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Fr. David Shulist is inviting First Nations youth to strengthen the good aspirations and desires that already exist within them.

The Working to Empower Youth program will launch in January from the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre in Espanola, Ont., where Shulist is director. WEY has been a year in the making and was created in response to concerns from native communities, especially the Sagamok community, that youth are lacking spirituality and direction.

Elders, parents and teachers are 鈥渞ecognizing that there鱿鱼视频app alienation and despair between the youth and the members of the community, especially at the level of their spirituality, at the level of their religious teachings,鈥� said Shulist. 鈥淩eligion is not popular in the world today, especially in the Western world, so this has compounded in the communities as well.鈥�

Beginning with 12- and 13- year-olds, Shulist says the 鈥渉ope is that they could have an avenue with which they would be able to invite and encourage and help young people to be able to participate in discovering their spiritual roots, their spiritual traditions, both the Anishinabe and Christian, and this could be a program that could do that.鈥�

The teens will engage in community oriented activities, such as learning how to build a sweat lodge, under the guidance of an elder. The theme could be one of forgiveness and reconciliation.

A sense of community is one of the values Shulist hopes to instill. Staff from the centre, elders and teachers will take leading roles. This is a 鈥減rogram that is very much of a partnership with the centre and a community. It鱿鱼视频app not the community coming to us saying you run a program,鈥� Shulist said. With modern culture promoting individualism, 鈥淭丑别 (program鱿鱼视频app) core value would be the communal value. They are a part of the community, a collective,鈥� said Shulist. 鈥淎 person is never defined as an individual alone. They are always part of a set of relationships. So to instill this realization, this understanding, this awareness that they belong to a communal reality.鈥�

Shulist also hopes the program will instill in the teens a sense of honour for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the value of empowerment, the virtue of patience, rights of passage and the importance of being a source of inspiration, among others. He wants the youth to know they have the power 鈥渢o make a difference, to choose what is good and to perpetuate the good.鈥� And in the process, he wants to incorporate into the program the fact that the youth are close to nature.

鈥淚f I were to promote it to you as a 12-year-old,鈥� said Shulist, 鈥淚 would want to know what desires have you got, what are your hopes. I鈥檇 want to know, who are you? Who do you hope to be? Who are people that you look up to?鈥�

His hope is that participants will discover themselves and be aware that there are institutions within their community, such as those relating to health care, that they can contribute to one day.

Shulist also hopes the program will receive financial support from the wider Catholic community. And if WEY proves to be successful, he plans on expanding it beyond the Manitoulin North Shore district and include youth up to ages 17 and 18.

They say the sky鱿鱼视频app the limit. Just don鈥檛 say it to someone as practical as Toronto native Eric Leong.

The strategy that won him and partner Han Yong-fei the 2012 Autostyle Design Competition for designing a new popemobile was based on plans that were never too 鈥渂lue sky,鈥� never too unattainable.

鈥淭丑别re are things that we could have done that might have looked really cool,鈥� said Leong. 鈥淓ven though it might seem cool, being blue sky is something that we didn鈥檛 want to do because it鱿鱼视频app not in a way feasible or possible.鈥�

Leong and Yong-fei鱿鱼视频app popemobile design, a modification of a hybrid Volkswagen Cross Coup茅, included spray-on batteries to decrease weight, bullet-proof kevlar-belted wheels and a solar panel on the roof for a 鈥済reener aspect,鈥� said Leong, who promises that everything in their design can be produced.

The pair were among 22 young designer finalists chosen out of 70 applicants invited to the 19th-century Villa di Bagno in Italy in October where their popemobile proposals were on display. They competed with the goal to build an eco-friendly vehicle with high Pope visibility and strict security requirements. Pope Benedict XVI has spoken on protecting the environment, and the Vatican aims to use renewable energy sources for 20 per cent of its energy needs by 2020.

The popemobile designs had to be based on a production hybrid car model or concept car design and keep the car model's front features so as to maintain the brand image. Only the rear of the vehicle could be modified and in such a way as to guarantee comfort for five passengers and maximum visibility of the Pope. Projects needed to use alternative energy, cutting-edge materials and innovative technology that allowed for rapid and easy rear access to and from the vehicle.

In high school, Leong, now 25, knew he was interested in art and engineering. But he found neither to be fulfilling enough. Then he came across industrial design.

鈥淭hat was a pretty good mixture,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd so that鱿鱼视频app how I ended up in the design field.鈥�

Leong completed his degree in industrial design at Toronto鱿鱼视频app Humber College. But he met teammate and classmate Yong-fei, 23, at Sweden鱿鱼视频app Ume氓 Institute of Design.

鈥淚 just finished my master鱿鱼视频app in transportation design,鈥� said Leong, who is now looking for a placement in this field.

