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Stories about the Toronto Catholic school board:

Toronto Catholic schools axe program for kids with disabilities
Widely hailed program cut as provincially appointed supervisor tries to balance budget after series of cost overruns
Globe and Mail, June 24

Catholic parents say board not considering their input
Norbert Hartmann sits at the front of the boardroom with his supervision team and top school board staff. Trustees? In the public gallery, facing him. They can't ask questions at the meeting, let alone speak. This is life under supervision, where trustees have been shut out.
Toronto Star, June 25

Earlier: Stories about the Toronto Catholic school board

Stories about the upcoming Peace Summit in Vancouver:

Buddhist v. Mormon, Christian v. New Age, monk v. scientist
The Dalai Lama will challenge Mormon Stephen Covey, Eckhart Tolle will tackle Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Buddhist monk Mathieu Ricard (left) will wrestle with brain expert Daniel Siegel. Tickets go on sale tomorrow for the battle of the spiritual titans. I'm joking, of course, at least a little.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, June 19

Stellar lineup for peace summit hopes to get something done
As talking heads go, it's hard to imagine better than the lineup Victor Chan has recruited for his Dalai Lama Centre's Peace Summit in September. With the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu topping a roster of six Nobel peace laureates and a veritable Who's Who of top thinkers and doers from from the worlds of philanthropy, politics and civil society, there'll be food for thought for every thinking adult on the planet. Not to mention bright kids.
Don Cayo, Vancouver Sun, June 20

Earlier: Stories about the Dalai Lama

Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions:

Fate of Human Rights Tribunal dominates Tory leadership debate
Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful Tim Hudak has won the support of former, long-time human rights commissioner Keith Norton, adding credibility to his pledge to scrap the body that enforces the province's human-rights code if he wins.
Globe and Mail, June 20

Why Tories are worrying about rights tribunal
Why is it "politically toxic" to say that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario be scrapped? Why might this idea sink the Tories in the 2011 election, just as the religious school funding issue did in the 2007 election?
Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star, June 21

Earlier: Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions

Stories about Islam and the West:

North American Islamic groups remain disturbingly silent on crisis in Iran
Now that the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned ordinary Iranians not to stage street protests, the risks these demonstrators face at the hands of the state security machinery and the Islamist Basiji militia, cannot be underestimated. However, as the courageous Iranian people defy state oppression to demand democracy and freedom, the Islamic organizations of North America have been conspicuous by their silence.
Tarek Fatah, Full Comment, National Post, June 19

Judges can order veils off in Michigan
This week, the Michigan Supreme Court amended its rules of evidence to give trial judges discretion over whether a woman can be fully veiled when testifying or when bringing accusations. The new rule does not make specific mention of religious belief but will clearly affect Muslims. It is believed to be the first time a court in the United States or Canada has set out specific requirements for judges on this issue.
Charles Lewis, National Post, June 20

Will Muslims overtake Europe?
Suspicions still exist about Muslim immigrants in France, and in much of the rest of Europe. It's not only because Muslim extremists engage in small-scale bombing attacks every few years, it's because of a concern about losing European culture. More than a few Europeans want much tighter restrictions on immigration so they're not over-run by newcomers from Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey, the Middle East, Pakistan, Algeria and Morocco.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, June 22

Continue article >>

Theocratic sermon thick with threats
The Supreme Leader equated the presidential election, in which his preferred candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, won by a wide margin, with the "Islamic establishment" itself. So that to challenge the result is to challenge the Islamic establishment, and that means to challenge the Islamic Revolution itself.
Patrick Martin, Globe and Mail, June 23

Banning the Niqab/Burqua is wrong
I agree with Sarkozy that Buqas and Niqabs are creepy -- and that they are inherently debasing. But as a matter of government policy, I'm taking sides with Obama -- for three reasons.
Jonathan Kay, Full Comment, National Post, June 23

Earlier: Stories about Islam, the Middle East and the West

Other stories from the past week:

Bishops challenge nuke plant ethics
Alberta's six Catholic bishops have entered the political fray over nuclear power, saying serious ethical questions must be addressed before any decision can be made about whether or not to build reactors in the province.
Edmonton Journal, June 18

Undermining the law
Those of us who live in the St. Lawrence River area, between Ontario and New York State, are understandably sensitive to issues of transportation and border crossings. In these summer months, when the Horne family operates its cross-border ferry, it's easy enough to go over to Cape Vincent or Clayton for lunch. Year round life depends on access to Kingston by ferry. So when about 100 miles down river the border crossing at Cornwall was closed in a dispute between the native Canadians of Akwesasne and the federal government, it registered concern.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, June 18

Breakaway churches join upstart union
Four Vancouver-area Anglican churches sign on to North American coalition of conservative parishes over issue of same-sex unions
Vancouver Sun, June 22
Earlier: Anglicans in divorce court over property

Religious groups seek standing at prostitution challenge
The case, scheduled to be heard this fall, was launched by three activists connected to the sex trade
Globe and Mail, June 23

Calgary's Catholic girls shun cancer vaccine
Calgary health officials are planning an appointment-based vaccination program for the human papilloma virus as they try to boost low participation rates among Catholic schoolgirls in a provincial campaign to prevent cervical cancer. New statistics suggest only 38 per cent of local Grade 5 girls in the separate school system received the vaccine this year at free public clinics, set up after the Catholic school district declined to participate in the program.
Calgary Herald, June 23
Earlier: Stories about Catholic school boards

Godliness without God
Supreme being or no supreme being, Richard Wright makes a case or the saving graces of religion. It makes more sense than hoping religion will just go away
Richard Ascough, Globe and Mail, June 23

Israel looks to Canada as model to better integrate Jews
United by religious identity, newcomers often divided by culture
Globe and Mail, June 24

Dead Sea Scrolls get royal treatment
2,000-year-old texts travel first class, in small groups, with eagle-eyed minders
Toronto Star, June 25

Hockey's failure in America
The NHL and its commissioner, Gary Bettman, just keep on trying to sell hockey in the sunbelt. If at first you don't succeed, try again. If you still don't succeed year after year, just keep at it. And if you pile up failure after failure, then just double down and play again. Eventually, the odds have to turn in your favour, no?
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, June 25

June 25/2009