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Stories about the Toronto Catholic school board:
 Toronto Catholic school trustees' fat perks blasted
A culture of entitlement among Toronto Catholic trustees saw them hire relatives, double dip on restaurant bills and approve car allowances and health benefits, despite being told by board staff and lawyers such perks weren't allowed, says a scathing report.
Toronto Star, May 8
Spending by trustees at Catholic board spurs audit
In the wake of a scathing report about excessive spending by trustees of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the province moved quickly yesterday to order in an auditor to examine trustee expense claims for the past five years.
Globe and Mail, May 8
Parents shocked by Catholic board spending
As details emerge of expense claims by trustees, calls go out for repayment of money and for the resignation of the entire Toronto Catholic board
Toronto Star, May 9
Trustee seeks school board ethics watchdog
Arbiter needed in wake of spending scandal, says Toronto Catholic board appointee Rob Davis
Toronto Star, May 12
Catholic trustees should look higher for their guidance
Memo to Rob Davis, the newest trustee on Toronto's Catholic school board: Mr. Davis: We understand your concern over your new colleagues' scandalous spending of tax dollars on perks, vacations, family, food, booze and sundry self-promotion and aggrandizement. But, please, sir, rethink the idea of turning over your problems to the City of Toronto's integrity commissioner for ethical guidance. If the local priest didn't help trustees understand that integrity is a core Catholic virtue, then Toronto's integrity commissioner, David Mullan, will certainly fail.
Royson James, Toronto Star, May 13
Catholic trustees urged to quit
Education minister sends in auditors, directs board to implement a plan to fix spending mess
Toronto Star, May 15
Stories about prayer in Ontario and Quebec government meetings:
Panel debates religion and politics
An all-party committee is now studying the fate of the Lord's Prayer, sorting through 5,700 e-mails sent by the public so far -- which temporarily crashed the legislature's website -- and hearing from at least 50 faith groups in person.
Globe and Mail, May 9
Ontario should keep the Lord's Prayer
I as a taxpayer and a Jew voted Liberal in the last Ontario provincial election because I felt the Jewish community and Mr. Tory were wrong to ask the taxpayers to pay for their religious schools. But the Lord's Prayer, now that is another matter. All schools, Jewish or not, should teach and respect the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer is Christianity and Canadiana at its best. The Lord's Prayer has done me no harm, nor has it done any harm to my half-Jewish and half-WASP children.
Larry Zolf, National Post, May 13
Human rights commission orders Quebec city to stop praying before meeting
Quebec's human rights commission has asked the city of Saguenay to stop praying before council meetings. The commission says the prayer goes against the city's obligation to remain neutral on questions of religion. The advisory follows a 2006 ruling involving Laval, Que., that found such prayers infringe individual rights. The commission says in a news release that it won't push the case to a costly tribunal because of the clear precedent set in 2006.
Canadian Press, May 15
Earlier: Stories about the Ontario legislature and the Lord's Prayer
Stories about Anglican and Lutheran schisms over homosexuality:
Members move church services
Members of two Anglican churches are choosing not to worship in their buildings tomorrow in the wake of a court order that they share the facilities with the diocese they have left. A Superior Court ruling on Monday required three breakaway churches to share the property Sunday mornings until ownership is decided -- a process that could take up to 10 years in trial. The churches voted to join the Anglican Network in Canada just over two months ago, claiming the Anglican Church of Canada was growing too liberal in its interpretation of scripture.
Hamilton Spectator, May 10
Sunday services continue at three-breakaway Anglican churches
Services at two breakaway Anglican churches in Ontario went ahead Sunday at different venues after parishioners decided they could not share their churches with the diocese as ordered by the courts last week. A third breakaway parish in St. Catharines honoured the Ontario Superior Court ruling and shared its facilities, but it was not without problems.
Canadian Press, May 11
Ordination of gay man first of its kind for Lutheran churches in Canada
Despite stern warnings from a Canadian bishop, a southern Ontario Lutheran church will take the unprecedented move of ordaining a married gay man. Pastor Dawn Hutchings says about 50 clergy from across the country will celebrate the ordination of Lionel Ketola this Friday in Newmarket, Ont.
Canadian Press, May 14
Gay issue dividing Lutheran Church
Ontario parish risks expulsion to ordain gay pastor
National Post, May 15
Earlier: Stories about the Anglican schism over same-sex blessings
Stories about the residential schools:
The good side of the residential school story is valid, too
Not everyone who attended was scarred. Some children learned valuable, life-long skills
Richard Wagamese, Vancouver Sun, May 12
Minister names members of commission on residential schools
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl announced the appointment of Jane Brewin Morley and Claudette Dumont-Smith as commissioners in the House of Commons. Last month, Justice Harry LaForme was named head of the commission, which will examine the conditions that gave rise to residential schools, and hear stories from survivors.
