Youth Speak News

What used to be a house in the heart of downtown Toronto is now a new home for Catholic students seeking a place to study and relax.

This week wraps up election week for the University of Waterloo’s Federation of Students, or FEDs, as we call it. It’s been a busy two weeks of smiling, shaking hands, social media campaigns and general lack of sleep for the candidates. I can’t help but wonder if any of it is appreciated, or even noticed, by the majority of students on campus.

A journalist once yelled at me for being black and not knowing the name “Jim Crow.” At the time I was a young university student in Toronto. I did know about American history and the deep-seeded racial segregation in the United States. And yes, I should have known that the laws that supported this anti-black culture were referred to as “Jim Crow,” but I should have known this as a North American resident and not only because of my skin colour.

Editor’s note: this is the winning essay in the annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Angela Grace Tabucan is in Grade 12 at St. Brother André Catholic High School in Markham, Ont.

Often in our world Catholics tend to have a great discomfort when talking about or communicating with those of other Christian denominations. John 4:1-42 tells of Jesus and the woman of Samaria, and shows Jesus reaching out of His own Jewish community to speak with this woman. Christ is always found seeking community with others and when we embrace Christian unity we further grow in communion, strength and in love with Him.

Editor’s note: this is the second-place essay in the annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Veronica Marie Carswell is a student at Toronto's Don Bosco Secondary School.

In a good world, everyone would be accepted and respected despite their differences. In a perfect world, everyone would be accepted and respected because of their differences.

Editor’s note: this is the third place essay in the annual contest for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity sponsored by The Catholic Register and the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement-Graymoor. Michael Bellucci is a student at Toronto's Bishop Allen Academy.

The passage of John 4: 1-42 tells us how Jesus travelled to Samaria and did an almost unspeakable thing for that time. He associated himself with a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans had a long-standing prejudice towards each other and they never got along. When Jesus went to a well to get water, He spoke with a woman who was not only a Samaritan, but had five husbands and was looked down upon in her community. When Jesus spoke to the woman, even she was astonished He was talking to her.

It’s a new year again, and for many Advent is still fresh in our minds. That’s why it may come as a surprise that Lent is quickly approaching.

TORONTO - A Catholic chaplaincy has begun at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus, the last of the university’s three campuses to receive its own permanent Catholic chaplaincy.

I was thrilled to hear that my university’s office of campus ministry was hosting a “100-mile meal” potluck, preparing a meal made with ingredients found within 160 kilometres of my home. By eating locally we become proactive agents of change. We support our local farmers and our economy.