Feature

Following the law of conscience

June 4, 2010

Errol Mendes [images/stories/features/feature10/mendes.jpg]University of Ottawa law professor Errol Mendes has been accused of playing partisan politics, siding with the Taliban against Canadian soldiers and aiding terrorists. He gets vicious hate mail, and at first thought it might not be a good idea to have his picture taken. The reason? A constitutional law expert, Mendes has argued that Parliament has a right and a duty to examine uncensored documents that might reveal whether Afghans captured by Canadian troops were later tortured in Afghan prisons. On the technical side of the law, he is arguing for the supremacy of Parliament. In his conscience, he’s arguing for Christ.

Christian media face challenging times

May 21, 2010

Christian publications [images/stories/features/feature10/christianpublications.jpg]TORONTO - Christian media in Canada are feeling the heat to modernize their news delivery and increase subscriptions if they want to keep their publications alive. The Canadian Church Press (CCP), which in conjunction with the Association of Roman Catholic Communicators of Canada (ARCCC) held its annual conference here May 13-15, has seen its members suffer a two-per-cent decrease in subscriptions across the board in the past year. The theme of the conference? “We’re all in the same boat.”

Fatima exhibit commemorates papal visits

May 7, 2010

Fatima [images/stories/historical/threeseersoffatima.jpg]It’s 93 years since the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to three peasant children, Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco, at Fatima, Portugal. Mary appeared six times entrusting to the youngsters three “secrets.” The first two, when revealed, urged the necessity of prayer and sacrifice so that Russia and the forces of atheism could be converted. At the last apparition, thousands witnessed the miracle promised to the three children: the sun, resembling a silver disc, could be gazed at without difficulty and, whirling on itself like a wheel of fire, seemed about to fall upon the Earth. Since that time pilgrims, now up to seven million per year, have thronged to Fatima for prayers of petition and seeking miracles. Pope Benedict XVI will be one of them, making his first visit to Fatima May 13.

Rose of Sharon has helped teen mothers for 25 years

April 29, 2010

Rose of Sharon [images/stories/features/feature10/rosseOfSharon.jpg]NEWMARKET, Ont. - When Tabatha Spooner was 16 years old she imagined herself becoming a dance instructor. That was when she was just a kid. Now, she has a kid. His name is Joshua Crilly and he’s 14 months old. Having a child has changed a lot of things in 19-year-old Spooner’s life. The biggest change is her mind.

Malta became Catholic by chance

April 8, 2010

RABAT, Malta - There have been many famous shipwrecks throughout history, but few can be credited with starting a nation on the path to Christianity. That’s exactly what happened in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, however, an event the Maltese celebrate each Feb. 10. Today, Malta is one of the world’s most thoroughly Roman Catholic nations, with 98 per cent of the population counted as adherents. Of those, 53 per cent say they regularly attend Mass.

Pope John Paul II: A truly Holy Father

March 25, 2010

April 2, 2005. They were incredible scenes that I shall never forget. Hundreds of thousands of young people streamed into St. Peter’s Square . . . and wept openly before the body of an old man who was not a rock star, Olympic medalist or Hollywood icon. He was an elderly Pope who had just endured a public death before the eyes of the world. On April 8, millions of people gathered in churches, halls, fields, public venues and schools across the Earth — many well before the crack of dawn — to watch the funeral of someone who told them to serve others before satisfying themselves.

Pius XII canonization painted in shades of grey

March 25, 2010

TORONTO - Politics is at play in the so-called “Pius wars,” the debate surrounding Pope Pius XII’s likely canonization, says renowned Jewish studies scholar Michael Marrus. Although the controversy has been framed as a struggle between Christians and Jews, Marrus said he also sees the issue as “an internal debate in the Catholic Church.”

Rich, educated not necessarily less active in religion

March 19, 2010

TORONTO - A good education and a good job are no barrier to believing in a personal God, according to a University of Toronto sociologist. But the American-born professor also warns that a close association between conservative, reactionary politics and religion is driving better educated Americans away from church, what Scott Schieman calls “the Sarah Palin effect.”

The challenge of parenting in a consumer culture

March 5, 2010

TORONTO - When Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 entered her teenage son’s vocabulary this year, Mary hit the panic button. First, she didn’t like that “all his friends” were playing this game with a mature rating, and second, she worried about the impact a controversial terrorist mission within the game might have on his developing mind. The arguments began. “I didn’t know what to do,” said Mary, who’s name has been changed for this story. “My son is a great kid, he does really well in school and he just wants to play the game to unwind.”

Busy mothers facing spiritual exhaustion

March 5, 2010

TORONTO - To Dorothy Pilarski, helping catechize mothers is almost an emergency today. This is one reason why the Toronto-based mother and pioneer of a mothers’ group organized a conference titled “Dynamic Women of Faith” this month. “Mothers are getting busier and busier, more spiritually exhausted and spiritually depleted,” Pilarski said. The March 6 event took aim at topics Pilarski said Catholic mothers need to give peace and meaning to their lives.