CanWest News Service, May 14
Earlier: LaForme and Epp -- healing agents?
Stories about Bill C-10:
Bill not confidence matter, Liberal senators say
Liberal senators say Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was wrong when he told reporters last week that a bill to deny tax credits to makers of violent or pornographic films and TV shows is necessarily a matter of confidence and must not be changed. "It would be useful if Mr. Flaherty learned a little bit of constitutional law," Yoine Goldstein, the Liberal vice-chairman of the Senate banking committee, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The omnibus Bill C-10 that includes the tax-credit provisions is not a confidence matter because it is just a collection of income-tax changes, not a budget bill, Mr. Goldstein said. That means it would not automatically trigger an election if it were returned to the House of Commons in amended form.
Globe and Mail, May 9
Famed director Cronenberg pans Canadian bill on film credits
The proposal actually dates back to the previous Liberal government, which had wanted the power to stop federal tax credits from going to a movie about serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. But when Charles McVety, a prominent evangelical leader, publicly boasted in February that his lobbying for "conservative values" had influenced the Harper government to include the tax provision, the worst fears of the arts community appeared to be legitimized.
Canadian Press, May 14
Earlier: Stories about Bill C-10
Stories about Israel and the 60th anniversary of its founding:
Israeli envoy fears policy shift
Ambassador says continuing influx of Muslims to Canada could erode support for Jewish state
Globe and Mail, May 8
From the Hague to Hamas, anti-Semitism refuses to die
A Dutch-Canadian Holocaust survivor explains what Israel means to him
Robert Krell, National Post, May 8
Canada's backing of Israel unshakeable, Harper says
The Harper government has been a strong supporter of Israel and is seen to have stepped up Canadian backing since it took over from the Liberals in 2006. Politicians of different stripes reacted yesterday to comments made to The Globe this week by Israeli ambassador Alan Baker suggesting Canada's growing Muslim population will make it less friendly toward Israel.
Globe and Mail, May 9
Canada will not abandon Israel: PM
Mr. Harper, who has repeatedly taken a blunt stance in defence of Israel, blamed some of his rivals in opposition for encouraging anti-Semitism in the midst of an escalating conflict between the Jewish state and Hezbollah in 2006 in Lebanon. At the time, Mr. Harper was criticized in some circles for being pro-Israel when he defended controversial military strikes in Beirut.
National Post, May 9
Imagining Israel at 80
As an Israeli, I offer these pictures of the future as images of hope. They are hard to imagine today, because today Israelis are likely to define the "Jewish" in "Jewish state" in one of two ways: Either it refers to ethnic survival and to identifying with the Israeli side in the conflict with the Arabs, or to state-established Orthodox Judaism. But if Israel takes some daring and essential steps in the coming years, it could finally benefit from the full fruits of creating a Jewish state: A flourishing Jewish majority culture, rich with religious experimentation, and the confidence to accept and integrate minorities.
Gershom Gorenberg, National Post, May 9
The opposite of colonialism
We should not think of this as "mere history" any more than we should refer to "mere politics." A dispersed and persecuted nation returning to its place of origin is not expansion or imperialism but the precise opposite. Indeed, this is arguably the most successful example of the triumph of an indigenous, native people over oppression and ejection. That the Jews were forced out of their homes for centuries makes the return not less but more laudable.
Michael Coren, National Post, May 9
Rae slams PM over allegations of anti-Semitism in the House
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's political opponents criticized him yesterday for comments he made in a radio interview suggesting some members of Parliament harbour anti-Semitic views. "I find the comments a kind of blanket smear," said MP Bob Rae, the Liberals' foreign affairs critic.
Ottawa Citizen, May 10
Israel at 60
Will Israel last another 60 years? Will Canada? Will the West? I believe the questions are closely related, and will begin by giving two quick answers.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, May 14
Earlier: Stories about Israel and the 60th anniversary of its founding
Stories about the polygamist communities in Bountiful and Texas:
Special prosecutor targets polygamy 'epidemic'
The United States has appointed a federal prosecutor to work with state and local authorities on bringing an end to lawlessness in polygamous communities, an investigation that may extend to finding a way to stop the so-called polygamy underground railway across the Canada-U.S. border.
Globe and Mail, May 8
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Trying to challenge polygamy stretches the long arm of the law
It has been handed down like a curse from one attorney-general to the next. For two dozen years, the challenge of how to take legal action against polygamist practices in the community of Bountiful has confounded B.C.'s criminal justice branch.
