Lions battle Bears in charity fundraiser in Abbotsford

Grey Cup Champions play St. John Brebeuf boys basketball team in an effort to help a local family

Josh Ismirnioglou (right) sits with two friends holding the Grey Cup and B.C. Lions Joash Gesse (left), Akeem Foster (back), and Marco Iannuzzi (right), during a charity basketball game to raise money for Ismirnioglou's battle with cancer. Nathan Rumohr / The B.C. Catholic

Recently I witnessed a charity fundraiser that brought the B.C. Lions to St. John Brebeuf high school in Abbotsford. The Lions played the Brebeuf Bears in a basketball game to raise money for one of the school's students who is battling cancer:

An Abbotsford boy received a big boost in his fight against cancer from the Grey Cup Champion B.C. Lions March 16.

St. John Brebeuf (SJB) hosted a basketball fundraiser called Hoops for Hope for student Josh Ismirnioglou: the B.C. Lions battled the SJB Bears. There was also a silent art auction.

"We are overwhelmed," said Cheryle Ismirnioglou, his mother. "I can't believe the Grey Cup champions are here for Josh."

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

Dating can be "heavenly" for Catholics

Young Franciscan author says getting to know God is like dating

Here is a story explaining getting to know God in down-to-earth, even earthy, terms. Any link between this approach and Theology of the Body?

Getting to know God is akin to entering a dating relationship, according to Franciscan Brother Daniel P. Horan. When two people already like one another, they devote copious amounts of time and energy to learning everything they can about each other and joyfully anticipate spending time together, he explained.

Brother Horan, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, is the author of "Dating God: Live and Love in the Way of St. Francis," published by St. Anthony Messenger Press. At 28, he is not very far removed from the more traditional understanding of dating.

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

Presentation serves up better understanding of Islam

Catholic After Hours group hears of differences discussing religion with Eastern, Western people

Dr. Daniel Holmes (right) converses at a Catholic After Hours Event called "Muslim converts to Christianity" March 18 at the Irish Heather Pub in Gastown.

A doctor from St. Paul's Hospital says it is not uncommon for Muslims to encounter Jesus through dreams. Here's his story.

Dr. Daniel Holmes spoke at the Catholic After Hours conversation series March 18 about a "universally important topic": Muslim converts to Christianity.

Dr. Holmes, who specializes in endocrine diagnostics at St. Paul's Hospital, first encountered Muslims in his role as a physician. Before that, the self-proclaimed "Baptist with many Catholic friends" acknowledged, he knew very little about Islam aside from what he had heard in the news media.

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

Churches to help former homeless overcome loneliness

Adjusting to life off the streets is usually a lonely experience

Darrell, a former homeless man, said reintegrating back into society can be a lonely experience. Photo Ramon Gonzalez/Western Catholic Reporter/CCN.

Living on the streets isn't normal to most people, but for the former homeless, adjusting to regular life isn't "normal" and it's often lonely. The B.C. Catholic has an article from Ramon Gonzalez of the Western Catholic Reporter about Edmonton's plan to support the homeless adjusting back into society:

Three years into the implementation of Edmonton’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, about 1,600 people have made the journey from homelessness to home.

However, adjusting to a new life off the streets takes time and is usually a lonely experience. Homeless people have left behind their social network and have yet to build a new one.

Darrell, a former homeless man and drug addict who has spent the past two decades in and out of jail, got a new one-bedroom apartment a year ago.

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

Cubans celebrate Good Friday as a national holiday

Pope also asked Raul Castro for further freedoms for Catholics in Cuba

People take part in an outdoors Stations of the Cross procession in Havana March 7. Cuba's government, after a request from Pope Benedict XVI, declared Good Friday 2012 a national holiday. CNS photo/Reuters.

It appears Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Cuba is already paying off. The B.C. Catholic has a story from Carol Glatz of Catholic News Service about Cuba recognizing Good Friday as a national holiday:

The Vatican spokesman praised Cuba's decision to accept Pope Benedict XVI's request to make Good Friday a national holiday this year.

"It is certainly a very positive sign," Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said April 1.

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

Cuba better now than then

Patience, progress: differing opinions on dealing with Cuba's regime

A woman attending Mass with Pope Benedict XVI holds a sign in Spanish that reads, "God loves you," in Revolution Square in Havana March 28.

The Cuba that Pope Benedict XVI visited March 26-28 is a country where the Catholic Church enjoys significantly more freedom and official recognition than it did when Blessed John Paul II made the first papal visit to the island in 1998.

Since that time, the communist regime has made Christmas a national holiday, and it now allows Communist Party members to identify themselves as practising Catholics. In preparation for this year's 400th anniversary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, the venerated statue was allowed to circulate on a pilgrimage throughout the country, an event that President Raul Castro said "brought our people together, believers and nonbelievers."

