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TORONTO - Women are not getting all the facts about the link between abortion and breast cancer, says Dr. Angela Lanfranchi.

"It doesn't matter if you're pro-life or pro-choice," she said, "women and the population just want the facts." 

And the facts are, simply put, abortion increases the risk of breast cancer, Lanfranchi told an audience of about 50 people gathered at the deVeber Institute's annual public lecture Oct. 26.

TORONTO - There are 29,000 Catholics held captive behind a rusty, two-metre high, chain-link fence in the middle of downtown Toronto. Mind you, they’re not clamouring to get out. They’re dead and buried in St. Michael������Ƶapp Cemetery, a little south of St. Clair Avenue and hidden behind the stores on the west side of Yonge Street.

Martha Crean and Mary Egan want to get in. Each of them is related to early sextons (maintenance men) of the 156-year-old cemetery. They have relatives buried there and they would like to see the historic gem opened and advertised to Torontonians.

Vandalism, dog-walking, skiing, neighbourhood fireworks displays, baseball games and litter on the cemetery grounds forced Catholic Cemeteries, Archdiocese of Toronto to lock the gates in 2005, said executive director Richard Hayes in an e-mail to Crean and Egan.

TORONTO - ������Ƶapp of people gathered at Queen������Ƶapp Park Oct. 22 to send a message to the newly elected provincial government: stop using taxpayers’ dollars to fund abortions.

“This is outrageous that we are forced to fund an elective, medically unnecessary procedure,” said Alissa Golob, the youth co-ordinator for Campaign Life Coalition and organizer of the Defund Abortion Rally.

In Ontario, abortions are funded by taxpayer dollars. That������Ƶapp about $30 million for at least 30,000 abortions a year, at a cost of $1,000 each, Golob said.

TORONTO - A year after Pope Benedict XVI recognized Br. André as a saint, Toronto������Ƶapp Archbishop Thomas Collins blessed a new statue of the humble doorman from Montreal and spoke about martyrdom as the universal call of all Christians.

The larger-than-life-size statue of the “Miracle Man of Montreal” is surrounded by panels showing the history of the Holy Cross Fathers and Brothers in North America from 1837 on. St. Br. André is shown welcoming a stranger with the keys of his office on his belt.

TORONTO - The foundation that supports doesn’t know how to solve the problem of men beating up and bullying their wives and girlfriends, but they know one thing we should be doing about it. They want us to pray.

Catholic Family ������Ƶapp of Toronto Foundation is bringing Catholics together to pray for victims, families and even the abusers at its second annual Mass to End Woman Abuse Nov. 3. This year the Mass will be held 6 p.m. at St. Clare������Ƶapp Church, 1118 St. Clair Ave. W., with Fr. Vito Marziliano presiding.

The Mass will offer prayers for women and for healing, said Mary Benincasa of St. Clare������Ƶapp parish.

TORONTO - When Gail Ward started answering phones at Our Lady of Lourdes parish the first of Mackenzie King������Ƶapp three Liberal governments was in its last days, the nation was still mourning nearly 70,000 dead from the First World War, the Scopes monkey trial was just underway in the United States, Pope Pius XI was establishing the Vatican as a sovereign state and the Great Depression was unthinkable.

She was 14 years old in 1925 and enjoying a game of tennis outside the rectory when she was asked to fill in for the missing parish secretary. It was the beginning of a career in parishes that spanned 80 years.

TORONTO - Armed with the lessons he learned from the Second World War, Polish army veteran Kaz Chomko, who is approaching a milestone 100th birthday, has been spreading the message of peace and the gift of human life in his 35-year hospital ministry as a deacon with the archdiocese of Toronto.

Chomko������Ƶapp call to the diaconate came in 1976, and he made hospital ministry his call.

“My idea was to (highlight) the value of life. I chose to work with the sick and suffering,” he said.

When speaking to patients, Chomko spoke of how he coped with his own struggles and found inner peace with God.

TORONTO - Chef Anthony Rose was at St. Anthony������Ƶapp Catholic School to show a Grade 1 class how to create a “lunchbox smorgasbord” of healthy foods. 

But first, the Drake Hotel chef had to define the word for his captive audience.

“Smorgasbord means a bit of everything,” Rose told about 20 students at a healthy eating session to shine the spotlight on the importance of student nutrition programs. The Oct. 5 initiative marked the City of Toronto������Ƶapp Feeding Toronto������Ƶapp Hungry Students Week which runs from Oct. 3 to 7.

TORONTO - The founders of St. Michael������Ƶapp Choir School believed no boy should ever be turned away because of money.

That principle has endured to this day but what has changed since 1937 is an economic climate that makes implementing it a greater challenge than ever.

To address that, the school will mark its 75th anniversary by launching a new foundation to raise funds for bursaries, scholarships and other special projects.

TORONTO - Malaria kills an African child about every 45 seconds. But there������Ƶapp a simple and cost-effective solution: bed nets. And students at Toronto������Ƶapp St. Michael������Ƶapp College School want to raise enough money to protect between 7,500 and 10,000 affected children.

As part of the Spread the Net Challenge, a program co-founded by business leader Belinda Stronach and television personality Rick Mercer in 2006, schools across Canada are competing to raise the most money for the cause. In addition to providing the highest number of bed nets, the winning schools at the elementary, high school and university levels will be featured on an episode of The Rick Mercer Report in March 2012.