Globe and Mail, May 9
Utah, Arizona reject polygamy prosecutions
States pursue charges of child abuse, domestic violence against church members
Globe and Mail, May 10
Lending a hand to children of polygamy
From Arizona to Alberta, word spreads about plan to replace library shut down by now-jailed church leader
Globe and Mail, May 12
Bountiful mom says family working to bring daughter home from Texas
A B.C. mother living in British Columbia's polygamist community says she's working to bring her daughter back to Canada after the teen was apprehended last month by U.S. child-welfare authorities at a polygamist community in Texas. The mother said Tuesday her family is working through channels that do not include the Canadian government in order to bring the girl home. "My daughter is down there and we're working on getting her home," the woman said in a telephone interview from Bountiful, located near Creston about 740 kilometres east of Vancouver.
Canadian Press, May 13
B.C. may help in effort to return girl to Canada after raid on Texas commune
Ottawa is suggesting B.C.'s children's ministry may become involved in a polygamy-related investigation in the United States on behalf of a teenaged B.C. girl who is currently being held by Texas authorities, Attorney General Wally Oppal said Wednesday. The federal Foreign Affairs Department contacted the province regarding the 17-year-old girl apprehended by U.S. child welfare authorities last month at a polygamist community in Eldorado, Texas, Oppal said.
Canadian Press, May 14
Earlier: Stories about the polygamist communities in Bountiful and Texas
Stories Stories from Douglas Todd's series on Cascadia:
Natural environment Shaped our culture
Cascadia was in on the ground floor of the movement led by Greenpeace
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 8
Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia
Dear Readers: I am the editor of a book to be released this fall by Ronsdale Press, titled Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia - Exploring the Spirit of the Pacific Northwest. It looks at themes that integrate and go beyond this current Vancouver Sun series on the politics, economics, culture and environment of Cascadia. It is about the distinct spirituality practised in this wondrous geographic region.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 8
Earlier: Stories from Douglas Todd's series on Cascadia
Stories about Islam and the West:
Making the leap into freedom of speech fights requires deft footwork
Dismissing the complaint against Maclean's would be smart. So smart, there's no danger the Human Rights Tribunals will do it. Jumping out of the way requires the brilliance of an Australian kangaroo. Canada's home-grown marsupials show no signs of having reached such rarified heights.
George Jonas, CanWest Publications, May 7
For the birds
My correspondent's unceasingly cheeping bird was Islam. He was fed up waking every morning and reading of the latest offence taken by the more excitable Muhammadans. If memory serves, this exhaustion was prompted by a Muslim protest outside Westminster Cathedral demanding the execution of the Pope. It was organized by a fellow called Anjem Choudhary, who argued that "whoever insults the message of Muhammad is going to be subject to capital punishment." But then again it might have been some other provocation entirely -- say, the chocolate swirl on the top of a Burger King dessert carton that an aggrieved customer complained bore too close a resemblance to the Arabic script for "Allah" (the offending menu item was subsequently withdrawn). If you're that eager to take offence, it's not difficult to find it. Or as President Bush said to me around the same time: "If it's not the Crusades, it's the cartoons." Which would make a great bumper sticker. It encapsulates perfectly not only the inability of the perpetually aggrieved to move on, millennium-in millennium-out, but also the utter lack of proportion.
Mark Steyn, Maclean's, May 10
The Trouble with Irshad Manji
Vancouver-raised Irshad Manji has written a book, titled The Trouble With Islam Today, which has been translated into 30 languages. Vivacious, hip and glamorous, Manji has become a big star in the media and in some intellectual circles for criticizing the heavy-handed tactics of conservative Muslims. She is a free-thinking, attractive and cool "Muslim" to which many non-Muslims can relate. But is she really a Muslim insider, and does she offer much insight into the real complexities of Islam today?
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 13
Triggering a state of Islam
In this the first of four edited excerpts from his new book, Chasing the Mirage, Tarek Fatah explains why he is challenging fellow Muslims to be honest with themselves about the current state of their faith and their place in the world.
Tarek Fatah, National Post, May 13
Promote the faith, not the tribe
The poet and philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, who was born in British India in 1877 and died in 1938, is celebrated in Pakistan as that country's "thinker." He was educated in Britain and Germany, and lectured throughout India, producing great works on Islam, politics and economics. He called for an Islamic revival, yet opposed the restoration of of the caliphate and an Islamic State on the grounds that it was an obstacle to the modernization of the Muslim world. He defended the separation of religion and state, writing, "The republican form of government is ... thoroughly consistent with the spirit of Islam..."
