NEWS
ANKAWA, Iraq -- Nahla and Valentina like to stop and pray at Mar Elia Chaldean Catholic Church in the centre of this small majority Christian community. The grounds of the church once sheltered several hundred Christians who were forced to flee their homes in 2014 when Islamic State militants attacked Mosul and surrounding villages some 80 kilometres away.
Religious goods caught in supply woes
By Quinton Amundson, The Catholic RegisterCanada’s Catholic gift stores are not immune to the problems that have turned into a global supply chain crisis.
Catholic school Canada’s first to go carbon-neutral
By Wendy-Ann Clarke, The Catholic RegisterJohn Paul II Secondary School in London, Ont., is Canada’s first self-sufficient, carbon-neutral school, drawing on solar and geothermal energy for its power needs.
Concordat confusion: One thing remains certain, the Mi’kmaq remain a Christian nation
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterWhen Pope Francis steps onto Canadian soil he will also step into the nexus of pain, sorrow anger and regret that has come to define the relationship between the Church in Canada and Indigenous people. But these failures were not our starting point.
St. Mike’s recommits to protecting students
By Wendy-Ann Clarke, The Catholic RegisterWith the book being closed on the court cases involving seven students involved in a highly-publicized hazing and sexual assault at Toronto’s St. Michael’s College School, the prestigious Catholic private school says it remains “deeply committed” to measures put in place to make sure such an incident doesn’t occur again.
The fight goes on for euthanasia opponents
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterBill C-7, which will expand access to a medically-assisted death, is the law of the land and no doctor or nurse practitioner can be charged under the criminal code for ending the life of a patient who asked for the procedure so long as the right forms were filled out.
Polish church leaders offer support for refugees, but back border security
By Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News ServiceWARSAW, Poland -- Poland's military archbishop urged security forces to prevent the illegal entry of refugees and migrants, as the country's bishops' conference announced a nationwide collection to help those amassing on the frontier with Belarus.
Climate protest witness to global problem
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterIn the bright sunshine of a cool fall day, Catholics and other Christians brought their voices, protest signs and faith to a gathering of about 2,000 people on the front lawn of Queen’s Park Nov. 6 in a Global Day of Action at the halfway point of United Nations climate talks in Glasgow.
Christian unity week goes live again in 2022
By Michael Swan, The Catholic RegisterThe virtual has become normal and for lots of things it’s not bad. Virtual ecumenism, however, just isn’t a thing.
“I’m sorry. The ecumenical work of promoting Christian unity is face-to-face,” said Archdiocese of Toronto officer for Christian Unity and Jewish Dialogue Rev. Dr. Luis Melo. “It’s about relationships. It’s about receiving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.”
While Melo understands that virtual meetings are probably never going away, he is certain that Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox and Anglican parishes won’t start gathering for prayer or sitting down to dinner together again until it is safe and normal to do so.
“The priority with many of our parishes and congregations and churches, ecclesial communities, is going to be on re-gathering our own communities,” Melo said. “Because they’ve been dispersed, necessarily dispersed, and are slowly coming back.”
Melo sees things looking up for the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christianity, Jan. 18-25.
The annual liturgy bringing together Church leaders to pray for each other has been scheduled for Jan. 23 at Holy Trinity Armenian Church in Scarborough. Unlike last year’s all-virtual, sparsely attended service, this year will feature both live and online prayer.
The Greater Toronto Area Council of Churches is the co-ordinating body for the service. This year the Week of Prayer will feature a strong strain of Eastern Christian spirituality, given its origins.
The prayers, theme and key Gospel passage for the week were prepared this year by the Middle East Council of Churches, drawing attention to the ancient roots of Christian faith in the land where Jesus lived.
The churches have chosen the story of the Magi, Matthew 2:1-12 as the key to prayers, reflection and liturgy for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
“The Magi reveal to us the unity of all nations desired by God,” the Middle Eastern Council of Churches writes in its introduction to this year’s Week of Prayer. “They travel from far-off countries, and represent diverse cultures, yet they are driven by the same hunger to see and know the newborn king, and are gathered into the little house in Bethlehem in the simple act of giving homage and offering gifts.”
A kit with Bible study materials, liturgy and homily suggestions, hymns and children’s activities is available for free at www.weekofprayer.ca/2022-wpcu-resources.
The Catholic Register and Melo will also be reaching out to Catholic school boards in the archdiocese to invite students to participate in the annual Friars’ Student Writing Awards, sponsored by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.
Salesians arrested amid Ethiopian violence
By Catholic News ServiceNAIROBI, Kenya -- Ethiopian government forces raided a centre run by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Addis Ababa Nov. 5 and arrested 17 people, including priests, religious brothers and employees.
Pope Francis condemns attack on Iraqi prime minister's residence
By Catholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis condemned a drone attack on the Iraqi prime minister's residence as a "vile act of terrorism" and expressed his hope that all people in the country would pursue peace through dialogue.