A student journalist at Toronto’s Ryerson University is claiming damages from the school’s volunteer student newspaper, saying he was kicked off the paper’s roster of writers for his Catholic beliefs.

I’ve long been fascinated by political correctness and how it often has a life of its own; either ignoring facts or not bothering to find facts before going off half-cocked.

Amid a backdrop of the historical Christian village of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plains in Iraq, Athra Kado passionately talked about protecting his Assyrian people as a soldier of the Nineveh Plains Protection Unit.

TORONTO – A Catholic college owes just one thing to the families of young men and women entrusted to its care.

TORONTO - Fr. Borna Puskaric has a major project awaiting him when he returns to his home diocese of Zagreb, Croatia.

TORONTO - Fr. Ricardo Davis struggled with a calling from two cities half a world apart.

One called him towards a life of celebrity, the other to a life of celibacy.

TORONTO - Pro-life groups at Ontario universities have gained an influential ally in their fight for free speech on campus.
The Ontario Civil Liberties Association (OCLA) released a position paper on April 29 opposing “the evident statutory and institutional bias that exists in Ontario against the free-expression rights of pro-life campaigners.”

The Newman Catholic Students’ Club at University of Toronto gathered in the Newman chapel for its monthly street patrol discussion, but this time they were joined by some new faces.

TORONTO - Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) is finally coming to Toronto.

To coincide with its 25th anniversary, CCO has entered into a partnership to bring the student-focused evangelization movement to Ryerson University starting in the 2013 fall semester.

“As a movement we are very excited to be invited into the archdiocese of Toronto,” said Dan Freeman, district director for Kingston, Ont. “The real excitement is just the opportunity to service Christ and influence the culture in a place as significant as Toronto but also Ryerson University.”

Since forming in 1988 on the University of Sasketchewan’s campus, CCO has spread coast to coast, from Dalhousie University in Halifax to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Ryerson will be the 10th campus to have a CCO ministry and the third in Ontario, joining Queen’s and Ottawa universities.

The new partnership came at the invitation of Cardinal Thomas Collins, the archbishop of Toronto.

“CCO is always on campus at the invitation of the local bishop,” said Freeman. “So in this case we were invited by Cardinal Collins to Ryerson because he deemed it to be the most appropriate location for our ministry.”

Oriana Bertucci, the director of Ryerson’s Catholic Campus Ministry, was thrilled by the announcement.

“We’re really excited because it is an opportunity for us to grow the number of people that are here to support the Catholic population at Ryerson,” she said.

Bertucci says there are 15 faith groups on campus and they currently account for about 25 per cent of the room bookings by the Ryerson Student Union.

“The RSU has been really supportive in realizing that this is a growing need on our campus,” she said, adding space is always a challenge in downtown Toronto. “They’ve worked with the university to find and renovate and open some additional space specifically for faith groups on campus.”

Freeman says the first step in launching CCO is becoming familiar with student needs.

“Our focus in the first months is going to be getting to know the students, who they are, where they come from, what their personal aspirations are, what programs they’re in. We’re going to be very much dependent on their experiences and their observations,” said Freeman. “There will be more strategical tactical goals after that. Leading faith studies and unrolling our programs.”

One of the first programs excpected is Discover Studies, essentially a Bible study, which focuses on a relationship with Jesus to remind students that, through Jesus Christ, Christians connect with God.

Kevin Lo entered Ryerson’s architecture program a mature, reserved and dedicated student. Starting university, grades were his uppermost focus — now it’s God.

This time last year Lo was nominated as vice-president of finance for Ryerson’s Catholic Students’ Association after becoming increasingly involved with the group. What started as a curiosity evolved into a vital component of Lo’s faith. But when he had an opportunity to truly influence the organization, Lo was filled with concern and doubt. So he prayed.