October 11, 2010 WARD 71 Becky Kallal It has been a privilege to represent Catholic voters as a trustee on the Edmonton Catholic School Board for the past term. There are many issues in education today and in Catholic education specifically, and I have worked hard to learn about as many as possible, bring attention to them, and advocate for solutions to them. Certainly, more work needs to be done. In a society that is becoming ever more secular, it is difficult to raise a child who has a true moral and spiritual compass. Parents who send their children to Catholic schools need to be confident that the values and beliefs that their children are receiving at school support those that they are trying to nurture at home. We cannot allow secularization to compromise our ability to contribute to the spiritual and moral formation of our students, while at the same time providing them with a quality education that prepares them for life in the 21st century. Catholics need to remain vigilant in order to reta ...

DENVER – A new sentiment in the mass media seems more hostile to Christian values, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput told a conference of 150 religion reporters Sept. 24.

He urged the journalists from across the nation and overseas "to understand believers and religious institutions as they understand themselves" and to have humility in their work. more . . .

BEAUMONT – Not only is Brother André on the verge of being elevated to sainthood, Montreal's humble man of faith will also be honoured as the patron of Beaumont's only Catholic school.

Planning for the new school started about four years ago. More recently, the Catholic community, parents and division staff submitted 45 potential names, such as St. Vital, Ascension and de La Salle. more . . .

VATICAN CITY – Honouring one of the inventors of in vitro fertilization with the Nobel Prize for Medicine ignores the ethical consequences of opening "the wrong door" in the fight against infertility, said the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. more . . .

EDMONTON – European missionaries who brought the Catholic faith to the indigenous people of the Americas believed aboriginal culture and spirituality were pagan or simply not good, laments Sister Eva Solomon.

She says that's one reason aboriginal people often feel angry. "We hear from the system that our language isn't good enough, our culture isn't good enough, our education isn't good enough - the only good thing was our land. Nothing else was good enough. more . . .

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican is setting the stage for another Synod of Bishops in mid-October, this one aimed at turning a spotlight on the Christian communities of the Middle East.

Synods are typically drawn-out affairs, requiring several years of planning and more years of follow-up. But there's a greater sense of urgency about this synod: Pope Benedict convened it rather unexpectedly a year ago, after Church leaders from the region - particularly Iraq - requested the special assembly.

CALGARY – Sister Yvonne Toucanne, a Sister of Charity of St. Louis, celebrated her 100th birthday on Sept. 17 at Bethany Care Centre in Calgary.

Surrounded by community members, friends, and administration and staff from Bethany Care Centre, her life of 100 years was celebrated through presentations and remembrances of her life and ministry.

FR. RAYMOND DE SOUZA

It's called the dies natalis - the day of birth. For saints it refers to their birthday in heaven or, in the eyes of the world, the day of their death upon earth. When assigning feast days to saints, the Church usually chooses the dies natalis; for example, the feast day of soon-to-be canonized Brother André of Montreal is Jan. 6, the day of his death in 1937, even though that day is also the great solemn feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.

So it was something of a surprise when it was announced last month that the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman would be Oct. 9 - which we will celebrate for the first time this week. more . . .

As Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger has been effusive in calling on Catholics to develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

At a 2008 outdoor Mass in Washington, D.C., for example, he said he had come "to implore from the Lord a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this country." Speaking like an enthused charismatic, he called for the people of the United States to be renewed in the Holy Spirit and for the Spirit to pour out his gifts upon the Church.

JOE GUNN

Even before this summer's boatload of 492 Tamil refugees docked on Canadian shores, government ministers in Ottawa were threatening firmer measures to deal with "traffickers." In Quebec, the provincial government has introduced legislation banning the niquab and other face coverings from public-sector venues.