Such progress in religious freedom is what church leaders and Pope Benedict himself have said they hope to build on in the aftermath of his visit. But in other dimensions of human rights, the reform record of the Cuban regime has been less encouraging.

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

Opposing oppressive governments is in the Christian DNA

Protest injustice through nonviolence, says Jesuit priest

Father Simon Harak, SJ, spoke about the non-violent nature of Christ at a retreat at Edmonton's
Trinity Lutheran Church March 21. Photo Ramon Gonzalez/CCN

There goes Jesus again, always inspiring the truth and ticking off oppressive governments. The B.C. Catholic has an article from Ramon Gonzalez of the Western Catholic Reporter, about a Jesuit priest who said Christians have the genetics through Christ to survive in oppressive empires:

Jesus never hurt or killed anyone, but took dramatic, direct non-violent action against injustice and state oppression, says Father Simon Harak, SJ.

As his followers, we are called to do the same, Harak said. “We are called to get involved in non-violent direct action that disrupts the machinery of sin.”

The Jesuit priest said the Christian tradition of nonviolence is needed, in part, to resist the death-dealing power of the United States, which, like the Roman Empire, oppresses millions in America and around the world.

“(As Christians) we are not strangers to empires,” Harak said, noting that the early Christians lived under a world dominated by the sole superpower of their time.

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

Rivals unite to play Canada's game

Students team up to play hockey at B.C. Games

Rival students from St. Thomas More and Notre Dame (from left) Claudia Funaro (Notre Dame), Justine Johnson, Olivia Ramos (St. Thomas Moore), and Carley Spagnuolo (Notre Dame), stand united inside Vernon's Wesbild Centre. The four students represented the Fraser River Delta zone at the 2012 B.C. Winter Games. Special to The B.C. Catholic

Fierce school rivalries were put aside in late February when four students from rival Catholic schools united to take part in the B.C. Winter Games. I recently caught up with the players to comment on their first place round-robin showing:

St. Thomas More Collegiate, Notre Dame Secondary, and Little Flower Academy are often at sporting odds as their girls' teams face each other in various sports. But four students and a coach put aside rivalries for hockey as they all played for the same team at the B.C. Winter Games in Vernon Feb. 23-26.

"There's always been a rivalry between STM and Notre Dame, so it was kind of cool that we played on the same team," said Grade 8 St. Thomas More student Justine Johnson.

Johnson joined fellow Grade 8 schoolmate Olivia Ramos, and Notre Dame students Claudia Funaro, Grade 9, and Carley Spagnuolo, Grade 8, on the bantam female hockey team for the Fraser River Delta zone.

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

Dissecting American political advertising

U.S. TV stations want people to view ads, not to know who pays for them

A screen shot from a Rick Santorum attack ad paid for by a group supporting Barack Obama.

The B.C. Catholic has an illuminating story from CNS' Mark Pattison about the "secretive world" of U.S. political advertising:

When you watch your local news, don't you get reminded time after time that you can go to the station's website for breaking news, updates on traffic and weather, and learn more about anchors Stan and Jess, Rob on sports and Terry with the weather?

You also may get an invite to download an app for your mobile phone where you can summon up the station at any time, day or night.

That may be all fine and good. TV stations want your eyeballs. The more people watch their shows -- both news and entertainment, both on the tube or on the phone -- the more people can watch the commercials.

But while stations want your eyeballs on their programming and the ads that go with it, they seem far less inclined to want your eyeballs on who's paying for those ads. Especially political ads.

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

Students 'adopt' a village

St. Francis de Sales students send animals to Haiti

Students from St. Francis de Sales elementary school raised money for the "Free the Children" campaign. From left: Lauren Walker, Katrina Testani, Carissa Tavares-Kwok, Carling Bauer, Danielle Tarazi, and principal Cecilia McLaren. Special to The B.C. Catholic

The B.C. Catholic has a story from Carling Bauer, a grade 7 student from St. Francis de Sales elementary, that shows the spirit of stewardship in young people:

I feel so bad for kids who have nothing, so for Christmas, a few other girls and I teamed up to bring kids in need a special present. Many of the girls knew that giving a small amount would make a difference if we worked together as a group.

Katrina, Lauren, Danielle, Carissa, and I, students from St. Francis de Sales elementary school, came together to donate money to "Free the Children." We sent a goat and cow to Haiti hoping to help the lives of those living in poverty.

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

Christian unity is a mandate from Christ

Franciscan sister says ecumenical discussions need to be more than splitting theological hairs

Sister Lorelie Fuchs. Photo Chris Miller/CCN

The B.C. Catholic has an article from Chris Miller of the Western Catholic Reporter about a Franciscan sister's call for greater Christian unity:

Ecumenical dialogue is not about sitting around a table, splitting theological hairs and talking until everyone is in agreement.

