Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Visitors trying to get behind St. Michael’s Cemetery gates

October 26, 2011

TORONTO - There are 29,000 Catholics held captive behind a rusty, two-metre high, chain-link fence in the middle of downtown Toronto. Mind you, they’re not clamouring to get out. They’re dead and buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery, a little south of St. Clair Avenue and hidden behind the stores on the west side of Yonge Street. Martha Crean and Mary Egan want to get in. Each of them is related to early sextons (maintenance men) of the 156-year-old cemetery. They have relatives buried there and they would like to see the historic gem opened and advertised to Torontonians. Vandalism, dog-walking, skiing, neighbourhood fireworks displays, baseball games and litter on the cemetery grounds forced Catholic Cemeteries, Archdiocese of Toronto to lock the gates in 2005, said executive director Richard Hayes in an e-mail to Crean and Egan.

New CCCB president Archbishop Smith welcomes 'unique privilege'

October 26, 2011

CORNWALL, ONT. - Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith is looking forward to serving “my brother bishops” in his new role as president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. "It’s not something I was looking for, by any stretch of the imagination,” Smith said in a telephone interview Oct. 20, the day after he was elected CCCB president. “But it’s a unique privilege.” The choice of Smith, 52, came as no surprise. He has been the conference’s vice-president the last two years and was unopposed in the election.

Rally calls for end to taxpayer-funded abortions

October 26, 2011

TORONTO - Hundreds of people gathered at Queen’s Park Oct. 22 to send a message to the newly elected provincial government: stop using taxpayers’ dollars to fund abortions. “This is outrageous that we are forced to fund an elective, medically unnecessary procedure,” said Alissa Golob, the youth co-ordinator for Campaign Life Coalition and organizer of the Defund Abortion Rally. In Ontario, abortions are funded by taxpayer dollars. That’s about $30 million for at least 30,000 abortions a year, at a cost of $1,000 each, Golob said.

Halloween for Hunger aims higher

October 26, 2011

Instead of asking for candy on Halloween night, students at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton will be trick-or-treating for non-perishable food items. The school will be holding its 12th annual Halloween for Hunger campaign to raise money for the Neighbour to Neighbour Centre with a goal of collecting a record-breaking 70,000 pounds of food.

Funds almost in place for Good Shepherd Square

October 26, 2011

Hamilton’s Good Shepherd Refuge has passed the halfway mark of its $10-million fundraising goal to complete Good Shepherd Square, the city’s first complex of buildings that will house social services to combat poverty. Alan Whittle, Good Shepherd’s director of community relations and planning, says it’s an innovative approach in tackling poverty that includes access to affordable housing and social services within the same vicinity.

"Law & Order" Jesuit priest gets Loyola Medal

October 26, 2011

The Jesuit priest who helped bring us Law & Order — the TV show as opposed to the socio-political ideal — received a medal for his efforts. On Oct. 18, Fr. Jack O’Brien was awarded the Loyola Medal at Concordia University in Montreal.

Bishops express confidence in CCODP renewal

October 25, 2011

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops remain confident in the renewal of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), despite concerns about “hysteria” and “misinformation” on both sides. At the close of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) annual plenary Oct. 17-21 in Cornwall, Ont., the CCCB’s new president Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith said the bishops expressed a desire for CCODP to continue “as a vibrant institution that operates within our Catholic identity.”

Missal unveiling a highlight of bishops' plenary

October 25, 2011

OTTAWA - The new English translation of the Roman Missal was unveiled to Canada's Catholic bishops as they met for their annual plenary in Cornwall, Ont., Oct. 17-21. On Oct. 17, Bishop Pierre Morissette, outgoing president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), presented Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, apostolic nuncio to Canada, with the second copy of the new missal. The missal’s first copy will be delivered to the Holy Father when Archbishop Richard Smith, the CCCB's new president, and members of the executive visit Rome in November. Smith said the launch of the new missal provides a “great opportunity” for liturgical catechesis on the mystery of the Eucharist, the mystery of Real Presence that goes beyond the changes in the words and gestures that will begin on the first Sunday of Advent.

Holy Name's Brother André statue blessed

October 19, 2011

TORONTO - A year after Pope Benedict XVI recognized Br. André as a saint, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins blessed a new statue of the humble doorman from Montreal and spoke about martyrdom as the universal call of all Christians. The larger-than-life-size statue of the “Miracle Man of Montreal” is surrounded by panels showing the history of the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers in North America from 1837 on. St. Br. André is shown welcoming a stranger with the keys of his office on his belt.

Personal memories sought for Assumption’s heritage centre

October 19, 2011

WINDSOR, Ont. - People from across the country who may have had an association with Our Lady of Assumption Church in Windsor are being asked to contribute personal stories or artifacts about what is one of Canada’s oldest parishes. The memorabilia will be featured in a heritage centre that will be part of a major restoration of the church, which has now officially begun. Assumption is the oldest Catholic parish west of Montreal. It was established by the Jesuits in 1761. The current church dates from 1845 and was the major Catholic institution in its era in Upper Canada.