Canadian News

News and events from across the country.

Tears flow as native people relive years of abuse

June 29, 2011

INUVIK, N.W.T - It was a day of tears in Inuvik as Inuit, Dene and Metis gathered to remember and count their losses from years spent in residential schools. "For the life of me, I can't remember the years from five years old to ten years old," said John Banksland, a representative of the northern survivors committee. The second major hearing in the Truth and Reconciliation process opened on June 21 with approximately 1,000 survivors of residential schools turning out to tell their stories or listen to others tell theirs. The federally funded commission is crossing the country to document the abuse that was rampant in the Indian residential school system that ran in Canada for more than a century. Banksland's hope for the four-day meeting of residential school survivors, church representatives and government officials was for a better future. "We've had 130 years of this stuff," he said. "It's time to let it go."

D&P's union chafes under tighter rules

June 29, 2011

OTTAWA — The union representing Development and Peace employees says tighter supervision by the Canadian bishops threatens the democratic nature of the lay-run organization and undermines the prophetic vision that motivates their work. The union report, prepared for a recent meeting of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace’s (D&P) National Council in June, said the world “ is increasingly turning towards a conservative ideology.” “There is clearly a turn to the right in several societies, as well as in the Universal Church,” it said. The 7-page document, published June 25 on the blog Soutenons Developpement et paix (soutenondetp.wordpress.com), claims the shift “runs counter to the prophetic vision that gave rise” to D&P’s creation 45 years ago.

Vigil rallies support for torture victims worldwide

June 29, 2011

TORONTO - Christians should be lobbying their Members of Parliament to put pressure on countries that exercise torture, Jesuit Father Valerian Shirima told a small group gathered at a 12-hour prayer vigil held by the Toronto chapter of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT). Commemorating the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, about 15 people attended the vigil at the University of St. Michael’s College, which ran from 7 p.m. June 25 to 7 a.m. the following morning, for various lengths of time. “We are collectively praying together, meditating and thinking of victims of torture,” Stephen Scharper, director of ACAT-Toronto, told The Catholic Register. ACAT is an ecumenical organization that campaigns for the abolition of torture throughout the world and lends support to victims. First established in Paris in 1974, the organization is now active in 30 countries. The Toronto chapter was founded in October 2010 by Scharper with help from his PhD student, Simon Appolloni.

Teopoli students will experience Sr. Carmelina

June 29, 2011

TORONTO - About 80 young Catholics attending this year’s Teopoli Summer Experience will be doing more than outdoor sports, making new friends and the usual summer camp fare. They’ll also be introduced to Sr. Carmelina Tarantino of the Cross, the late Passionist Sister of St. Paul whose cause for sainthood is underway. At the Teopoli camp in Gravenhurst, Ont., students will learn about Sr. Tarantino’s story “in a gentle way” and how she was able to endure her trials through her faith in God, says Luca Mirenzi, a Teopoli youth minister. Sr. Tarantino suffered unexplained illness but maintained a devout life of prayer through it all. For 24 years, she was bed-ridden at Toronto’s Riverdale Hospital (now known as Bridgepoint Health) and was visited by thousands of people seeking spiritual direction. She died in 1992 at the age of 55. The official inquiry into her cause for sainthood began two years ago. Youth will also visit the memorial at the camp built in Sr. Tarantino’s honour, said Mirenzi.

Lahey’s sentencing postponed to August

June 29, 2011

OTTAWA - Bishop Raymond Lahey’s sentencing hearing for importing child porn has been postponed to Aug. 4 and 5. The sentencing hearing had been scheduled for June 24, but the Crown had not received the report from forensic psychiatrist Dr. John Bradford, who assessed the former Antigonish bishop. Lahey, 71, the former bishop of Antigonish, N.S., faces a minimum of one year in prison and could receive up to 10 years. In August, Bradford will be cross-examined concerning the bishop’s mental state and likelihood of reoffending. Lahey pleaded guilty to importing child porn May 4, 18 months after a Canadian Border Services agent stopped the bishop at Ottawa airport and pulled him aside for a secondary search of his laptop. A more serious charge of possession for the purpose of distribution was dropped by the Crown. The bishop opted to go to jail immediately, pending his sentencing hearing.

