{mosimage}OTTAWA - The wish to abolish abortion in Canada topped the CBC’s Great Canadian Wish List on Facebook with 9,543 votes.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Across the city of Toronto in late June, flags were flying at half mast. Outside of Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School in Scarborough, the lowered flag was accompanied by a photographic memorial set up in honour of former student and fallen soldier Cpl. Stephen Bouzane. Cpl. Bouzane, 26, died alongside two comrades, Sgt. Christos Karigiannis and Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe, when their unarmoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb southwest of Kandahar on June 20.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Hundreds of people crammed into Toronto’s St. Michael’s Cathedral June 20 to attend a Mass marking 50 years of Opus Dei’s presence and work in Canada.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Ottawa’s new archbishop called all Catholics, including lay men and women, to “enter on the path of holiness” during his installation at Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica June 26.

 

{mosimage}TORONTO - The controversial plan to relocate the Peace Garden at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square was approved in a 22-10 vote by city councillors June 22.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican anticipated the July 1 celebration of Canada Day with a ceremony highlighting the ministry and authority of five new Canadian archbishops.

The archbishops of “the true North, strong and free” knelt before Pope Benedict XVI June 29 and received a woolen band symbolizing the responsibility they share with him of shepherding the church’s flock. They were joined by 41 other archbishops from around the world.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - The pro-life movement stands to lose some staunch political allies before the next federal election. Nine members of Parliament sympathetic to the cause have said they will not run again.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The close vote by the Anglican Church of Canada against allowing same-sex blessings on June 24 will neither end the controversy nor move it toward resolution, judging from the comments of two Catholic observers of the debate.

{mosimage}TORONTO - At the June 21 opening ceremony of Toronto’s Ireland Park, Mayor David Miller quoted Canadian poet Al Purdy, saying, “Sometimes we may go back to the country of our defeat ... but it’s been a long time since, and we must acquire the way of strangers.”

{mosimage}TORONTO - Having a voice does not depend on the ability to speak.

This is certainly true of 24-year-old Rebecca Beayni of Toronto, who was honoured at this year's City of Toronto Social Justice Awards ceremony on June 9. Beayni has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or speak, but these limitations have not stopped her from becoming a voice for  individuals with disabilities around the world.