That is not what ecumenical dialogue is all about, says Sister Lorelei Fuchs.

Fuchs said ecumenical dialogue is a dialogue of love, mutually informing one another and forming one another, seeing Christ in the other person, regardless of the Church he or she attends.

“These are hard ecumenical times. But I am convinced that the time to continue doing something is when other people stop doing it. Unity is not a Christian hobby; it is really a mandate of Christ,” said Fuchs.

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

Birthing Bertha

Bertha Wilson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Group naming Motion 312, the person-hood definition, after feminist supreme court judge

Canada's first female Supreme Court Justice, Bertha Wilson, is heroically memorialized by abortionists. Wilson, and four other justices, famously opened the door to free rein abortion in Canada in 1988, when they overturned Dr. Henry Morgentaler's 1983 charge for obstructing Canada's then abortion laws to his benefit.

However, a pro-life Facebook page is using this "pro-choice hero" as the face of a potentially pro-life cause.

"Stephen Woodworth's Motion 312 needs a name. We think it should be 'The Bertha Wilson Motion', in honour of the former Canadian feminist Supreme Court of Canada Justice who agreed that some protection of the foetus was needed in Canada," reads the Bertha Wilson Motion Facebook page.

The group focuses on an often overlooked quote by the late justice in regards to fetal rights.

“The precise point in the development of the foetus at which the state’s interest in its protection becomes 'compelling' I leave to the informed judgement of the legislature which is in a position to receive guidance on the subject from all the relevant disciplines. It seems to me, however, that it might fall somewhere in the second trimester,” Wilson wrote as part of her decision in R v Morgentaler 1988.

But can it be true that, Wilson, the great Canadian hero of feminism would actually conceive the idea that maybe there should a limit on abortions? Preposterous! says pro-choice coalitions.

"An anti-choice Facebook page has also been formed, co-opting Mme Justice Bertha Wilson's name in a disrespectful and sneering way," says scathinglywrongrightwingnutz.blogspot.ca, a liberal woman's blog. "All the usual anti-choice suspects, like Campaign Life, are gearing up for the fight."

Instead of focusing on what Wilson said about fetal rights in 1988, the group writes in their open letter to Djaouida Sellah (NDP), Carolyn Bennett (Liberal), Maria Mourani (BQ), and Elizabeth May (Green), that opposition MP's should rise in the house during the April 26 debate on Motion 312 and say, "Mr Speaker, with respect, I decline this opportunity to waste this house's time on a matter most Canadians consider settled."

But the issue isn't settled because it's been 24 years since the Morgentaler ruling and the pro-life movement is growing by leaps and bounds. Whether these groups like it or not, the truth is undeniable and human life begins well before a birth, and they frankly have no leg to stand on.

To like the The Bertha Wilson Motion Facebook page click here.

Catholics need better engagement with online activism

American Papist gives five steps to help win the online war of ideas

Add online activism to your list of fasting, prayer, and demonstrations, says the American Papist, a blog affiliated with Catholicvotes.org. The blog's author Thomas Peters says Catholics aren't taking to Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks to spread their message like other non-Catholic organizations do. He said Catholic enemies are social media savvy and that is a big reason those groups are successful silencing the Church's voice in society.

"The reason Catholics need to start winning at online activism isn’t about numbers on a scoreboard. Social media activism is a new major force which influences the outcome of battles we care about," Peters wrote.

He referenced how Planned Parenthood used an organized social media campaign to restore funding to their organization after the Susan G. Komen Foundation cut funding earlier this year.

"Planned Parenthood and left-wing social media won the battle to dominate the messaging war, mostly because they’ve invested time in training their supporters to be online activists," Peters observed. "Catholics are not well represented when it comes to online social activism. And many of us who are engaged are not well trained or intentional about how we do it."

Peters suggested five steps Catholics could take to make gains in online activism. He said the steps are not that difficult.

"We have to make social activism a habit, like sorting our mail and responding to text messages," Peters stressed. "Consider how much time you spend doing social media or surfing the internet and how much more you would have to show for it, or how much more you could be proud of it, or if you spent a portion of that time engaging in social media activism. The great blessing of social media is that, at the end of the day, the power of a message is based on how many people care enough to relay that message."

To read the full blog post click here.

Students clean their 'adopted' streets

Program gives back to community

St. John Brebeuf students "adopted" several streets in Abbotsford by cleaning them up in an effort to serve their community. Special to The B.C. Catholic.

The B.C. Catholic profiles the students of St. John Brebeuf high school, and their efforts to keep the streets of Abbotsford clean: 

The Adopt-a-Street program has become a great hands-on learning experience for the students of St. John Brebeuf Secondary School.