Tarek Fatah, National Post, May 14
The two Islams
In August, 1990, 45 representatives from Muslim countries, under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, signed the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam. The result leaves much to be desired. Although successive Islamic declarations on human rights have tried to present themselves as compatible with the principle of universal basic rights, a number of severe contradictions exist between these declarations and Western constitutionalism. The most important is that Islam does not accept separating religion from the state and societal affairs. According to Articles 23 and 24 of the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, all rights and freedoms are subject to Islamic sharia. In this framework, human rights lose their unconditional character and their focus on the protection of the individual vis-a-vis any kind of power.
Tarek Fatah, National Post, May 15
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Other stories from the past week:
Christian home for disabled appeals human rights ruling on lesbian employee
Heeding the commission's ruling, Christian Horizons says it will no longer require prospective employees to sign a lifestyle and morality statement in which they promise to be faithful to their spouses, refrain from premarital or homosexual affairs and not promote alcohol or tobacco. That agreement was at the centre of former employee Connie Heintz's case.
CanWest News Service, May 8
Earlier: Human rights tribunal forces Christian organization to ditch morality code
B. C. father suing church after daughters hurt at Christian rock concert
The father of two teenage girls injured in the collapse of an Abbotsford church floor during a Christian rock concert has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging negligence against the Mennonite church and the concert promoter.
CanWest News Service, May 8
Earlier: Church floor collapses during Starfield concert
Boy, 11, undergoing chemotherapy against his family's, wishes
He did one round of chemo in February and then said no more and his family backed his decision. "There is only one person -- The Creator -- who decides who lives or dies," his father said. "It's not you or me or McMaster Hospital or the CAS [Children's Aid Society] -- it's The Creator."
Canadian Press, May 9
An altogether stirring Elijah
Mendelssohn's version of this "sacred opera" based on the Old Testament was commissioned by arguably the oldest festival of modern times, the Birmingham Festival. The 1846 production was sung in English, although Mendelssohn had written the text in German and composed the music in accordance with that language's rhythmic patterns.
J.J. Van Vlasselaer, Globe and Mail, May 9
It's time for a change, for God's sake
This morning, seven men will lie prostrate on the floor of St. Michael's Cathedral. And in front of the Roman Catholic Archbishop, an audience and all the saints, ask to be accepted as the newest priests for the Archdiocese of Toronto. These fellows don't have pristine, God-driven pasts.
National Post, May 10
Holy trinity plus ten
The Column 13 Actors Company is taking on God, salty language and all, with the help of playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis
National Post, May 10
Lessons in virtue from two great warriors
In the time of a controversial five-year-long war in Iraq, we can gain badly needed wisdom from two of history's greatest warriors. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and the Chinese general Sun Tzu can teach us about virtue, peace and philosophy when it seems many want us on a perpetual war footing.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 10
Plot undercut by form
In her new young adult novel, The Apprentice's Masterpiece, Melanie Little offers an unusual take on the Spanish Inquisition. The story's persecuted teenage protagonists, Ramon and Amir, cannot topple the rampant Catholic theocracy the Inquisition represents. Instead, they struggle to survive as their formerly harmonious society is dismembered. Little brings us into unusually downbeat territory for young-adult historical fiction -- and the fact that she does it entirely in free verse makes it even more unusual.
Lyle Neff, Vancouver Sun, May 10
Motherhood
I have it on reliable authority that today is Mother's Day -- to say nothing of Pentecost -- and I hope to fit in a few words on that topic before my readers all head out to join the nearest Marian procession in honour of Our Lady. Well, perhaps not all my readers. Still, perhaps, the best place to start: for I seem to have earned at least a local reputation as some kind of Catholic religious nutjob, and I am rather proud of it. We do need to start somewhere, for the very idea of "motherhood" has been so transformed through the last couple of generations -- during which first divorce, then abortion, and then a lot of other things were turned from unthinkable options into consumer goods -- that it is now rather at sea.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, May 11
Sculpture issue to come before park board
People who love sculpture in public places, including controversial pieces, are gearing to present their opinions to the park board next week as part of the debate over the upside-down church. That sculpture -- entitled Device to Root Out Evil -- now has its steeple digging into the ground of a park at the foot of Bute Street.
Vancouver Sun, May 14
Earlier: Device to root out evil?
Singing its praises
How joining a choir can improve your mental health
CanWest News Service, May 15
Autumn Kelly's cavalier conversion
The usual manner of leaving the Catholic Church is to drift away, without making any public pronouncement of it. So it is noteworthy when it happens, and more so if one does it in order to conform with the constitution of Canada.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, May 15
May 15/2008
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