Convivium builds faith in our public conversation

New magazine hopes to engage Canadians by bringing back faith into our common lives

Convivium editor Father Raymond de Souza converses with former Conservative cabinet minister Stockwell Day at the Vancouver Club during the B.C. launch of the magazine.

Does religion have a place in the public square? Father Raymond de Souza thinks so, and so do millions of Canadians, but he said some feel they don't have an outlet.

That's why he is lending his name and journalistic talents to Convivium, a new intellectual magazine that he hopes will establish a community of faith in Canadian society.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Feast of Canada's patron saint

St. Joseph understated ways fit with Canadian society

Information:
Feast Day: March 19
Died: 1st century
Patron of: against doubt, against hesitation, Americas, bursars, cabinetmakers, Canada, carpenters, Catholic Church , confectioners, craftsmen, Croatian people , dying people, emigrants, engineers, expectant mothers, families, fathers, holy death, house hunters, immigrants, interior souls, laborers, married people, Oblates of Saint Joseph, people in doubt, people who fight Communism, pioneers, protection of the Church, social justice, travellers, unborn children, Universal Church , Vatican II, wheelwrights, workers, many more...
From EWTN

I think it's time for St. Joseph to pipe up a bit. He only raised our Lord and Saviour, yet he never gets any glory. Just about everybody lifted a pint of something to St. Patrick on Saturday, but once again St. Joseph flies under the radar two days later.

Although when you think about it, St. Joseph has no words attributed to him in the Bible. So maybe his understated feast day makes sense.

The following is an excerpt on St. Joseph by EWTN:

The glorious St. Joseph was lineally descended from the greatest kings of the tribe of Judah, and from the most illustrious of the ancient patriarchs; but his true glory consisted in his humility and virtue. The history of his life hath not been written by men; but his principal actions are recorded by the Holy Ghost himself God entrusted him with the education of his divine Son, manifested in the flesh. In this view he was espoused to the Virgin Mary.

Read the full biography here.  

Influential assassinated Pakistani leader wins human rights award

The late Pakistani minister Shahbaz Bhatti and anti-trafficking activist Susan Trimarco receive John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights Awards

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, award recipient Susana Trimarco,
and MP Joy Smith. Photo Deborah Gyapong/CCN

The B.C. Catholic has an article from Deborah Gyapong that covers the recent 2012 John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights Award ceremonies:

OTTAWA (CCN)—The Canadian government recognized two outstanding defenders of religious freedom and human rights, granting awards to the assassinated Pakistani Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Argentinian anti-trafficking activist Susana Trimarco.


Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird presented the awards at the 2012 John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights Award ceremony Mar. 14 at the former Ottawa City Hall which was named after Diefenbaker last year.


Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Government butts into religion in Ukraine

Ukrainian Catholic leader calls shrine legislation 'clear threat'

Ukrainian Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, the new head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
CNS photo/Paul Haring

Cardinal Timothy Dolan isn't the only Catholic leader dealing with a meddlesome government. Catholic News Service reports Ukraine's government is backing legislation to transfer control of Christian shrines to the Orthodox Church. Which could cause a whole host a problems according to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk: 

KIEV, Ukraine (CNS) -- The major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church said government-backed legislation to transfer control of key national Christian shrines to the Orthodox Church was "a clear threat to the interdenominational peace and agreement established in our state during recent years.

"Do the authors of this bill understand that, by their initiative, they are again pushing our motherland into a whirlpool of interdenominational -- and in this case interethnic -- confrontation with unpredictable consequences?" asked Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Don't forget to make a toast to St. Patrick today

Great saint embodied the good ol' Irishman

Feast Day: March 17
Born: between 387 and 390 at Scotland
Died: between 461 and 464 at Saul, County Down, Ireland
Patron of: Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, New York, Boston, Engineers, against snakes
From EWTN.com

Before heading out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, have a read of the saint's biography from EWTN:

The field of St. Patrick's labors was the most remote part of the then known world. The seed he planted in faraway Ireland, which before his time was largely pagan, bore a rich harvest: whole colonies of saints and missionaries were to rise up after him to serve the Irish Church and to carry Christianity to other lands. Whether his birthplace, a village called Bannavem Taberniae, was near Dunbarton-on-the-Clyde, or in Cumberland, or at the mouth of the Severn, or even in Gaul near Boulogne, has never been determined, and indeed the matter is of no great moment. We know of a certainty that Patrick was of Romano-British origin, and born about the year 389. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon, his grandfather a priest, for at this time no strict law of celibacy had been imposed on the Christian clergy. Patrick's own full name was probably Patricius Magonus Sucatus.