Spiritual conversion leads away from gay lifestyle

June 29, 2011

TORONTO - Alan Yoshioka chose God over his homosexual inclinations. Before his conversion to the Catholic Church, Yoshioka says he lived an “out and proud gay lifestyle.” The 48-year-old Toronto-based freelance editor says after many years of rejecting the Church’s views on homosexuality, he experienced a spiritual conversion leading him to “interior freedom” when he embraced a life of chastity. “(I am) so grateful for having discovered what it is like to live a life of chastity because there is an interior freedom that I never knew during all my years seeking liberation, seeking freedom in a worldly sense,” he told The Catholic Register. His blog, “The Sheepcat,” is “a Catholic commentary by a former gay activist and his wife” where Yoshioka writes of his spiritual and personal conversion.

CCCB pastoral letter sensitive to youth struggling with same-sex attraction

June 28, 2011

Click on the image to download the full 8-page booklet prepared by the CCCB [images/stories/canada/canada11/cccb_letter_pdf_3.jpg]OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops have published an uncompromising pastoral letter on ministry to young people with same-sex attraction that upholds Church teaching on sexuality yet shows sensitivity to their challenges. The eight-page booklet prepared by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (CCCB) doctrinal commission and released June 27 comes at a time when publicly funded Catholic schools in Ontario are under pressure from the provincial government’s equity policy. You can download the document by clicking on the image on the right. Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., a commission member, said he hopes the document will clarify for school boards, teachers, parents and students where the Church stands. “If we are going to be Catholic school boards and we are going to try to have equality and equity in our outreach to young people then we need to be clear about what the Church’s teaching is,” he said. The document frames the debate in Catholic terms and avoids reducing people to an identity based on sexual orientation. The Church does not use the terms “gay” or “lesbian” in its official teachings.

Rights league stands behind fired sports anchor

June 27, 2011

TORONTO - The Catholic Civil Rights League is standing by the human rights appeal of Damian Goddard, a sports anchor fired for his Catholic views on traditional marriage. Goddard, a former host of Connected on Rogers Sportsnet, plans to file a human rights complaint against his former employer, Rogers Communication Inc. “Mr. Goddard’s case typifies a theme we hear all too often in other, lower-profile cases of workplace discrimination against people who do not support same-sex marriage on religious grounds,” said Joanne McGarry, league executive director. “We hope Damian’s case will establish that freedom of religion and conscience, protected by the Civil Marriage Act of 2005, were meant to be given a robust interpretation.” Goddard posted comments in early May on his Twitter account supporting Burlington, Ont., hockey agent Todd Reynolds for criticizing the New York Rangers' Sean Avery who appeared in a TV ad for Human Right's Campaign's "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign" in support of same-sex marriage. (New York legalized same-sex marriage on June 24.)

KAIROS calls on government to implement UN declaration

June 22, 2011

OTTAWA - Hundreds of people from across Canada joined indigenous and church leaders June 20 in a colorful march through downtown Ottawa, displaying hand-painted banners urging Ottawa to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Organized by KAIROS, an ecumenical, church-based social justice organization, the marchers called for concrete action to address the poverty and inequality faced by indigenous peoples. “It’s clear that Canadians want action on indigenous rights and on the Declaration,” said KAIROS executive director Mary Corkery. Anglican National Indigenous Bishop Mark MacDonald said the UNDRIP provided an “urgent challenge and opportunity” to Canada in how it “applies basic human rights to the unique situation of indigenous peoples.”The document provides the “tools” to address some of the misery caused by Canada’s past relations with them, he said.

Family justice centre set to open this fall

June 22, 2011

When a family member faces a crisis, the last thing they want is to be denied service because no one speaks their language, no one can care for their child, or the help they need is on the other side of the city. When the Family Justice and Child Advocacy (FJCA) Centre opens in Brampton, Ont., later this summer, families in distress will no longer face these obstacles. The centre, run by Catholic Family Services Peel-Dufferin (CFSPD), will house more than a dozen different services — from youth and women’s counselling to legal aid and law enforcement — in a variety of languages. “We’re not going to just be working together under one roof, our services are going to be coordinated together,” said Shelina Jeshani, coordinator of the FJCA planning committee. The goal of the centre, which opens Sept. 1, is to provide seamless, hassle-free service for abuse victims, families, couples and others in need.