{mosimage}TORONTO - Parishioners at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church are enjoying a year-long celebration packed full of fund-raisers to commemorate the 100 years their church has been standing.

With more than 30 events planned events to keep the celebration alive, Fr. Joseph Pap Tran, who has been pastor for the past four years, said it’s an exciting and busy time.

“We have a Lenten retreat on March 29,” he said. “And the closing Mass in November will be presided over by Archbishop (Thomas) Collins.”

{mosimage}OTTAWA - The Canadian Religious Conference and the Catholic Women’s League are supporting MP Joy Smith’s anti-human trafficking private member’s bill.

Bill C-268 would change the Criminal Code so those convicted of trafficking children under 18 would receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.

 

{mosimage}A sharp policy turn away from Africa and away from the poorest countries has the development community wondering whether Canada is now using its foreign aid budget to promote trade and its security interests rather than help poor communities.

“We’re looking at this with a bit of a questioning eye to understand the rationale,” Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace executive director Michael Casey said.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Federal tough-on-crime legislation isn’t going to deter crime, won’t make communities safer and will divert millions of dollars away from crime prevention to build more jails and conduct more trials, said the Church Council on Justice and Corrections.

“It’s clear that you want to stop the gangs, that you want to make it safer for the community. Are these measures really going to make much difference?” asked Richard Haughian, who represents the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on the board of the Church Council on Justice and Corrections .

{mosimage}TORONTO - Mass rape, forced abortions, hospital bombings and war crimes have been constant themes for the Tamil community as it has protested and prayed for international intervention in the civil war in Sri Lanka.

The most serious allegation against the Sri Lankan government found on signs at every Tamil rally is genocide. Tamil protesters have compared government attacks on Tamil civilians with the genocides in Darfur and Rwanda.

{mosimage}“Ministry with Maturing Adults; 55+” has lifted the spirits of many parishioners at St. Mary’s parish in Barrie, Ont.

For the past year, Sr. Mary Rose Marrin of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto has led a variety of programs in this unique ministry addressing the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of retirees and seniors. It is based on the Spiritual Gerontology and Lifelong Faith Formation course offered in St. Louis by Richard Johnson, author of Parish Ministry for Maturing Adults. Marrin has completed the course. 

“I’m very committed to it and I think it’s a need in our church,” Marrin said.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Thanks to the Sisters of St. Joseph, the elderly have a new venue for making social connections in southern Etobicoke.

The Sisters’ newest Fontbonne Ministry outreach program, Village Mosaic will welcome seniors in the community for a variety of social activities in the newly renovated 3,500-square-foot venue at 2794 Lakeshore Blvd.

“We want the seniors to help us develop programs for them rather than say ‘here we are and we’re going to do this,’ ” said Sr. Anne Marie Marrin, the director of Village Mosaic.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Dozens of Catholic high school students from across the GTA will be lending a hand this month, trying to raise money for the 2009 ShareLife campaign.

On March 25, more than 50 students from four Toronto-area schools will head underground with a simple message for rush-hour commuters on Toronto’s subway system — You can work wonders. The message conveys a simple truth: every donation makes a difference.  

{mosimage}TORONTO - Despite a reeling economy, ShareLife has raised its fund-raising goals for 2009 and is optimistic that parishioners will meet the challenge.

ShareLife, the charitable fund-raising arm of the archdiocese of Toronto, has set an overall goal of $14.3 million for this year’s campaign. This includes a parish goal of $12 million and a corporate goal of $1.625 million. Last year the organization raised a total of $14.03 million to help support its sponsored charities. It is through these agencies that ShareLife tries to maintain a commitment to providing care and outreach to members of the community who are in need.  

{mosimage}TORONTO - It’s going to be a marathon of biblical proportions.

This Lent, 365 parishioners of Toronto’s Epiphany of Our Lord Church are planning a three-day, cover-to-cover reading of the Bible, starting March 20.

The event, titled “From Genesis to Revelation: Bible Proclamation,” will start with an English reading of Genesis by pastor Fr. George Parayil, C.F.I.C. It is scheduled to close with a reading of the Book of Revelation in Italian on March 23 at 9 p.m. by Fr. Domenico Rettura, C.F.I.C.