MONTREAL — Montreal Auxiliary Bishop André Gazaille has been named the new bishop of Nicolet, Que., south of Trois-Rivieres.

Gazaille, who was named bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on July 11, fills the post vacated by Bishop Raymond St-Gelais who resigned due to age after 22 years at the helm of the diocese, in accordance with the Code of Canon Law.

Born in Montreal, Gazaille studied theology and pastoral ministry at the Montreal Grand Séminaire and at the University of Montreal. He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of Montreal in 1971. Gazaille was ordained bishop in March 2006 and has since served as an auxiliary bishop in Montreal.

The diocese of Nicolet has 119 diocesan priests, 15 priests who are members of societies of apostolic life, 386 religious brothers and sisters, and 26 permanent pastoral agents serving 200,000 Catholics in 65 parishes and missions.

Associate Editor Michael Swan of The Catholic Register was recently awarded one first-place and two second-place prizes for outstanding writing at the annual awards banquet of The Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada.

In total, The Register won five awards in the North American wide competition of Catholic newspapers. Those honours follow the 14 awards, including best religious newspaper in Canada, The Register won earlier this year at the Canadian Church Press awards ceremony.

Swan’s first-place prize was in the category of Best Personality Profile for a front-page feature titled “Deacon Judge Rules with Conviction.” [read article here]

It explored how Alf Stong, a deacon in the Church, relies on his Catholic values in adjudicating the law.

All Toronto area Catholic School boards managed average or better than average pass rates on province-wide standardized literacy tests this year.

Students in the York Catholic and Dufferin-Peel Catholic board scored above the provincial average of 83 per cent.

Eighty-eight per cent of Grade 10 YCDSB students who wrote the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test for the first time were successful. Also, more students with special education needs wrote the test compared to last year and the students experienced a five per cent increase in achievement.

“Our test scores continue to be among the highest in the province and this is something we are proud of,” said Elizabeth Crowe, chair of the YCDSB. “However, at the heart of those scores is the great teaching and learning happening in our schools. Our schools are clearly engaged, vibrant hubs of activity, focused on student achievement.”

At the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, 85 per cent of DPCDSB students were successful. This is the fifth year in a row that Dufferin-Peel Catholic District Students exceeded the provincial average.

TORONTO - The Youth Speak News team of writers gathered at the Newman Centre at the University of Toronto May 27-29 for the annual Youth Speak News retreat.

The weekend combined faith, journalism workshops and fun.

The following is a list of the clergy appointments for the Archdiocese of Toronto that take effect on June 30. Listed is the priest’s name and the parish they will serve.

The Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry (CCCM) has been recognized as a national private association of the faithful according to the Code of Canon Law by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

CCCM is now one of only two national associations to be recognized as a private lay association of the faithful by the Canadian bishops. The Catholic Women’s League was recognized in 2005.

“We are honoured to have been recognized in this way by the bishops,” said Fr. Daniel Renaud, CCCM board chair.

TORONTO - A Toronto Right to Life campaign has taken to the subway system to promote adoption as a life-affirming alternative to abortion.

The ads began running April 18 and will continue til May 15.

“I wanted my baby to have a Dad and Mom,” reads the ad from a birth mother. The ad features the silhouette of a family.

“The purpose of the ad is to raise awareness and understanding about infant adoption,” said Toronto Right to Life in a statement. “All of this can help women make an informed, pressure-free decision about adoption as a life-affirming choice.”

The ad also features the AdoptioninCanada.ca web site that contains information about open adoption, testimonials from women who chose to place their children for adoption and pregnancy assistance organizations.

Fr. Harry J. Gensler is a Golden Rule junkie.

In fact, the Jesuit priest and professor of philosophy at John Carroll University in Cleveland wrote both an MA thesis and PhD dissertation on the Golden Rule. He’s also published 12 books on ethics and logic —  most involving the Golden Rule.

And on May 11, he’ll be sharing his knowledge on the Golden Rule in a lecture at Scarboro Missions. He’ll be discussing how to use it wisely and avoid fallacies.

For more information, call (416) 261-7135 ext. 296 or e-mail interfaith@scarboromissions.ca.

Church leaders from Canada, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America will gather in Toronto for an ecumenical conference on mining from May 1-3.

Hosted by KAIROS and several of its member institutions in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid, they will be joined by indigenous partners, social partners from the Global South, Church members and agency staff.

The gathering is meant to develop alliances between leaders from the North and South in an effort to achieve mining justice around the world.

With so many promises being made in the lead-up to the May 2 election, it can be easy to lose track of the issues that matter.

Here are the promises the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP are making to young people, straight from their party platforms.




Employment
- To encourage youth getting hired, a Youth Hiring Incentive will give small and medium-sized businesses a full rebate on Employment Insurance premiums for every Canadian youth — between the ages of 18 and 25 — hired.

Education
- Addressing the costs of post-secondary education, the Canadian Learning Passport will provide $1,000 a year (or $1,500 a year for low-income families) over four years for every high school student to use towards college or university.

Health Promotion in Schools
- Through the proposed Canadian Health Promotion Strategy, the Liberals will work with the Council of Ministers of Education to set targets for physical activity in schools and encourage education and promotion of healthy foods in primary and elementary schools.

Service
- Initiate a Canadian Services Corps to financially support Canadian youth wishing to do volunteer service abroad.  
- The Canada Service Corps will forgive $1,500 in student loan debt for young Canadians who donate at least 150 hours of service in a year, in a Canada Service Corps volunteer position, after graduating from post-secondary education.





Employment
- Extend support for the Canada Youth Business Foundation, which provides loans and mentoring to young entrepreneurs.

Education
- Enhance the Canada Student Loans Program for part-time students to respond to increased demand for assistance in career transition through post-secondary education.
- Double the work exemption for Canada Student Loans to allow students to benefit more from part-time employment.
- 30 industrial research chairs will be established at colleges and polytechnics so students can interact with innovative researchers.

Youth Crime
- Propose to make permanent its Youth Gang Prevention Fund to help at-risk youth avoid criminal activity.



Education
- The NDP proposes to increase the funding to the Canada Student Grants Program by $200 million a year, targeting accessibility for aboriginals, disabled and low-income students.  
- Make post-secondary education more affordable by directly attacking rising tuition costs with an $800-million transfer to the provinces and territories to lower tuition fees, as per the NDP’s Post-Secondary Education Act.
- Raise the education tax credit from $4,800 per year to $5,760 to help with increasing education costs.

Employment
- Re-introduce the federal minimum wage law to set a national standard of earning for those who make the lowest wages in the work force.

To access the party platforms, see www.itsyourvote.ca.

(Compiled by Sarah Gagliano and Vanessa Santilli.)

{iarelatednews articleid="5471"}