Youth Speak News

As the university “summer” session began, there were a few things I had come to dread: the sweltering heat, brussel sprouts and the accounting course I am taking this summer.

I dreaded this course because one small miscalculation could completely render the following equations inaccurate, and the thought of failure due to one simple mistake seemed a daunting prospect. You might say the same can be said of mathematics of any kind. True — to some extent. But, unlike most other “mathematical sciences,” basic accounting focuses on a notion of balances: assets = liabilities + investments. 

TORONTO - As part of the new direction of the archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth, the office won’t be organizing a trip to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day 2013, said director Fr. Frank Portelli.

“It was discussed at the Council of Priests and it was decided that it would be better if the parishes work on their own groups to go down so it would be more parish-based initiatives,” Portelli told The Catholic Register.

Kaitlyn Duthie-Kannikkatt’s understanding of the Holy Spirit is a huge motivating factor in her going to the People’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 15-23.

Organized parallel to Rio+20, the June 20-22 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Duthie-Kannikkatt is one of nine young women under 30 years of age travelling with the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace on a Solidarity Tour. 

Organ donation is a generous gesture that celebrates life and says to the recipient: “I’m glad you are alive,” said Christa Morse.

Facebook users in the U.S. and U.K. are now able to put their organ donor status on their Facebook wall, alongside their religious and political views. Soon that option will be coming to Canada and other countries. When that happens, Morse will gladly sign up.

Andrew Baumgartner left his job as in-house counsel at a life insurance company because he felt a greater pull to teaching.

“I just realized teaching was a better fit for me,” Baumgartner said. “Being a lawyer was a good fit, but teaching was … the perfect fit.” 

Now, nearly 10 years later, four of his students from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Kitchener, Ont., have had their day in court.

TORONTO - Discernment is more than just making the big vocational decisions about marriage or religious life; it is an ongoing spiritual art or attitude, said Sr. Marie-Paul Curley.

“It’s a way of life in which a person who really seeks to do God’s will in their life in everything, not just in the big things but in the little things too,” Curley, vocations director for the Daughters of St. Paul in Canada, told a group of 13 young women on June 2 at the Pauline Sisters’ seventh session of an annual mini-course on discernment. Taking place at Pauline Books and Media, the bookstore run by the Daughters of St. Paul, this month’s theme was “Discernment in Everyday Life.”

There’s plenty of well-reasoned discourse on all sides of the current debate around Ontario’s new anti-bullying legislation — but something’s missing. The voices that I have not heard in the debate are those of teens and youths dealing with same-sex attraction who want to live in conformity with God and His Church.

I can’t speak for anyone except myself — but as a person who was bullied, and a person who has dealt with same-sex attraction, I think I can offer a few thoughts. I returned to the Church last fall, after 13 years away. In addition to excellent pastoral support, a welcoming parish community and, of course, God’s grace, one of the biggest reasons I stayed in the Church after my return was the Church’s teaching on sexuality.

TORONTO - When Diane Vautour developed a yearbook course that incorporated photography at Loretto College two years ago she immediately saw the potential benefits that photography could bring to her students.

So she applied for a SpeakUp grant from the provincial government to start a photography club at the all-girls Catholic school in Toronto. The SpeakUp grants are given to students and teachers in support of programs intended to engage students within the school and wider community.

And the photography club, which is preparing for its first public exhibition, has certainly exceeded these expectations.

A year ago, Archbishop Anthony Mancini of Halifax wrote a letter to the people of his diocese about the New Evangelization. He challenged Catholics, saying, “Become true and active disciples of Christ, committed to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel, again, as if for the first time.”

The “New Evangelization” is a call from Blessed John Paul II for every believer to come to a deeper understanding of their personal faith. This summer, I’m doing this as part of Catholic Christian Outreach’s (CCO) summer mission, Impact, in Halifax. Impact is a 15-week mission trip for university students. We are working in 11 parishes across the archdiocese of Halifax. And it is no coincidence that the theme of Impact 2012, “Behold, I make all things new” from Revelations 21:5, can be found directly in Mancini’s letter.

The Youth Speak News team of writers gathered at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto May 18-20 for the annual Youth Speak News retreat. The weekend combined faith, journalism workshops and fun. As well as the activities showcased below, the weekend also included a talk by Office of Catholic Youth director Fr. Frank Portelli and a layout workshop.

To view a full gallery of images from the weekend click here, and to read YSN writer Kevin Hurren's reflection on the weekend click here.