Youth Speak News

TORONTO - It is halfway through second period and I’m lying on my classroom floor, away from all of the windows and doors, alongside other classmates. The room is silent. Luckily, this is just a practice lockdown drill that schools must go through in case of an emergency.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Thirty-three candles with iconic images of Christ wrapped around them were spread throughout the University of Toronto’s Newman Centre chapel, commemorating the 33 students and professors who died April 16 at Virginia Tech.

{mosimage}TORONTO - What is the role of faith in the media? Do media sustain or stunt faith? Where is faith-related material located online? These are a few of the questions Vanessa Nicholas and Sr. Therese Meunier, CSJ, have fielded over the past year.

Editor’s Note: Our student interns asked employees of the archdiocese of Toronto’s Catholic Pastoral Centre how they define chastity and how  they teach it to their children. 

TORONTO - Jacek Kowal slides Christopher West’s Theology of the Body into his CD player when he drives from Ottawa to visit his girlfriend Marlena Hardy in Toronto.

Spring fever always seems to hit me really hard. When the sun starts to shine a little brighter and the snow starts to melt, I can’t help but get excited. Actually seeing my deck again and not a blanket of white is encouraging each time I look out the window. I love it when I can walk outside without gigantic boots and wear just a light jacket instead of a huge parka. It always makes me smile to feel the sun’s warmth on my face and not have to cover it up with a scarf. I just love spring!

TORONTO - The organizers for World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, have discovered that the Toronto experience holds some valuable lessons. As the officials from Down Under who were in town just before Easter learned, the two cities have a lot in common.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Nishaat Hussainbhoy understands the value of a good Catholic education after having grown up in the United Arab Emirates, a predominately Muslim country with limited freedom of expression.  

AJAX, Ont. - Broken doors and smashed windows, rusted paint and water-stained walls are just a few of the images etched into 15-year-old Matthew Provenzano’s memory of what Hurricane Katrina left in her wake.

Imagine getting the chance to study astronomy at the Vatican Observatory. It may seem hard to do, but it isn’t so hard for Nathan Deg, whose dreams have recently become a reality.