-
‘We are human beings’ before anything else, Gaza reporter says
TORONTO (CCN) — Before being a writer or a broadcaster, a journalist “must be human first,” said Diaa Ostaz, a reporter in Gaza for ABC News and ONE Magazine, the publication of Catholic Near East Welfare Association. The call to a sense of humanity is for everyone, he added. “We are human beings before we are…
-
New mitred priests credit community support for their distinction
TORONTO (CCN) — The priesthood bears both a sense of glory and the reality of thorns. This summer, two Byzantine Catholic priests in Toronto, Rt. Rev. Alexander Laschuk and Rt. Rev. Marek Novicky, received a reminder of both. Each was crowned with a mitre — a ceremonial head covering usually associated with bishops. The Byzantine…
-
Catholic theology schools grapple with ethics of AI use
TORONTO (CCN) — Jesuit Father Gordon Rixon uses ChatGPT for his theology of reconciliation course at Regis College to create a conversation between two avatars — an Anishinaabe and a 17th-century Jesuit missionary — who discuss the role of religion in their respective cultures. Father Rixon, Regis College president and an associate professor of theology,…
-
Youth ministry programs adapt to mental health challenges among teens, children
TORONTO (CCN) — Mental health challenges facing children and youth are increasingly placing demands on youth ministers, said John MacMullen, associate director of youth ministries for the Archdiocese of Toronto. Although ministries for youth are growing, leaders need greater patience, sensitivity and awareness in how they approach young people, he told Canadian Catholic News. Youth…
-
New school to open in growing French Catholic school board
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (CCN) — A French Catholic elementary school named for St. Kateri Tekakwitha, North America’s first Indigenous saint, is so new that less than a month before the start of the school year, the saint’s name was not on the building yet. Principal Vicky Marcotte was confident that the signage for École élémentaire catholique…
-
Seven journeys, one newsroom at CCN’s journalism seminar
TORONTO (CCN) — When driven by passion and curiosity, great multimedia journalism knows no age limit or prior experience. Seven aspiring and early-career journalists at this year’s “God in the City” Catholic Journalism Seminar proved this to be true. Canadian Catholic News (CCN) hosted its second annual seminar on Catholic multimedia journalism Aug. 9-15. A…
-
Former CBC journalist Brian Stewart says media must do better at covering religion
TORONTO (CCN) — Throughout his decades-long career, retired CBC journalist Brian Stewart saw war, famine and death in areas of conflict across the world. Such a prolonged exposure to suffering inflicted him with what psychologists call a “moral injury.” “It’s not mental. It’s spiritual. It hits those who witness things: soldiers, aid workers, journalists, religious…
