A return to Poland ‘saved’ seminarian’s vocation
![Paul Hrynczyszyn will be ordained a priest in the spring. Paul Hrynczyszyn will be ordained a priest in the spring.](/images/stories/toronto/toronto11/paulhryn.jpg)
When Paul Hrynczyszyn was 15, his mother forced him to attend a Catholic youth retreat over the March break. Now, 11 years later, he is about to be ordained a priest.
“I thank God and I thank her to this day for forcing me to go, because it was life changing,” he said.
“It was at that moment I rediscovered my faith. I fell in love with Jesus Christ.”
Ontario’s equity policy on tap at annual OCSTA conference
![Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky](/images/stories/education/education10/LeonaDombrowsky.jpg)
Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowksy will be a keynote speaker at the conference on the opening day of the annual conference.
Among the topics conference speakers and participants will discuss will be the Ontario government’s equity and inclusive education strategy and how it applies to Catholic schools and how the strategy will be implemented in Catholic schools. The issue has caused controversy as Catholic school boards try to implement the strategy while staying true to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Canadian government falls after non-confidence vote
OTTAWA - The House of Commons has found the Conservative government in contempt of Parliament in a non-confidence motion that has triggered a May election.
A Liberal motion passed by a vote of 156-145 Friday afternoon. Prime Minister Stephen Harper will now ask Gov. Gen. David Johnston to dissolve Parliament, sending Canadians to the polls for the fourth time in seven years.
The non-confidence vote derails a voter-friendly federal budget tabled on Mar. 22 that had proposed millions of dollars in new spending. It also kills more than 30 pieces of pending legislation, including Bill C-393 that is supported by Canadian bishops and aims to make affordable generic drugs available to the world's poor to treat illnesses such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.
Harper said he was disappointed by the defeat of his government because it heralds an election he maintains Canadians do not want. A federal election will cost taxpayers upwards of $300 million. Canada now faces its fifth election in little more than 10 years.
With patience, Asch finds his calling
![Russell Asch Russell Asch](/images/stories/toronto_people/russellasch.jpg)
Russell Asch’s life has been filled with travel, music and culture. Now, it will be filled with the Catholic faith.
The son of opera singers, Asch was born in Montreal but was raised in England. He was an active member of Bevis Marks Sephardic Synagogue during his formative years, as he studied Restoration stone-carving.
It wasn’t until 1997 that Asch, 39, was baptized into the Catholic faith.
Ontario’s equity policy on tap at annual OCSTA conference
![Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky](/images/stories/education/education10/LeonaDombrowsky.jpg)
Ontario Minister of Education Leona Dombrowksy will be a keynote speaker at the conference on the opening day of the annual conference.
Among the topics conference speakers and participants will discuss will be the Ontario government’s equity and inclusive education strategy and how it applies to Catholic schools and how the strategy will be implemented in Catholic schools. The issue has caused controversy as Catholic school boards try to implement the strategy while staying true to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
D&P aims for $10 million with annual Share Lent campaign
OTTAWA - The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace launched its annual Share Lent fundraising campaign here March 16 with the goal of raising $10 million.
Under the banner Building a World of Justice, the Canadian bishops' overseas development agency aims to collect $10 million across Canada to go towards more than 200 sustainable development projects it supports in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The theme for this year’s campaign expresses the collective work of the many local organizations that D&P has supported over the last 40 years.
![Norita Fleming Norita Fleming](/images/stories/toronto_people/noritafleming2.jpg)
“I was stunned when I heard — and felt very humble,” said Fleming.
Fleming emigrated to Canada in the mid-1960s where she soon met her husband, Bill. They went on to raise four children in Toronto.
She became one of the founders of the County Cork Association Toronto. As an active member of St. Cecilia’s parish in Toronto, she worked on the St. Patrick’s Day Mass Committee. She headed up the World Youth Day committee at her present parish, St. Luke’s in Thornhill, where she arranged billeting for large groups of pilgrims arriving in Toronto. As one speaker put it, “After that there was no stopping her.”
TCDSB buys Loretto Abbey
![Loretto Abbey Catholic High School Loretto Abbey Catholic High School](/images/stories/toronto/toronto11/lorettoabbey.jpg)
“Our members made many sacrifices to ensure that Catholic families could avail themselves of a Catholic education for their children, and we are pleased that this beautiful building, so rich with history and tradition, will continue to operate as a Catholic school for young women,” Hunter, provincial leader of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loretto Sisters, said in a statement.
“Though the giving up of this repository of so much of our history is painful, we Loretto Sisters take solace in the fact that we will continue to be connected to the school for many years,” she said.