|
Note: Registration or subscription to the host news sites may be required to read some of the stories linked here.
Stories about the Toronto Catholic school board:
Audit confirms spending abuse by Toronto Catholic school trustees
A provincial audit of Catholic school board trustees in Toronto released today has confirmed details of misspending. Double billing and ineligible expenses were confirmed in the independent report by Ernst and Young LLP concerning spending between 2003 and 2008.
Canadian Press, November 13
Trustee scandal widens
Toronto's Catholic trustees will pay back every penny of the almost $30,000 in questionable or ineligible expenses cited in a damning forensic audit, Ontario's education minister said yesterday after turning the report over to Toronto police.
Toronto Star, November 14
Trustees spent public cash on jewellery, iPods: auditor
An auditor's report that confirmed Toronto Catholic school trustees spent public money on iPods, jewellery and Internet gambling has been passed along to Toronto police, after trustees failed to answer for all of their expenses.
National Post, November 14
Audit details Catholic trustees' expense sins
A provincial audit into spending by Roman Catholic school board trustees in Toronto has revealed nearly $30,000 in ineligible and potentially ineligible expenses.
Canadian Press, November 14
Earlier: Stories about Catholic school boards
Stories about the residential schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission:
LaForme says moral code was behind resignation
In his first public appearance since resigning in October as chair of the residential schools truth and reconciliation commission, Mr. Justice Harry LaForme said that within months of taking the job, his fellow commissioners tried to usurp his authority.
Globe and Mail, November 13
Truth commissions can't heal a nation
They can expose the facts, but they are not a form of therapy
Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun, November 15
Lawyers aim for quick pick of new truth commissioner
Lawyers trying to salvage the truth-telling forum on native residential schools hope to nail down a fast-tracked plan to choose its new leader on Thursday. The Toronto meeting will focus on structural details to be approved by the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit and Metis, the federal government and the churches that once ran the live-in schools.
Canadian Press, November 19
Earlier: Stories about the residential schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Stories about the American election:
Proof: Palin choice hurt Republicans
I hate to say I told you so (that's a joke), but a poll released Friday shows Republican John McCain's choice of Pentecostal Governor Sarah Palin as a running mate ultimately hurt the party.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 14
Serious spiritual author gets a laugh out of U.S. election
Kathleen Norris talks passionately about what is right and wrong in America
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, November 15
A Polarizing Pit Bull
Euphoria is by its nature transitory and unreliable, and never more so than when induced by political celebrity and media hysteria. Oh the disappointment when the holy icon comes down from the wall and is revealed as just another mediocre portrait. They wanted him to Barack their world, but in his first major appointment the president-elect has sent the dreamers back to their barracks. He asked Rahm Emanuel to be the White House chief of staff, thus alienating those domestic political opponents he claimed he wanted to include in his new America and, perhaps more importantly, outraging the Arab and greater Muslim community.
Michael Coren, National Post, November 18
Meet the man who could cost Hillary Clinton the Secretary of State
The New York Times and many other media outlets have this week been pinpointing one man as a potential issue as Barack Obama's advisers begin reviewing former President Bill Clinton's finances and activities to see whether they would preclude the appointment of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary of state. He is Vancouver mining executive and financier Frank Giustra.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 19
Earlier: Stories about the American and Canadian elections
Stories about Islam and the West:
Tea with the Taliban
A brave and insightful Vancouver doctor has returned to Afghanistan for about the sixth time, providing desperately needed medical services to the Muslim population, especially its women. Each time Dr. Maureen Mayhew returns to Canada she has more to teach us about what is going on in the war-ravaged country.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 13
Honour Killing: An apt description of a murder with cultural overtones or an inherently racist term?
In its initial poster seeking fugitive Texas cab driver Yasser Abdel Said -- sought for the double homicide of his teenaged daughters -- the bureau said he disapproved of their dating non-Muslim boys, and stated that they were murdered "due to an 'Honour Killing.'" Although family members speculated that the father's Islamic beliefs motivated the crime, the use of the phrase "honour killing" incensed the local Muslim-American community, which argued that the accused's religion should not be linked to the double homicide, which left his two daughters dead in the back of his taxi. After a public outcry, the FBI struck the offending words three weeks ago.
