TORONTO - Bishop Paul Marchand, S.S.M., of the Diocese of Timmins, Ont. died of natural causes on July 23 while on summer vacation.

A “humble” priest with a collaborative pastoral approach, Bishop Marchand headed the Diocese of Timmins at a challenging time of declining numbers of parishioners and priests in the community.

“He was a very collaborative-oriented person. He really believed in the role and responsibility of the laity,” said Fr. Pat Lafleur, rector of Timmins' St. Anthony of Padua Cathedral.

“He was in a difficult position because we have a shortage of priests up here that is rather pronounced,” he added.

There are currently about 14 priests, at least half of whom are from outside the diocese, Lafleur said.

During his tenure, Marchand had to make difficult decisions such as closing five parishes because many residents were moving out of the community and there was a decline in church attendance and vocations to the priesthood.

The past three years haven’t been easy for the Magnificat Charismatic Prayer Community, but that hasn’t stopped the group from dreaming big.

After losing its spiritual director and half of its members, it might seem like the community would pack it in. But instead, the prayer community is working towards turning its home, Regina Mundi Retreat Centre in Queensville, Ont., into the national shrine of the Divine Mercy.

“Divine Mercy is really the heart of Scripture,” said Fr. Matthew Robbertz, spiritual director of the Magnificat community. “God came to save us, and everything is made of His mercy.”

The Divine Mercy devotion is followed by more than 100 million Catholics worldwide, and it owes much of its popularity to Pope John Paul II. Until he began to spread the word of the devotion, the Divine Mercy was unknown to — or even rejected by — many Catholics. The devotion began with St. Faustina, a Polish nun who lived in the early 1900s. She had many visions of Jesus and Mary, which she described in a diary that would later be published. Her writings, originally widely condemned, would inspire the Divine Mercy devotion, which asks for the mercy of God and the ability to show mercy to others.

Witnessing the courage of Christians helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Holland during the Second World War inspired Canadian social justice pioneer Gerald Vandezande's faith and anti-poverty work.

A co-founder and the first director of the Ottawa-based Citizens for Public Justice, Mr. Vandezande passed away peacefully at his home on July 16. His funeral was held on July 21 at Pine Hills Visitation Centre in Toronto.

For four decades, Mr. Vandezande worked in public policy development and political advocacy. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2001. His ordepioner citation described him as a “powerful and respected voice for social justice.”

Long-time friend Mark Vander Vennen recalls one of his last conversations with Mr. Vandezande who reminisced about his early influences.

“(The war experience) had a big impact on him. He saw first-hand some extremely courageous things done in resistance to the Nazis by Christians in the name of the Gospel,” said Vander Vennen, executive director of the non-profit Shalem Mental Health Network. “That had a life-long impact on him, including the defense and hiding of Jews.”

OTTAWA — When Bishop-elect Thomas Dowd is ordained to the episcopacy on Sept. 10 as auxiliary bishop of Montreal, he will be the youngest bishop in Canada and the second youngest in the world.

And Dowd, being of a wired, media-savvy generation, posted the July 11 official announcement on Facebook. He was thrilled to see that within five seconds somebody “liked” it.

Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the future bishop's media savvy goes. He is also a bloggist, and has been for some time. He plans to continue blogging, a hobby he has pursued as a priest at Frdowd.net since 2003. He began the blog because people in the parish he served only saw him on Sundays and wondered what he did during the other days of the week.

“So many amazing things happen as a priest,” he said. “Honestly, it’s a great life. If a person wants to lead a boring life don’t go into the priesthood.

“Here I am experiencing all these blessings. People like to know about them, so I’ll use the blog as a medium,” he said.

INUVIK, N.W.T. — Pictures tell stories. Stories tell us who we are. For 15-year-old Mary Masazumi the story falls into the category of mystery.

Her father Alfred is dead and there are no family photo albums at home in Fort Good Hope that stretch back into her father’s childhood. Mary hoped to fill that gap pouring through binders of photos from the archives of the diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith. The diocese came to Inuvik for the Northern National Event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada June 28 to July 1 with as many photos of students as could be found. Visitors could take home up to five copies. The photos were the most popular attraction outside the commission hearings.

Masazumi’s father went to school at the Immaculate Conception residential school in Aklavik — at least she thinks it was Aklavik.

“He hasn’t told me about residential school,” she said.

OTTAWA — Bishop Raymond Lahey will have to wait several more months in jail before his sentencing on charges of importing child pornography.

Already postponed from June to early August, the sentencing hearing will continue into December because the forensic psychiatrist who examined Lahey is not available on the Aug. 4 and 5 dates that have been set aside.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the Crown wants to cross-examine Dr. John Bradford on his sexual behaviours' assessment of the former Antigonish bishop, but he was unavailable for the August dates. An additional day has been added to for his testimony in December to accommodate Bradford's testimony.

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.

TORONTO — After more than 30 years with Serra Club, Mario Biscardi has been awarded the Harry J. O’Haire Award for exemplary dedication to the organization and its mission of promoting and fostering vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The award, the club’s highest honour presented annually to one member of Serra International, pays homage to Biscardi for more than three decades of service to the club, which includes the formation of five different Serra Clubs and the founding of the annual Ordinandi Dinner in Toronto, among other accomplishments.

Biscardi received the award, named after the first president of the Serra Club, on July 8 in Ottawa during this year’s Serra International convention.

“It was just a tremendous shock,” said Biscardi, who lives in Toronto. “It’s a real honour and privilege. But you can’t help but feel humbled and modest.

TORONTO — He was a man of principle who wasn’t afraid to stand up for the rights of the unborn, say friends of long-time Toronto pro-life activist Dr. Ray Holmes.

Dr. Holmes, 93, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on July 8. His funeral was held July 11 at St. Joseph’s Church in Brampton, Ont.

Campaign Life Coalition national president Jim Hughes called Dr. Holmes a friend and mentor for over 30 years and a “generous and kind man.” During his last hours, Hughes and his wife visited Dr. Holmes where his family gathered to pray for him.

“He clenched my hand just as strongly as he had the first time I met him. He was a man of determination and faith,” Hughes said.

TORONTO — Free the Children, the international children’s rights group founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger, has denied a web site allegation that their charity supports abortion.

“The policy of the organization has never changed or wavered,” said Marc Kielburger. “To be very clear, Free The Children is apolitical, and does not promote abortion, nor has it ever.”

Kielburger was forced to respond to allegations published by LifeSiteNews that accused the organization of taking a “direct stand in favour of abortion.”

The accusation was based on two fact sheets that briefly appeared 13 months ago on Free The Children’s web site. The documents criticized the Conservative government’s failure to include abortion funding in the maternal health care initiative it presented at the G20/G8 summits in 2010. The most contentious sentence read: “There is a consensus that family planning, including abortion, is crucial to reducing maternal deaths and improving the economic status of women in the poorest parts  of the world.”