News/Canada

OTTAWA - Groups will soon be allowed to distribute holy books at Canadian citizenship ceremonies.

“We’re going to send a directive to all Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) staff who process applications, instructing them if religious groups apply to sit in the back and have copies of holy books, they are entitled to do so,” said Alykhan Velshi, a spokesman for CIC Minister Jason Kenney.

The previous government had banned groups from giving away holy books in 2004, Velshi said.

TORONTO - Jailed pro-life protester Linda Gibbons is seeking to have a 16-year-old “temporary” court injunction overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Gibbons’ lawyer, Daniel Santoro, said the blanket injunction against pro-life protesters is an “abuse” and criminal charges arising from the injunction are  “unconstitutional.”

Santoro told The Catholic Register he submitted an application for a hearing to the Supreme Court on Gibbons’ behalf on Aug. 23. The Court has yet to respond.

The Peace Bridge connecting Canada and the United States at Niagara Falls was lit up on Aug. 26 in honour of the centenary of Mother Teresa’s birth. But it also represented a coming together of cross-border dioceses, said Kevin Keenan, director of communications with the diocese of Buffalo.

Illuminated in blue and white, the colours of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, the Peace Bridge initiative was a result of efforts of Buffalo Bishop Edward U. Kmiec and Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick, administrator of the diocese of St. Catharines, Ont.

The Basilian Fathers are encouraging any possible victims of sexual abuse by Fr. Kenneth O’Keefe to come forward.

O’Keefe was charged Aug. 11 with one count of indecent assault stemming from his contact with a teenaged boy at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa in 1972. But if there are other victims or other unreported incidents to be dealt with, the Basilians want to hear about them and will work with police and the court system to see justice is done, said Basilian spokesman Fr. Tom Rosica.

OTTAWA - Canada’s bishops hope the faithful will generously support its work as the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual collection approaches the weekend of Sept. 26.

“The primary purpose of the collection is to help the dioceses in Canada meet their annual per capital contribution to the CCCB,” said conference president Bishop Pierre Morissette in an Aug. 9 letter. “This is the conference’s main source of financing.”

Each diocese is assessed on a per capita basis for its contribution to the running of the bishops’ secretariat of 40 staff members and the work the bishops do in common, whether it is government relations, those with other episcopal conferences or the Holy See.

QUEBEC CITY - In his new duties helping the Pope choose bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet will be looking for bold “men of faith” who have “the guts to help people live it out.”

A bishop has to lead the community, so he needs a deep supernatural vision as well as the capacity to assess the political, cultural and sociological context, said Ouellet, the new Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Above all, a bishop must be “audacious in proposing the Word and in believing in the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit.”

SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BEAUPRE, QUE. - Cardinal Marc Ouellet affirmed his unqualified commitment to the Gospel as he bid his farewell to the Quebec archdiocese Aug. 15 before heading off to assume a new role at the Vatican.

At his last public celebration of the Eucharist before departing to Rome, the new Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops acknowledged some people may have been hurt by some of his words in public debate or some of his pastoral decisions.

In recent months, Ouellet has faced a wave of negative attacks in the news media for his forthright stance in defense of human life from conception, even in cases of rape.  

The Basilian Fathers are encouraging any possible victims of sexual abuse by Fr. Kenneth O'Keefe to come forward.

O'Keefe was charged Aug. 11 with one count of indecent assault stemming from his contact with a teenaged boy at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa in 1972. But if there are other victims or other unreported incidents to be dealt with, the Basilians want to hear about them and will work with police and the court system to see justice is done, said Basilian spokesman Fr. Tom
Rosica.

"We are committed to making available financial support for restorative therapy for anyone who has been abused by Fr. O'Keefe or by any other Basilian," said a statement from the religious order.

TORONTO - Offering a message of hope to Basilians is the most important job for Fr. George Smith, the newly elected leader of the Congregation of St. Basil.

The 49-year-old Smith was chosen by 58 delegates at the order’s July 4-16 general chapter in Rochester, N.Y., to lead the Basilians for the next four years.

“My first feelings were feelings of uncertainty; I wondered if I had the wisdom or experience that was necessary for this kind of leadership,” said Smith. “But I grew accustomed to the idea that with the prayers of my brothers, I could respond to this new call in a way that would be helpful.”

OTTAWA - Catholic women must use their gifts to address the systemic problems that have led to the Church’s global sexual abuse crisis, said Sr. Nuala Kenny.

The retired pediatrician and Sister of Charity brought this message to the Catholic Women’s League’s (CWL) 90th national convention here Aug. 9. The CWL met in Ottawa from Aug. 7-11.

“As long as we think clergy sex abuse is the individual sin of an individual offender or the individual sin of mismanagement on the part of bishops, we are not going to learn about why,” Kenny told 600 delegates packing a downtown hotel ballroom.