NEWS

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Groups on opposing sides of the same-sex marriage debate have joined forces to oppose the legalization of polygamy.

“We feel (polygamy) would be a very backward step for our nation,” said Institute for Canadian Values founder Charles McVety, who joined Canadian Family Action Coalition president Brian Rushfeldt and Muslim Canadian Congress president Farzana Hassan at a news conference March 3 on Parliament Hill.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Have you ever wanted to understand the Traditional Latin Mass? If so, you might consider heading out to the Newman Centre in Toronto on March 20.

An outline and brief explanation will be provided beforehand to guide the congregation as it celebrates its first Tridentine Mass in approximately 40 years.

“Given the fact that we are part of an educational community, it was felt we should at least have an opportunity for people to experience that form of liturgy, be educated in it, so they can be a bit more enlightened on its history as they read more about it, and as they might come across it in some places,” said Fr. Pat O’Dea, pastor of the Newman Centre parish.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Whether the product of a profound devotion to St. Joseph or a great excuse to break the Lenten fast, zeppole, an Italian pastry, rises in popularity every March.

Zeppole, which originated in southern Italy, are traditionally made and given out or sold on March 19 in honour of St. Joseph’s feast day. It could be compared to a French Cruller but with custard cream and sour cherries in the middle. In Canada, zeppole can be found in some parishes as Italian communities bake and sell their own to raise money and can also be found in multiple Italian bakeries across the city.

{mosimage}VATICAN CITY - A group of Nigerian bishops expressed hope that Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to Africa will spur the troubled continent on a path toward peace, justice and reconciliation.

Three bishops from Nigeria said they are looking at Pope Benedict’s March 17-23 visit to Cameroon and Angola as an opportunity to show that the church wants to help heal divisions that continue to tear apart the continent.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The Board of Directors of The Catholic Register is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim O’Leary to the position of Publisher and Editor of The Catholic Register, effective immediately.

O’Leary brings to the position more than 25 years experience as a writer, editor and executive in traditional and online media companies.

{mosimage}VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said Bishop Richard Williamson's statement of regret for denying the extent of the Holocaust does not meet the Vatican's demand that he publicly recant his position.

"The declaration of the bishop does not seem to respect the conditions established in the note of the Secretariat of State of Feb. 4, 2009, where it says that he 'must distance himself in an absolutely unequivocal and public way from his positions regarding the Shoah,' ” Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said Feb. 27.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Lay people and not bishops will lead the world out of the economic crisis, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver told an audience of business leaders in Toronto Feb. 24.

“Bishops don’t know very much about economics, so we shouldn’t say very much,” said the Franciscan Capuchin bishop.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The need for foster care parents fluctuates with time and location, but financial hardships in Canada could result in a much greater demand for help, according to children’s aid societies in Toronto.

“There’s a shortage of foster homes in general,” said Bervin Garraway, supervisor of foster care development for Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto . “We have not seen (a huge drop) but anticipate there will be.”

{mosimage}LONDON - Ultratraditionalist Bishop Richard Williamson said he regrets the remarks he made denying the extent of the Holocaust.

In a statement released Feb. 26, a day after he arrived in London, Williamson said his superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and Pope Benedict XVI "have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago because their consequences have been so heavy."

{mosimage}CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh - Bishop Patrick D'Rozario of Chittagong announced the opening of the sainthood cause of Canadian Holy Cross Brother Flavian Laplante, founder of a popular Marian shrine in Bangladesh.

D'Rozario also said that the shrine in Diang, which Brother Laplante started in 1976, has been elevated to a parish dedicated to Mary, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.