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TORONTO - Leaning on the expertise of six lay people, including three women, the archdiocese of Toronto has declared redress, accountability and pastoral care aren’t just words or theories but concrete realities in cases of sexual abuse.

Members of the committee that worked on revising the Toronto Church������Ƶapp 20-year-old sexual abuse policies told The Catholic Register the new norms represent incremental rather than radical change, and that new Church law won’t by itself make the problem go away.

“I would like to say that we think the problem is solved,” said clinical psychologist Dr. Philip Dodgson of the . “I’m afraid that it������Ƶapp something that is part of society, not just the Church. The protocol that we’ve written up will need to be reviewed and updated as new knowledge and better procedures are acquired.”

TORONTO - A panel of journalists joined Oct. 17 in expressing their views on “The Church through the Public Eye.”

The symposium was hosted by the of the archdiocese of Toronto, at its second annual young adult symposium. It was held at Ryerson University in collaboration with the and the Catholic Student Association. With Michael Coren hosting, journalists Charles Lewis, Brian Lilley, Barbara Kay and Joyce Smith discussed the ins and outs of how the Church — and Catholics — are perceived in the media.

TORONTO - Countries that have banned abortion in the last 20 years have experienced greater improvements in maternal and infant health than countries that allow abortion on demand, said Ian Gentles.

Speaking to an audience of about 50 at the 's annual public lecture Oct. 14 at the University of St. Michael's College on the topic of improving maternal and child health, the York University and Tyndale University College  professor was joined by Dr. Robert Walley, founder of and student intern Genevieve Bonomi.

TORONTO - The face of homelessness is increasingly becoming the face of women, according to Street Haven at the Crossroads, a non-profit agency serving homeless women in Toronto.

For its 45th anniversary, Street Haven will draw attention to this as it presents its “Women and Homelessness” exhibit on Oct. 28 at the . The exhibition has been curated and designed by Master of Museum Studies graduate students Cynthia Roberts and Vanessa Fleet, and University of Toronto professor Jennifer Carter.

WOODBRIDGE - More than 500 people packed The Jewel Banquet Centre for the 22nd annual 's “Together Event” on Oct. 17.

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario David Onley, the keynote speaker, spoke of the stigma associated with disabilities and the need to overcome it.

“Like other disabilities, addiction has no record for age, gender or culture,” Onley told the 550 people, including some provincial and federal politicians and Vaughan mayoral candidate Maurizio Bevilacqua.

TORONTO - With an emphasis on transparency, clarity and compassion, revised policies and procedures regarding allegations of misconduct, released Oct. 15 by the archdiocese of Toronto, now explicitly include misconduct by lay employees and volunteers.

According to the much-anticipated document — “” — all employees and volunteers of the archdiocese are subject to the same strict policies that govern clergy and religious. The revised regulations also reiterate the archdiocese������Ƶapp zero-tolerance policy for abuse, unequivocally define what constitutes abuse and underscore that the policy extends to all vulnerable persons, including minors or “persons of any age” afflicted with physical, mental, emotional or spiritual handicaps.

Toronto - The very first sermon ever preached at St. Anthony������Ƶapp on Bloor Street West was about social justice.

“The dedicatory ritual completed, Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Coyle of the Church of the Holy Family. Rev. Fr. Roach preached the sermon, pointing out the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to the social and economic problems of the day,” wrote the Empire and Mail on Sept. 25, 1922.

TORONTO - Veterans Affairs has come to in downtown Toronto looking for vets. And they’re finding them.

In her first two weeks as the Veterans Affairs case worker at The Good Shepherd, Dion MacArthur had already identified 15 homeless vets ranging in age from mid-30s to mid-80s, having served Canada in missions from Afghanistan to the Second World War.

TORONTO - Vatican officials aren’t being churlish killjoys or displaying their fearful medieval mindset when they object to the Nobel committee giving the world������Ƶapp most prestigious science prize to the inventor of in vitro fertilization, Fr. Joseph Tham told an audience of about 70 people in Toronto������Ƶapp Holy Family parish Oct. 6.

“It������Ƶapp difficult to explain to people, Catholics included, why IVF is wrong,” said Tham.

Before entering the priesthood, Tham became a medical doctor at the University of Toronto. He now teaches at Regina Apostolorum University������Ƶapp school of bioethics in Rome.

found what it was looking for was already there. The family counselling agency dropped the word “acting” from Elizabeth Pierce������Ƶapp title, making her the new executive director.

Pierce takes over an agency with a $1.3-million annual budget, 19 regular employees and three contract counsellors. Catholic Family ������Ƶapp of Durham deals with families from the eastern edge of Toronto to the Bowmanville area, and as far north as Port Perry. She has been with the agency for more than 14 years, mostly working as senior counselling program manager.