“It’s a subject that I often talk about with my mother,” said Wong, a Grade 11 student at Toronto’s Loretto Abbey. “I saw it as an opportunity to voice my opinion.”
For her efforts, Wong has won a 16 GB iPad2.
Wong, who was both surprised and stunned to have won the top spot, said she gained a lot more insight into Christian unity through writing the essay.
The contest received close to 150 entries, a record response. Essays were submitted from high school students across the province.
“I was delighted by the outstanding response,” said Franciscan Friar of the Atonement Fr. Damian MacPherson, who along with Register editors judged the entries.
“This contest is a great opportunity for young minds to do some reflection and research on the importance of unity in the Christian Church. It also gives them a chance to reflect on their own faith and come to a deeper understanding of their practice.”
- Laila Khoshkar, a Grade 12 student placed second. Jason Angelo Iruthayarajah came third.
Second-place winner Laila Khoshkar, a Muslim student at Toronto’s St. Joseph’s Morrow Park High School, said she was writing from an outsider’s point of view.
“I go to a Catholic school so it’s nice to learn about another faith,” said Khoshkar, a Grade 12 student. “It was a good experience because I got to learn more about it. I did a bit of research and I guess I just formed my opinion based on what I see at school.”
The winner of an Amazon Kindle Fire, Khoshkar said she found the Bible passage to be quite interesting and that it was “enlightening” to learn a bit more about another religion.
Jason Angelo Iruthayarajah, a Grade 11 student at St. Augustine Secondary School in Brampton, Ont., was the third place winner.
He said it’s important to remember that we’re all following Jesus.
“We should try and be unified and try to work out our differences between each other,” he said. “I think maybe if we use more dialogue between these different divisions in the Church, then maybe we can work it all out and eventually become a stronger Church because of that.”
The top three essays will be edited and published here at catholicregister.org and in The Catholic Register starting next week.