National Post, November 15
Mosque in hot water again
The Toronto mosque that once warned its members to avoid wishing others "Merry Christmas," equating it with murder, is once again pitted in controversy. And now the Muslim Canadian Congress is calling on Ottawa to strip the charitable status of the Somali Islamic Society of Canada, which owns the Khalid Bin Al-Walid mosque in Etobicoke, founded in 1990 and serving more than 10,000 worshippers.
Toronto Star, November 17
8 Muslims settle skirt dispute with UPS
But women behind human rights complaint won't return to work at parcel firm, source says
Toronto Star, November 18
Rasheed anything but a Natural Born Killer
Calgary's Koran-reading middle linebacker proves a departure from his fraternity's usual stereotypes
Globe and Mail, November 18
Muslim beauty queen tells of racism, survival
Former Miss Germany inspired by Anne Frank
Toronto Star, November 19
Aga Khan to address Ismaili community here
The Aga Khan is both a major spiritual leader and the head of a $500-million-US-a-year development agency, and his eight-day visit to Canada, which began Tuesday, reflects both roles. As Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, he will meet and address members of Canada's 75,000-strong Ismaili community in special events to mark his Golden Jubilee.
Vancouver Sun, November 19
Continue article >>
|
France got virginity ruling right
But it's no coincidence that, in France -- home to 5 million Muslims -- "re-creation" of hymens, a surgical technique, is soaring among women of North African origin. And it was in passionately secular France that a court this week revoked the annulment of a Muslim couple, overturning a lower tribunal's ruling.
Rosie DiManno, Toronto Star, November 19
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Stories about Muslims accused of firebombing Jewish sites:
Canadian arrested in Paris synagogue bombing probe
A part-time sociology instructor at the University of Ottawa has been arrested and could face extradition to France in connection with the fatal bombing of a Paris synagogue in 1980. Hassan Diab was taken into custody Thursday on a provisional extradition warrant issued at the request of French authorities, said Christian Girouard, a spokesman for the federal Justice Department.
Canadian Press, November 13
Synagogue bombing suspect vows to fight
Until last year, Hassan Diab was leading the quiet life of a Canadian sociology professor. Prof. Diab was teaching at both Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, was said to be a popular colleague and teacher. After leaving the violence of his native Lebanon and earning his doctorate in the United States, Prof. Diab, 54, received his Canadian citizenship and appeared to settle into Ottawa. There, friends said he was a secular man with an interest in sociology and Middle East studies, and was not without a warm side.
Globe and Mail, November 14
Montreal man sentenced for anti-Jewish 'terrorist' acts
One-half of a Montreal duo accused of firebombing two Jewish institutions was sentenced to four years in prison Monday for what a Quebec court judge decried as an act of terrorism. Azim Ibragimov, 25, pleaded guilty earlier this year to tossing a Molotov cocktail at the Skver-Toldos Orthodox Jewish Boys school in September 2006 and at the Ben Weider Jewish Community Centre in April 2007. Mr. Ibragimov also pleaded guilty to writing letters that claimed the crimes were committed in the name of Islamic Jihad, a militant group that has vowed to destroy Israel and set up an Islamic Palestinian state.
Canadian Press, November 17
Firebomber called terrorist
Azim Ibragimov wasn't charged with terrorism, but that's what a Quebec Court judge called his crimes of firebombing a Jewish school and community centre. In a harsh judgment applauded by B'nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec Court Judge Gilles Cadieux sentenced Ibragimov yesterday to four years in prison and three years' probation.
