Youth Speak News

Editor’s Note: this is a runner up in the Friars’ Student Writing Awards sponsored by Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Miriam Punnoose, 17, is a Grade 12 student at All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, Ont.  The contest is held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This is the last of six winning essays The Register  will publish.


Our world today has definitely not turned out to be the way God planned. He wanted us to live in peace and harmony with one another, to be faithful to our religion and to be loyal to His teachings. Yet today, one appears to be only faithful to himself/herself and concentrates on his/her needs.

MOOSE JAW, Sask. - Grade 9 students at Vanier Collegiate in Moose Jaw took part in the Catholic high school’s annual four-day retreat from the end of January to the beginning of February.

EDMONTON – If  a person could define vivacity, love of both God and justice, Julio Cesar Garcia, a 26-year-old engineer and political activist from Edmonton would be a good candidate.

The ways of promoting Christian unity have been controversial among several church communities. Although many believe that Christian unity is evident, in reality we are all separated into categories within our faith. The only way to truly promote Christian unity is through opening our ears and loosening our tongues. We must listen to one another, pray and help those in need in order to come together as one family in Christ.    

OTTAWA - NET is turning into a bilingual ministry with a travelling bilingual team starting in September.

Editor’s Note: this is a runner up in the Friars’ Student Writing Awards sponsored by Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Catherine Kirkpatrick, 14, is a Grade 9 student at St. Aloysius Gonzaga High School in Mississauga. The contest is held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Register  will publish all six winning essays.

Sometimes we find that we get so caught up with schoolwork, our hectic schedule and our heart’s desires that we often forget about, and close our hearts to, the suffering people are enduring all around us. So how can we, as Catholics, open our ears to the needs of others and loosen our tongues in order to promote Christian unity not only today, but for generations to come?

TORONTO - The Three Musketeers, Swiss Guards, medieval knights — members of the Heralds of the Gospel have heard it all. When they wear their scapular in public they can’t go anywhere without attracting attention. 

TORONTO - The rapping friar from the Bronx returns to Toronto to perform at the You Are the Light of the World Rally on Feb. 28 at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Editor's Note: this is the second place winner of the Friars' Student Writing Award sponsored by Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and The Catholic Register. Gregory Drozdzal, 16, is a Grade 11 student at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto. The contest is held in conjunction with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Over the coming weeks, we will publish all six winning essays.

It has been said that every journey begins with one step. Sacred Scripture brings to life the courageous and bold journeys Jesus and the apostles took in an attempt to evangelize the world and spread their revolutionary teachings of love and social justice.  Yet their journey began with one simple and courageous step. A few weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI travelled to Turkey in a noble attempt to connect with the Muslim, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christian faiths.  His journey, like his predecessors' 2,000 years before him, began with one simple and courageous step.  Every   day, we, as Catholics, set out on a new journey. Not knowing who we may meet on the road of life or where we may end up, we place our faith in the God who created us and loves us.  Life is indeed a fascinating journey.