In October 2011, Christine Tsou challenged her Business 10 class to serve a practical purpose in our community and to pilot the Adopt-a-Street program.

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

Theology of the Body misunderstood as 'theology of the booty' by some

Blessed John Paul II teachings get top billing at life and family seminar

Pavel Reid, Catholic Family Services director, speaks on Theology of the Body at the COLF Seminar. Photo Deborah Gyapong/CCN

Recently Catholic Family Services director Pavel Reid joined several speakers at the Catholic Organization for Life and Family 3rd Seminar on the Family Mar. 22-23, in Ottawa. CCN's Deborah Gyapong was in attendance as Reid and others heralded Theology of the Body as a tool to overcome challenges Catholics face in marriage and sexuality:

According to Archdiocese of Vancouver Catholic Family Services director Pavel Reid, one way to give teenagers a visceral experience of TOB is to teach them swing dancing.

Our culture tries to downplay sex differences and modern forms of dancing involve many people together dancing alone, he said. But in swing dancing men and women have to cooperate in different ways that illustrate important principles.

Reid told the seminar, which drew 110 people from across the country including several bishops, TOB runs to hundreds of pages, but it has sometimes been mischaracterized as a theology of sex, or the “theology of the booty.”

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

Freedom! Freedom!

At Mass, Pope recognizes Cubans' struggles, calls freedom a necessity

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, looks at the statue of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre before Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass at Antonio Maceo Revolution Square in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, March 26.

Celebrating an outdoor Mass on his first day in Cuba, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the struggles of the country's Catholics after half a century of communism and described human freedom as a necessity for both salvation and for social justice.

The Pope spoke March 26 in Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, in Cuba's second-largest city. He had arrived in the country a few hours earlier, after spending three days in Mexico. The Vatican had said the square would hold 200,000 people and it was full; several thousand also filled the streets leading to the square. Cuban President Raul Castro, who welcomed the Pope at the airport, sat in the front row for Mass.

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

There's hope for social progress

In Mexico, Pope says social change will come with revival of faith

Visiting Latin America for the second time in his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI offered a message of hope for social progress rooted in a revival of Catholic faith.

The overriding message of the Pope's public statements during his three days in Mexico, March 23-26, was that this troubled country, and the region in general, cannot solve their problems, which include poverty, inequality, corruption, and violence, by following the prescriptions of secular ideologies.

Instead, the Pope said, peace and justice in this world require a divinely inspired change in the human heart.

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

D & P to slash jobs after government decreases funding

Executive director says it will be a difficult year for lay organization

The Conservative government has decided to decrease funding to Development and Peace by 65 percent. The B.C. Catholic has Michael Swan's CNS story:

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is facing deep program reductions and staff cuts after the Canadian government enacted a 65 percent cut in funding to the 45-year-old Catholic lay movement. 

"It's going to be a very difficult period for the organization," said Michael Casey, Development and Peace executive director. "It's not just staff here or the institution here in Canada. You look at the impact it's going to have on the partners."

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

Popemobile cruises in Mexico

Holy Father arrives as 'pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love' 

Pope Benedict XVI, wearing a sombrero, arrives to celebrate Mass at Bicentennial Park in Silao, Mexico, March 25. CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano

The B.C. Catholic will have ongoing coverage of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Mexico and Cuba. Here's an account of the Pope's arrival in Mexico from Francis X. Rocca:

Arriving in Mexico on his second papal visit to Latin America March 23, Pope Benedict XVI said he came as a "pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love," promoting the cause of religious freedom, social progress and the Catholic Church's charitable works.  

Bells tolled and the assembled crowd cheered as Pope Benedict XVI appeared through the door of his Alitalia plane at Guanajuato Internal Airport in central Mexico. He was greeted by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and other dignitaries, including Archbishop Jose Martin Rabago of Leon and Archbishop Carlos Aguilar Retes of Tlalnepantla, president of the Mexican bishops' conference and the Latin American bishops' council, CELAM.

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

Ukrainian major archbishop to visit Vancouver

New Westminster eparchy will have opportunity to meet and pray with young leader

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, will visit Vancouver on the Labour Day weekend this year. The 42-year-old bishop will use the weekend to visit the New Westminster Eparchy (diocese) before he heads to Winnipeg to attend the synod of Ukrainian Catholic bishops Sept. 9-16.

Major Archbishop Shevchuk will be visiting B.C. from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. He is expected to bless the newly renovated Bishop Jerome ChimyEparchial Centre in New Westminster. After the blessing there will be a prayer service and reception at Holy Eucharist Cathedral.

He will also be the main celebrant at the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary's) Ukrainian Church in Vancouver and attend a formal banquet in the parish hall afterward.

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