Read the full biography here.

Fundraiser helps unique organization

L'Arche's mission of compassion inspires an above and beyond attitude, says volunteer

Philip Beeby is proud of his collaborative work, Culture. The paintings were showcased as part of L'Arche's annual fundraising event. Nathan Rumohr / The B.C. Catholic 

Recently I had the opportunity to attend L'Arche's The Art of Being Together fundraiser. The event showcased art from local artists and collaborative pieces from artists and L'Arche residents:

Deborah Der calls L'Arche a "life saver" for stepping up and helping her son Conrad when the provincial government failed him.

"Conrad has been with L'Arche for approximately 20 years. He started out in their woodworking shop, which the government cut all funding to four years ago," Der said while volunteering at L'Arche's third annual Art of Being Together fundraiser March 10 at the National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre in Burnaby. "He was basically thrown out on the street."

Conrad suffered brain damage as a toddler and it left him developmentally disabled. However, this doesn't hold Conrad back from doing activities.

"If it wasn't for L'Arche, I do not know what we could have done nor what would have happened to Conrad's emotional life."

Read the full article at The B.C. Catholic website.

Provincial governments are addicted to gambling revenue, says study

IMFC decries gambling addiction of governments

Photo Darren Hester/www.morguefile.com

The B.C. Catholic has a Deborah Gyapong article that might advocate gambling addiction intervention for provincial leaders:

As Ontario explores setting up casinos in Ottawa and the Greater Toronto Area, an Ottawa-based think tank has decried the addiction to gambling revenues of provincial governments.

The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) study released Mar. 15 said provincial governments are “mired in debt” and looking for ways to increase the $13 billion a year that gambling already rakes in.
“Provincial governments in Canada are addicted to gambling revenue in the same way that they are addicted to tax revenue,” says the study. In tough economic times, the federal government is paying 13 per cent of its revenues to service its debt and provinces are also “mired in debt.”
Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Vatican II still a compass for the Church

Scholar urges Catholics take time to revisit  documents

The presidents of the Second Vatican Council are pictured during a council meeting inside St. Peter's Basilica in this undated file photo. CNS file photo.

The B.C. Catholic has an article that reminds Catholic's not ignore the 50 year old Vatican II teaching:

The 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council is an opportunity to revisit the clear teaching of its documents and reject distortions and false interpretations that have gained traction in the Catholic Church, according to a council scholar.
Alan Schreck, professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, spoke at the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center in Garrison March 13 on "Vatican II: World Church or Church of the Little Flock?"
Vatican II is still a sure compass for the Church today, Schreck said, and each Pope since the council reaffirmed its teachings as "God's teachings in our time." Nonetheless, he said, there has been tumult as the postconciliar Church sought to understand what the council meant and how to implement it.
Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Documents from Vatican II can be found here.

B.C. Lions take on school basketball team for good cause

Fundraiser to help grade 8 boy fighting cancer

Tonight members of the Grey Cup Champions B.C. Lions will trade in the pigskin for a basketball. The CFL's top team takes on the St. John Brebeuf Bears at 7 p.m. at St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary in Abbotsford. Proceeds from the event will benefit grade 8 student Josh and his fight against cancer.

Regular B.C. Catholic contributor Karen Murphy Corr detail's Josh's story in this Abbotsford News article:

It’s Josh’s second fight with the disease. He has rhabdomyosarcoma, which was first diagnosed just days after his birthday in December of 2009.

(The family has requested that their last name not be published.)

The soft-tissue cancer tumour was in remission after treatment until it was diagnosed again in January.

When a former employee of Josh’s father heard the news, she turned to her current employer Kim Chapdelaine, the wife of BC Lions offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jacques Chapdelaine. 

Read the full story here.

University students argue contraception vs. natural family planning

Saint Paul University students differ on how to prevent unwanted pregnancy

Father Terrence Donahue, Dr. Rene Leiva, and Fertility Care counsellor Linda Smith at a panel hosted by Saint Paul University Students for Life. Photo Deborah Gyapong/CCN

The B.C. Catholic has a story from Deborah Gyapong detailing the arguments of contraception against natural family planning at St. Paul's University in Ottawa:

The same week a student group came under fire for distributing condoms on the Saint Paul University (SPU) campus, a pro-life group hosted a panel touting the benefits of natural family planning (NFP), revealing the contrasts between artificial and natural means of preventing pregnancy.

SPU ordered the student group to stop its practice of leaving a bowl of condoms for free use, prompting a student to write an open letter, backed by 100 others that has been picked up by the news media. “I was shocked that it's 2012 and we're still having this conversation of science versus ideology," said Zach Zimmel, the author of an open letter to the university administration, according to the CBC.

