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Kennedy hopes to lead Toronto Catholic school board out of provincial supervision

{mosimage}TORONTO - Despite facing a court appearance on a charge of conflict of interest, trustee Angela Kennedy was re-elected chair of the Toronto Catholic District School Board on Dec. 9.

Kennedy is one of two Toronto Catholic trustees facing conflict of interest charges. Former chair Oliver Carroll was found guilty of 10 conflict-of-interest offences in February.

Hamilton board leads way in getting pro-life message out

{mosimage}When it comes to pro-life teachings in Ontario, most are casting their eyes to the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board as a model.

Nearly six years ago, leaders established a board-run Culture of Life committee that has had its students interested in issues such as abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research ever since.

Southern Ontario Catholic school boards pick new leaders

{mosimage}TORONTO - In what appears to be a show of support for their embattled chair, a majority of Toronto Catholic District School Board trustees re-elected Angela Kennedy to the position at a Dec. 9 meeting.

Kennedy, who was first chosen as chair in January, is one of two Toronto Catholic trustees facing conflict of interest charges. She will be in Ontario Superior Court of Justice to answer to the charge Feb. 1. She is alleged to have voted on budgetary decisions despite having a son, who would potentially be affected by the decision, employed at the board.

Struggling Catholic university students turn to chaplaincy

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Many Catholic students at Carleton University turn to their faith as a coping mechanism as high tuition fees become increasingly stressful.

Michael Bingham, a first-year Computer Science student, acknowledged high tuition costs have made it very difficult and stressful for students. While his financial situation is not as grave as some, Bingham admits that with tuition being where it is, he could see himself “having a difficult time if I were in their situation.”

Building bridges between campus ministries

{mosimage}For the first time ever, 12 Catholic movements and organizations met in Toronto to discuss how to “build the Body of Christ on campus” Nov. 30-Dec.1.

Bishop Fred Colli, representing the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops at the event, said the Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry board recognized the importance of talking about a comprehensive ministry that would better serve students.

Boot camps set up for trustee candidates

{mosimage}TORONTO - The countdown for next year’s province-wide Catholic trustee elections begins with two upcoming trustee training workshops in Toronto.

Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Rob Davis plans to run a free “trustee boot camp” on Nov. 21 at the Catholic Education Centre. St. Augustine’s Seminary’s Institute of Theology will conduct trustee workshops starting in January.

U of T Canada's most child-friendly campus

{mosimage}TORONTO - A new survey ranks the University of Toronto tops among Canada’s 86 universities for the services it offers to pregnant and parenting students.

The survey, conducted by summer interns at the Toronto-based deVeber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research , looked at whether Canada’s universities provide services deemed important by parenting students, based on research done in the United States by Feminists for Life.

Pro-life forum targets medical students

{mosimage}Canadian Physicians for Life hosted its sixth annual medical students forum in Calgary Nov. 20-22 to discuss abortion, euthanasia, conscience rights and medical pro-life clubs.

The lineup of speakers and workshop leaders — chosen to help equip pro-life medical students with knowledge and confidence on emerging issues of concern — was to include Margaret Somerville, professor of law and medicine at McGill University and founding director of McGill’s Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law. She planned to speak to students about euthanasia and the topic of human dignity.

Lakehead pro-lifers denied club status, attacked online

{mosimage}After denying club status to a student pro-life club, the Lakehead University Student Union has posted an attack on its web site from one of its members likening the pro-life members to murderers.

“This group represents the same mentality of those who threatened the life of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the same mentality of those who gunned down Dr. George Tiller this past May and the same mentality that would follow a radical statist agenda in order to grant the state power over individuals,” alleged student union vice president Josh Kolic in an online letter addressed to the student body, posted Nov. 6.

St. Philip Neri Oratory educating record number of seminarians

{mosimage}TORONTO - The inconspicuous yet flourishing school is nearly invisible to passersby — housed in a complex of old townhouses, now joined, that take up the length of an entire block in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood.

But the successful philosophy seminary started in 1989 by the priests of St. Philip Neri Oratory in Toronto is anything but secret. The Oratorians  have seen 100 of their students go on to become priests since 1989 and the momentum only seems to be building.

Dufferin-Peel board to set book guidelines

{mosimage}MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - Trustees at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will review a proposal Nov. 24 that would have all novels pre-approved for use in the classroom by a central committee.

“We conceptualized the need for such a proposal in the last couple of years and have been doing a lot of work for what makes sense for our system and how we develop a proposal that’s going to honour the professionalism and the local decision making that we want our teachers and administrators to continue to do,” said superintendent of program Marianne Mazzorato.