Montreal Gazette, November 18
Earlier: Stories about Jews, Judaism and anti-Semitism
Stories about Sikhs and Sikhism:
Surrey mayor under fire for handing over youth centre building permit
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts misused her office by appearing to take partisan credit for a building permit issued to Dasmesh Darbar Sikh temple for a new youth centre, Coun. Bob Bose charged Friday. Watts and her Surrey First candidates visited the temple Thursday night to celebrate the birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Earlier in the day, city staff had issued the long-awaited permit for the youth centre.
Vancouver Sun, November 15
The many plots to kill Tara Singh Hayer
Now, 10 years after the assassination of the outspoken publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times, The Vancouver Sun has learned there were at least three simultaneous plots to kill Hayer, all linked to his vocal criticism of the tactics used by a handful of violent Sikh separatists in B.C.
Vancouver Sun, November 15
A True Martyr
Tara Singh Hayer was a fearless enemy of radicalism in the Sikh community. Ten years ago, he paid the ultimate price
Jonathan Kay, National Post, November 18
Earlier: Stories about Sikhs and Hindus
Other stories from the past week:
Transcript: Mellissa Fung interview
A partial transcript of the interview with CBC reporter Mellissa Fung, who was kidnapped and held captive for 28 days in Afghanistan. . . . Q: Are you religious? A: Yes. Funny, they let me keep a small pocket rosary in my pocket, which they took out the first day and kind of threw on the ground. I said, can I have that? They gave it back to me, so I prayed with that.
CBC News, November 13
Controversy surrounds exhibit of Dead Sea Scrolls
The Royal Ontario Museum could find itself unearthing old controversies when it opens its $3-million, would-be blockbuster Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition next June. A history professor in the U. S. has accused an earlier, related project in San Diego of deliberate bias, scholarly incompetence and suggestions that its curator, who is also assembling the ROM exhibition, was unqualified for the job.
National Post, November 13
Sex and the Church
This Saturday, there will be an important conference on sexual morality and contraception, featuring both the Archbishops of Toronto and Ottawa, at St. Michael's College on the campus of the University of Toronto. Ho-hum. Catholic bishops support Catholic teaching -- that's hardly a headline. But something deeper is going on which, among other things, casts light on the different paths taken by Catholics and Protestants in the 20th century.
Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, November 13
St. James Cathedral hit by fire
Church officials are praying they'll be able to open St. James Cathedral for a worship service tomorrow after the Toronto landmark caught fire last night.
Toronto Star, November 15
Quebec could become first province to foot the bill for in-vitro treatments
Already rich with a history of policy-makers encouraging baby-makers, Quebec could become the first province to pay entirely for in-vitro fertilization treatment under an election promise made Monday by the governing Liberals. Premier Jean Charest has joined a long line of Quebec political and religious leaders to play a role in family planning.
Canadian Press, November 17
Having faith in business decisions
A Christian-based B.C. university aims to provide a moral compass for MBA students from all denominations
Globe and Mail, November 18
New book calls for "spirituality of place" in Pacific Northwest
Hello readers: I am the editor of a new book that has just been released. It's titled Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia -- Exploring the Spirit of the Pacific Northwest.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, November 18
Lutheran parish suspended over gay pastor
Lionel Ketola was made a minister by a non-traditional American Lutheran group that ordains gay men and women. Mr. Ketola was then hired as the associate pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in May and was immediately warned that he had no official status in the national church and the parish would be subject to sanctions.
National Post, November 19
Earlier: Stories about Anglican and Lutheran schisms over homosexuality
Doing it daily is divine
Pastor Ed Young wants to help married couples improve their relationships. His solution: Make love -- and do it daily. Can a sex talk delivered from the pulpit resolve marital issues?
Globe and Mail, November 20
The death of Homecoming
Canadian university football, a few days ahead of the national championship Vanier Cup, celebrates its awards gala here tonight. It will be a big evening for our Queen's Golden Gaels, with eight of our boys selected as national all-stars, and three up for major individual awards, in addition to our head coach, Patrick Sheahan, nominated for national coach of the year. It is a privilege as the team chaplain to share in their joy; I am proud to be associated with these great young men.
Father Raymond J.De Souza, National Post, November 20
November 20/2008
|