But University of Ottawa assistant professor of family medicine Dr. Rene Leiva, who practices NaProTechnology, a form of fertility care that maximizes gynecological health, would beg to differ that a Catholic approach to family planning lacks a scientific basis.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Clothing carries 'saintly' message

Christian clothing line designs inspired by St. Therese of Lisieux

Amy Leung holds up her oldest daughter Alison, while her husband Albert Chung holds up their newest child Ashley. Photo Special to The B.C. Catholic

Recently I had the opportunity to talk to clothing designer Amy Leung. Her line of baby clothes are called Saintly Tees:

Normally a vocations retreat is a gateway to religious life. But for St. Francis Xavier youth minister Amy Leung, who is already married, it was a gateway to her "saintly" business.

"How can I design for God?" she asked in 2007 in front of the Blessed Sacrament at the Westminster Abbey youth getaway.

Leung used her skills as a graphic/web designer to design stylish clothing for teen girls with a good "saintly" message.

"I felt the need to design for girls, because they are pressured to dress a certain way."

However, things changed for Leung with the birth of her first child. This took time away from developing her business but refocused it quite successfully. Leung designed baby clothes instead. She named her company Saintly Tees.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Conscience fight

Former government officials take side of religious leaders in dispute

Former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican Jim Nicholson, who represented President George W. Bush at the Vatican from 2001 to 2005, and Raymond Flynn, who served under President Bill Clinton 1993-97.

As this story makes clear, it's not just religious people who see the injustice in what the U.S. government is trying to achieve.

Former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican who represented both Democratic and Republican presidents have joined in a new effort to support federal legislation reaffirming constitutional rights to religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

Ambassadors Raymond Flynn, who served under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, and Jim Nicholson, who represented President George W. Bush at the Vatican 2001-05, are among the religious leaders and former government officials involved in Conscience Cause, an organization committed to overturning the Department of Health and Human Services' inclusion of contraceptives and sterilization among mandated services for women under the new health reform law.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Must see CPAC TV: Personhood debate April 26

Unabashed pro-life parliamentarian reveals thoughts on motion and abortion to Life Site News

MP Stephen Woodworth

Commenting on motion M-312 to Life Site News, Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth also spoke about a recent medical paper that tossed around the idea of "after-birth abortion:"

In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Mr. Woodworth said his motion goes beyond the abortion debate, saying the evidence and principles that inform a Canadian law determining who is a human being, and who is not, have wider implications. “This initiative won’t end the abortion debate,” Mr. Woodworth said, “but may make evident that a law which denies that someone is a human being, without any relevant or scientific evidence, is not a just law.”

Mr. Woodworth made reference to a recent article titled, “After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?” that was published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, where two ethicists argue that even a new-born child may be denied the moral status of actual person hood and killed by “after-birth abortion” if the child might have been killed by abortion before she was born.

“We claim that killing a newborn could be ethically permissible in all the circumstances where abortion would be. Such circumstances include cases where the newborn has the potential to have an (at least) acceptable life, but the well-being of the family is at risk,” the ethicists stated.

Read the full story here.

Great coach, dedicated Catholic

Cal Murphy leaves Winnipeg a football legacy after building a strong foundation in Vancouver

Cal Murphy was better known for his coaching abilities, but he was a dominant player in Vancouver. He is seen here in a 1952 B.C. Catholic photo. BCC file photo

The B.C. Catholic relives the legacy of the late Cal Murphy:

Canada knew him as a great football coach, but the Archdiocese of Vancouver knew him as a dedicated Catholic role model. Cal Murphy, a CFL coaching legend from Winnipeg, died Feb. 18 at the age of 78.

"You won't find a better Catholic," said Bob DeJulius, former principal of Holy Cross High School in Vancouver. He played under Murphy at Notre Dame High School in Vancouver, and later worked with him as a coach and colleague. "I once told him that he might be too conservative."

He said Murphy was tough but fair as a coach and as a man.

"We were scared to death of him at Notre Dame."

However, once his players and students realized the breadth of "Murphy's Law," they played hard for him on the field.

"Once they got to know him they loved to play for him."

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Alberta priests win Friars' Briar curling championship

Fathers make province proud with come from behind win over Ontario

Fathers Paul Moret, Patrick Baska, Jim Corrigan and Martin Carroll won the Canada-wide clergy bonspiel, the Friars’ Briar, in Saskatoon March 9.

