NEWS

TORONTO - The Toronto Free Presbyterian Church stands behind its Ulster-based brethren in protesting Pope Benedict XVI's visit to England and Scotland.

The tiny Toronto church protested Pope John Paul II's visit in 2002, and would do so again if the Pope were ever to visit Canada, said Toronto Free Presbyterian Church senior pastor Larry Saunders.

"My concern, my opposition to the Pope coming as a representative of the Catholic Church is that he comes not just as a religious leader. He comes as also the head of state," said Saunders.

LONDON - In terms of his primary objectives — preaching the Gospel to his flock and defending the influence of religion in society — Pope Benedict XVI can look at his four-day visit to Great Britain as a major success.

The big question going into the Sept. 16-19 visit was whether the German Pope would be given a fair hearing in a country where skepticism about religion runs high. The answer was a resounding "yes." Not only did the Pope speak his mind, but he also received unprecedented gavel-to-gavel coverage in the British media.

LONDON (CNS) -- In a personal meeting with five victims of clerical sexual abuse, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "deep sorrow and shame" over their suffering and promised the church would do "all in its power" to investigate cases of abuse and safeguard the young.

The encounter Sept. 18 in London took place just hours after the German pontiff, speaking at a Mass in Westminster Cathedral, denounced what he called the "unspeakable crimes" committed by some priests against young people.

LONDON - In a rousing encounter with some 4,000 schoolchildren, Pope Benedict XVI asked them to make friendship with God the centre of their lives.

"We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only He can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts," the Pope said Sept. 17 in Twickenham, a suburb of London.

TORONTO - Star-chasers and visitors to the city for the Toronto International Film Festival may have been surprised to see a parade travelling down Yonge Street Sept. 11. They were probably even more shocked to learn that the parade was in celebration of Jesus.

The participants in this year’s Jesus in the City Parade, a multi-denominational festival of music, dance and worship, were looking for just that reaction, and to challenge it. Though the downtown core of Toronto may feel secular, they said, the Lord is no stranger to the city.

The Catholic Register is pleased to welcome Fr. Raymond de Souza to our stable of talented columnists.

Fr. de Souza, whose debut column appears on Page 19 of this issue, has established his credentials as an accomplished journalist while writing for several publications over the past decade. He is a regular contributor to The National Post and a past Rome correspondent for the U.S.-based National Catholic Register.

TORONTO - Toronto’s new rules for what to do when a priest or Church employee is accused of sexual misconduct will be revealed in early October.

Over the summer a panel of experts, working with the archdiocese’s judicial vicar Fr. Brian Clough, reviewed and revised Toronto’s Church law governing sex abuse cases, bringing it in line with the latest directives from the Vatican.

TORONTO - Canadians are a giving people, according to report released by the Charities Aid Foundation America.

In the Alexandria, Va., foundation’s 2010 World Giving Index, Canada ranked third in terms of charitable behaviour.

The report tracks how willing a nation’s people are to help those in need.

After the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace flooded Parliament Hill with more than 153,000 postcards last spring calling for Ottawa to hold Canadian mining companies accountable for damage they do to the environment and communities in poor countries, the mining industry is countering with a campaign of its own.

The Prospectors and Developers Association, dominated by junior mining and exploration companies, is urging its members to order up bundles of postcards that mining company employees can mail in opposing Bill C-300.

The new English translation of the Mass will be ready for Canadian parishes only when the bishops have Vatican approval for all of the texts and an opportunity to put in place a program to teach people about the changes.

With the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announcing the new Mass texts will become standard south of the border beginning in Advent 2011, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has received enquiries about the Canadian timetable.