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{mosimage} TORONTO - Who ever thought the Bible could be improved? Well, as Hebrew Scriptures Professor Eugene Ulrich told a packed audience June 23, it has been. And it took the unearthing of the now famous Dead Sea Scrolls, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum until Jan. 3, to do so.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate that the text of the Bible was remarkably faithfully transmitted over the past 2,000 years. So we all can breathe a big sigh of relief,” Ulrich said during his lecture, The Impact of the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Bible, one of fourteen presentations in a special lecture series about the scrolls that will feature a variety of scholars until Dec. 15.

{mosimage}TORONTO - There have been protests with thousands of Tamils out on the streets, but on June 11 the young Tamil activists organized a different sort of gathering in a basement classroom on the campus of the University of Toronto.

A student-organized Tamil multi-faith prayer service featured prayers from Sikhs, Christians, Hindus and Muslims and testimonials from young Tamils whose families have been devastated by the war in Sri Lanka.

{mosimage}TORONTO - They sang multilingual songs, carried religious statues representing their former homelands and stopped traffic with a round-the-neighbourhood-block procession marking the 100th anniversary of St. Anthony������Ƶapp parish.

Pastor Fr. Tiziano Paolazzi, c.s., joined with more than 800 of his parishioners June 14 to celebrate a three-fold anniversary: Corpus Christi Sunday, St. Anthony������Ƶapp feast day and the parish������Ƶapp centennial birthday.

{mosimage}TORONTO - While many Catholics continue to struggle with the uncertainty of job security and financial stability, ShareLife continues to see parishioners in the archdiocese generously giving to its campaign this year.

Arthur Peters, executive director for ShareLife, is hopeful of reaching his team������Ƶapp parish fundraising campaign goal of $12 million, although donations were short of the goal at The Catholic Register������Ƶapp publication deadline. Peters reported a total of $9.7 million raised after the final campaign weekend June 6-7.

The following clergy appointments have been made for the archdiocese of Toronto. They take place July 1-2 unless otherwise noted.

{mosimage}Filipino Catholics have a great responsibility for evangelization and they should embrace their culture in the faith context, Bishop Mylo Vergara told a group of 540 youth and young adults.

The 46-year-old bishop, from the Philippines diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, reminded the large group that they are children of the only Catholic country in Asia Pacific and represent the third largest Asian-Canadian group. He was in Toronto as the guest speaker at the Office of Catholic Youth������Ƶapp Filipino-themed Banquet on May 28.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Help for parishes is on its way as the archdiocese of Toronto reorganizes how it delivers faith formation programs.

Over the summer the archdiocesan curia will meld its Catholic Office of Religious Education and its Office of Lay Ministry, Chaplaincy, Parish Social Ministry and Stewardship into a single office to support parishes, Archbishop Thomas Collins announced May 25.

{mosimage}TORONTO - As a Ukrainian Catholic community gathered to celebrate 50 years of Fr. John Tataryn������Ƶapp priesthood, they did so with some kilts and bagpipes added into the mix of performances.

Tataryn, although of Ukrainian descent, grew up in Sydney, N.S., a town he said was diverse, with many religions and cultures. But if you didn’t listen to the bagpipes, he said, quoting his father with a laugh, “you didn’t have any culture.”

{mosimage}TORONTO - Becoming a deacon is more than a way station on the road to priesthood for Vijai Amirtharaj and Jinto Mathew.

“It������Ƶapp an important stage of our formation and our lives so far. It������Ƶapp a stage when we are integrated into church ministry,” Amirtharaj said. “It������Ƶapp part of the whole journey. It������Ƶapp mystery.”

“It������Ƶapp not my mission, but it������Ƶapp the mission of the church,” adds Mathew.