The B.C. Catholic goes curling with an article from Chris Miller of the Western Catholic Reporter:

While Alberta may have come up short in the final of this year’s Tim Hortons Brier, a foursome of Alberta priests captured the top prize at the distinguished Friars’ Briar.

Fathers Patrick Baska, Paul Moret, Jim Corrigan and Martin Carroll, all priests of the Edmonton Archdiocese, won the gold medal game 9-8 in a stirring come-from-behind victory over an Ontario team that had been unbeaten.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Soccer still supported by Vatican despite contrary reports

Pontifical offices switch sponsorship of seminarian soccer series

Seminarians from the Pontifical North American College cheer as their soccer team plays Redemptoris Mater during the Clericus Cup in Rome March 3. Rowdy fans were not to blame for a switch in tournament funding from the Pontifical Council for the Laity to the Pontifical Council for Culture. CNS photo/Paul Haring

The popular Clericus Cup soccer series involving seminarians worldwide will continue to receive financial support from the Vatican. Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service cleans up some confusion made by Italian newspapers:

The Pontifical Council for the Laity withdrew its support for a Rome-based seminarian soccer series, not because players and fans were having too much fun, but because organizers weakened their focus on the importance of human formation, said a Vatican official.

Contrary to Italian news reports, the Clericus Cup soccer series "is something we've supported from the beginning and we're happy and pleased seminarians are playing. It has nothing to do with (players or fans) fighting or being too rowdy on the field," said Legionary of Christ Father Kevin Lixey, head of the laity council's church and sport desk.

The council withdrew because the organizers neglected to offer, as they had other years, a seminar aimed at helping the future priests develop values-based sports initiatives and pastoral programs in their parishes, he told Catholic News Service March 15.

However, the Pontifical Council for Culture, which has just opened its own sports desk, has decided to sponsor the Clericus Cup tournament.


Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Parliament debates definition of human being

MP's to revisit 400 year old definition of life

Tory MP Stephen Woodworth

When is a life considered to be a human being? According to Canadian law it's not until a human has "completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother." However, that definition is 400 years old.

Conservative MP StephenWoodworth has lobbied to debate this question federally and hopes it will lead to a special committee that would review Section 223 of the Criminal Code.

"If a child five minutes before birth can be defined as not a human being, then the question is who's next?" argued Woodworth reported by The Ottawa Citizen.

The Tory backbencher had to work against his own party to get the debate on parliament's agenda. Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised he wouldn't open up any discussion about abortion as long as he was prime minister.

"The prime minister and justice minister have to speak for themselves. I don't take any issue with any statement that the government won't reopen this debate," Woodworth commented. "I'm acting as a private member."

It should be interesting to hear what kind of reactions MP's have on this issue. 

Science kids win gold

Competition involved more than beakers and buntzen burners

St. John Brebeuf students construct a complicated marble maze using an assortment of items during the Science Olympics Feb. 13. The school placed first in the competition. Photo Nathan Rumohr / The B.C. Catholi

Last month I attended the second annual Science Olympics of the Lower Mainland's Catholic schools:

After a successful comeback at St. Patrick's High School last year, Science Olympics Organizer Alan Ferguson hopes the games held Feb. 15 at St. John Brebeuf High School will continue as an annual event.
"The jocks have events like the B.C. Catholic basketball tournament," said Ferguson. "This is another avenue for students to gather in a special way."

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Prayer saves, literally says one woman

Power of prayer turns nightmares into blessings

Marg Kenny WCR photo/Ramon Gonzalez

The B.C. Catholic has a story by Ramon Gonzalez that shows the mighty power of prayer:

Marg Kenny believes in the power of prayer. And she should. So many times in her life prayer played such an important role, such as when her daughter and then herself were saved by the power of prayer.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.

Ding dong, the Pope makes the eucharistic congress official

Holy Father rings bell symbolizing call to turn out for June congress in Ireland

Pope Benedict XVI rings the International Eucharistic Congress Bell before his general audience at the Vatican March 14.
CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano

Pope Benedict XVI was the last to ring the International Eucharistic Congress Bell to symbolize the opening of the International Eucharistic Congress to be held this June in Ireland. The bell traveled around Ireland for year which drew several Irish Catholics. Carol Glatz of Catholic News Network has the story:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI blessed and rang the official International Eucharistic Congress bell, which has been on tour across Ireland for nearly a year, in preparation for the world meeting in June.

An Irish delegation, led by the 2012 congress president Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, presented the pope with the small brass bell before the start of his weekly general audience March 14. Before the pope was driven into St. Peter's Square, he met with the delegation and rang the bell.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.