Feature

EU euthanasia report flawed

July 9, 2007

TORONTO - All the favourite arguments for euthanasia are on display in the latest attempt in Europe to jettison bans on allowing doctors to legally put someone to death, says one of North America's top bioethicists. And they can all be countered by solid reasoning.

Church's duty is to respect life, Fabbro says

July 9, 2007

TORONTO - The battle over using human embryos in stem-cell research is not just about creating cures for dreaded diseases. It is more importantly about treating human life as raw material that is expendable in the pursuit of scientific research, says Bishop Ron Fabbro of London, Ont.

COLF raises concerns about morning-after pill's abortive potential

July 9, 2007

OTTAWA - The Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) says the media and the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPA) have 'glossed over' the abortive potential of the so-called morning-after pill. The federal government announced in May that it plans to make the morning-after pill available without a prescription across Canada. Currently, the pill is only available without prescription in British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Three faiths face death with meaning

July 9, 2007

TORONTO - Friendly volunteers checked bags. Police hovered discreetly at the back of the room. After weeks of spray-painted swastikas and arson, everybody expected the security and nobody talked about it. Recent hate crimes wouldn't stop about 300 Muslims, Jews and Catholics from gathering at Beth Tikvah Synagogue to listen to ethicists and doctors speak about how to care for their dying parents.

Churches examine a greener way

July 9, 2007

TORONTO - How many Christians does it take to change a standard incandescent light bulb to an environmentally friendly one? Though this sounds like a comic riddle, for Christian faith communities who came to Toronto from across Canada for the National Consultation on Energy Efficiency for Religious Buildings Nov. 17-18, the issue of energy consumption was a deeply spiritual matter.

Courts, 'pro-death' lobby thwarted care for Terry Schiavo

July 9, 2007

HAMILTON, Ont. - Bobby Schindler, brother to Terri Schiavo, said his family had no idea how powerful and aggressive the pro-euthanasia movement is in the United States until they were faced with its full force in the legal battle over his sister's life. "The underlying issue is money," the 41-year-old Schindler told The Catholic Register April 21 at the annual conference of Ontario Alliance for Life.

No charges laid in Nova Scotia assisted suicide

July 4, 2007

euthanasia.jpg [images/stories/misc/euthanasia.jpg]OTTAWA - The RCMP investigation into a complaint laid by the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition concerning the death of a Nova Scotia woman who sought assisted suicide in Switzerland will not lead to any charges being laid.

Social enterprise reinvented for 21st century

June 21, 2007

When Fr. Eugene Funken was faced with 10 orphans whose homes had burned down in St. Agatha, Ont., in 1858, he started a charity. When Sonya Pouyat took over leadership of Funken’s charity in the midst of “slash and burn” Ontario government policies in the 1990s, she started a business.

Bush vetoes embryonic stem-cell bill

June 21, 2007

DNA.jpg [images/stories/misc/DNA.jpg]WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush June 20 vetoed a bill to expand federal funding for medical research on human embryonic stem cells, saying it “would compel American taxpayers, for the first time in our history, to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.”

One youth the story behind OneChild

June 8, 2007

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. - When I arrived at a Richmond Hill house where a cash donation was being made to a Catholic organization for abused children in the Philippines, I was met by young lady in red skirt and black top. I noticed she was petite and beautiful but as soon as she handed me a name tag, I forgot about her.