TORONTO - Hundreds of people gathered at Queen’s Park Oct. 22 to send a message to the newly elected provincial government: stop using taxpayers’ dollars to fund abortions.

“This is outrageous that we are forced to fund an elective, medically unnecessary procedure,” said Alissa Golob, the youth co-ordinator for Campaign Life Coalition and organizer of the Defund Abortion Rally.

In Ontario, abortions are funded by taxpayer dollars. That’s about $30 million for at least 30,000 abortions a year, at a cost of $1,000 each, Golob said.

Instead of asking for candy on Halloween night, students at St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton will be trick-or-treating for non-perishable food items.

The school will be holding its 12th annual Halloween for Hunger campaign to raise money for the Neighbour to Neighbour Centre with a goal of collecting a record-breaking 70,000 pounds of food.

Hamilton’s Good Shepherd Refuge has passed the halfway mark of its $10-million fundraising goal to complete Good Shepherd Square, the city’s first complex of buildings that will house social services to combat poverty.

Alan Whittle, Good Shepherd’s director of community relations and planning, says it’s an innovative approach in tackling poverty that includes access to affordable housing and social services within the same vicinity.

The Jesuit priest who helped bring us Law & Order — the TV show as opposed to the socio-political ideal — received a medal for his efforts.

On Oct. 18, Fr. Jack O’Brien was awarded the Loyola Medal at Concordia University in Montreal.

OTTAWA - Canada’s Catholic bishops remain confident in the renewal of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP), despite concerns about “hysteria” and “misinformation” on both sides.

At the close of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) annual plenary Oct. 17-21 in Cornwall, Ont., the CCCB’s new president Edmonton Archbishop Richard Smith said the bishops expressed a desire for CCODP to continue “as a vibrant institution that operates within our Catholic identity.”

OTTAWA - The new English translation of the Roman Missal was unveiled to Canada's Catholic bishops as they met for their annual plenary in Cornwall, Ont., Oct. 17-21.

On Oct. 17, Bishop Pierre Morissette, outgoing president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), presented Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, apostolic nuncio to Canada, with the second copy of the new missal. The missal’s first copy will be delivered to the Holy Father when Archbishop Richard Smith, the CCCB's new president, and members of the executive visit Rome in November.

Smith said the launch of the new missal provides a “great opportunity” for liturgical catechesis on the mystery of the Eucharist, the mystery of Real Presence that goes beyond the changes in the words and gestures that will begin on the first Sunday of Advent.

OTTAWA - Controversy surrounding the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP) continued to dog Canada’s bishops as they began their annual plenary Oct. 17-21 in Cornwall, Ont.

On day one of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops' gathering of 90 bishops from across Canada, a Quebec pro-life group dropped off a 400-name petition demanding a complete review of CCODP, while the editor of LifeSiteNews.com, whose coverage has fuelled much of the controversy, was asked to leave the premises.

TORONTO - A year after Pope Benedict XVI recognized Br. André as a saint, Toronto’s Archbishop Thomas Collins blessed a new statue of the humble doorman from Montreal and spoke about martyrdom as the universal call of all Christians.

The larger-than-life-size statue of the “Miracle Man of Montreal” is surrounded by panels showing the history of the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers in North America from 1837 on. St. Br. André is shown welcoming a stranger with the keys of his office on his belt.

WINDSOR, Ont. - People from across the country who may have had an association with Our Lady of Assumption Church in Windsor are being asked to contribute personal stories or artifacts about what is one of Canada’s oldest parishes.

The memorabilia will be featured in a heritage centre that will be part of a major restoration of the church, which has now officially begun.

Assumption is the oldest Catholic parish west of Montreal. It was established by the Jesuits in 1761. The current church dates from 1845 and was the major Catholic institution in its era in Upper Canada.

Citizens, business, government and civil society would do well to strengthen the family because the wealth of nations and the economy is tied to the fortunes of the family, says a new international report.

The bigger your family, the better for the economy, according to the Sustainable Demographic Dividend, co-sponsored by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. The report examines the connections between marriage, family and the economy. Published by the Social Trends Institute on Oct. 3, the international report looked at 29 countries.