Religion

Religion


New receipts push Brant Catholic school board’s Italy fiasco costs close to $190K

The aftermath of a contentious art-buying trip to Italy cost taxpayers more than the trip itself.  Parents, a Catholic teachers’ union and the provincial minister of education expressed shock after it was revealed four trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board spent around $120,000 for a summer trip to Europe to buy […]

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Brant Catholic school board elects new chair

After a tumultuous couple of months, the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board (BHNCDSB) has elected a new chair. A small group of public observers applauded as Carol Luciani was named new chair at a board meeting on Tuesday night. “I deeply appreciate the trust you have placed in me and I am committed […]

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Brant Catholic school board chair has no plans to step down, but won’t run again after Italy trip

A Catholic school board chair who went on a contentious art procurement trip to Italy says he won’t step down — but won’t run again. “I have made a decision to complete the balance of my term and not run in 2026,” Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board chair Rick Petrella told The Spectator […]

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Ohio offers a new way to use public money for Christian schools. Opponents say it’s unconstitutional

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Around the country, advocates for Christian education have been finding legal ways to tap taxpayer money used more typically for public schools. One new approach in Ohio is benefiting schools tied to a burgeoning conservative political group and facing objections from defenders of the separation of church and state. In President-elect […]

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Pope’s child protection board urges transparency from Vatican sex abuse office and compensation

Pope Francis’ child protection board called Tuesday for victims of clergy sexual abuse to have greater access to information about their cases and the right to compensation, in the first-ever global assessment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to address the crisis. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors issued a series of findings and […]

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Sweden says Iran was behind thousands of text messages calling for revenge over Quran burnings

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish authorities accused Iran on Tuesday of being responsible for thousands of text messages sent to people in Sweden calling for revenge over the burnings of Islam’s holy book in 2023. Iran denied the accusation. According to officials in Stockholm, the cyberattack was carried out by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which […]

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Most suspects in a 2023 anti-Christian rampage in Pakistan are still at large, a rights group says

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Most of the suspects in a rampage last year against minority Christians in eastern Pakistan over alleged blasphemy are not in custody and authorities have failed to deliver justice to the victims, a human rights group said Friday. “More than 90% of the suspects of the attack in Jaranwala, in Punjab’s […]

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Pope to bring his call for ethical artificial intelligence to G7 summit in June in southern Italy

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is taking his call for artificial intelligence to be developed and used according to ethical lines to the Group of 7 industrialized nations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced Friday that Francis had accepted her invitation to attend the G7 Summit in Puglia in June. The Vatican confirmed the news. […]

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Cisco Systems joins Microsoft, IBM in Vatican pledge to ensure ethical use and development of AI

ROME (AP) — Tech giant Cisco Systems on Wednesday joined Microsoft and IBM in signing onto a Vatican-sponsored pledge to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically and to benefit the common good. Cisco Systems chief executive Chuck Robbins signed the document, known as the Rome Call, and met privately with Pope Francis, the […]

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Symposium emphasizes the need for access to Church Records at former Residential Schools

(ANNews) — The Acimowin Opaspiw Society (AOS) Investigation Methodologies National Symposium took place on September 26-28, 2023, at the River Cree Resort in Edmonton. At the symposium, participants were provided with a presentation on Access to Restricted Church Records by Leah Redcrow, Investigation Director of the Blue Quills Missing Children and Unmarked Burials Inquiry and […]

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Diwali fireworks advisory issued despite warnings it might be discriminatory: emails

OTTAWA — At least two Environment Canada meteorologists warned that linking Diwali fireworks to air pollution in an air quality advisory could be perceived as discriminatory, internal emails show, but the advisory was still published. Their warnings appeared well-founded. So many complaints had poured in by the end of the day that the department reissued […]

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Ousted Caritas chief denounces Vatican ‘power grab’

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s main charitable organization, Caritas Internationalis, is hoping to open a new chapter this week after Pope Francis fired top managers over bullying complaints. But the recently ousted head is fighting back, claiming the Vatican engaged in a “brutal power grab” fueled by a “colonialist” attitude. The drama is playing […]

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