prayer for peace attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a passage from the First Letter of St. Peter and the Peace Prayer of St. Francis. "May there be peace in the celestial bodies, may there be peace on this little planet, may there be peace among us, may there be peace within us," said Hindu Institute of Learning vice president Chander Khanna, translating from the Vedas.

Women not getting facts on abortion-breast cancer link

October 27, 2011

TORONTO - Women are not getting all the facts about the link between abortion and breast cancer, says Dr. Angela Lanfranchi. "It doesn't matter if you're pro-life or pro-choice," she said, "women and the population just want the facts." And the facts are, simply put, abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, Lanfranchi told an audience of about 50 people gathered at the deVeber Institute's annual public lecture Oct. 26.