Representatives from the ninth Autostyle competition came to the school looking for contestants to design a new popemobile, he said. Berman, an Italian car-parts manufacturer, sponsored the contest. This year, the Vatican Publishing House also supported the competition and will publish the best eco-popemobile design drawings. The panel of judges included design directors from Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Fiat, Ford, Ferrari and Toyota.

(With files from the Catholic News Service.)

A recent study has reported that Catholic school graduates view the role of faith in the public square similarly to graduates of public schools.

Cardus, a Christian think tank that focuses on bringing faith into public life, conducted the study, called 鈥淎 Rising Tide Lifts All Boats.鈥� It covers grads from schools in all provinces except Quebec, which the report covers separately.

The study compares graduates now ages 24 to 39 from government-run public schools with grads in the same age group from various kinds of schools: Protestant private schools, non-religious private schools, religious home schools, Catholic separate schools (government-funded), and Catholic independent schools (private with some government subsidies). Catholic schools in B.C. are independent.

Graduates were compared on a wide range of topics in addition to religion. However the study gives little information about what their actual responses were; it just reports how other grads compared to grads from public schools.

In total, 1,868 graduates were surveyed. In addition, the results were controlled for family socioeconomic and religious background.

The study revealed some interesting facts about faith in the public square.

鈥淲hat struck me the most was that Catholic schools were the same as public schools in many respects,鈥� said Ray Pennings, the study鱿鱼视频app project leader and the director of research at Cardus.

The study showed grads from both kinds of Catholic schools were less involved in volunteering their time with their congregations than grads from Protestant schools, religious home schools and public schools. But they scored the same as public-school grads on their views on the importance of religion in public life.

鈥淵ou would have expected to find some spiritual differences, but they weren鈥檛 there (for Catholic grads),鈥� Pennings said, 鈥渨hich is distinct from the Protestant schools, where we were getting measurable differences.鈥�

Pennings added graduates from Protestant schools said their faith made an impact on their cultural engagement.

They gave more time to their church than Catholics, but were less political. Catholic-independent-school grads volunteered more than Catholic-separate-school and public-school grads outside their congregation, but were less politically engaged.

鈥淚 am surprised by the results,鈥� said Doug Lauson, superintendent of the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese (CISVA). He said he would have expected religious training provided by schools would have an effect on how students lived their faith after graduation.

But Lauson noted that the sample size for Catholic-independent-school grads was low.

鈥淥nly 23 were sampled from the whole of B.C., and I don鈥檛 know how many of those were from our diocese.鈥�

However, he added, secularization in society is a factor not only for Catholic schools but for Protestant ones as well.

He said CISVA is looking at ways to address this issue with students.

鈥淵oung people are in a bit of a difficult situation, because in school they learn one set of values, and then they go to the shopping mall and they鈥檙e surrounded by a different set of values,鈥� he said.

鈥淥ur graduates should be aware of the world out there and should be prepared to defend their faith in a world that is very secular, and where the practise of your faith is allowed but frowned upon.鈥�

With regard to employment, the study showed grads from both types of Catholic schools were similar to public-school grads. All three groups obtained managerial occupations (managerial professionals, lawyers, scientists, architects and university teachers) at the same rate.

With regard to how workplaces are run, the three groups held the same views on ethics and efficiency.

Catholic independent grads scored well in post-secondary education. They came in second to non-religious independent grads in total years of education, but were more likely than any other grad in the study to have a university degree. They also scored the highest in obtaining masters degrees.

Lauson said CISVA schools always aim to prepare students for university.

鈥淲e general ly provide education to students to enter university if they choose to,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur graduates are required to obtain more credits because we offer more subjects than government-run schools.鈥�

He also said CISVA focuses on developing 鈥渟kill sets鈥� for students to learn for the 21st century. The Ministry of Education recently recognized them for their unique teaching methods.

The complete Cardus survey is at .

SASKATOON - St. Thomas More College, a Basilian-founded institution federated with the University of Saskatchewan, is expanding its walls to accommodate increasing enrolment.

The official groundbreaking of its three-storey, 12,000 square-foot expansion occurred mid-October. The $8-million project is designed to serve the varied and growing needs of its students.

New classroom and seminar spaces will move 75 per cent of the college鱿鱼视频app classes inside its own walls. Currently, about half of STM classes are taught elsewhere on the University of Saskatchewan campus. At focus groups early in the design process, students said that classes located on-site allowed for a more comfortable atmosphere to discuss scholarly work from a Catholic point of view.

鈥淭his new building, our first major expansion in many years in spite of significant enrolment growth, ensures adequate classroom space to foster the nurturing scholarly learning environment for which STM is already well known,鈥� said STM president Terry Downey.

鈥淭his new facility will enhance community for students, promote further opportunities for closer faculty-student and student-student academic engagement and ensure a continuation of the uniquely inspiring learning experience that is the STM academic tradition.鈥�

In addition, new study, office and research spaces will give students a place to meet outside the classroom, while the construction of a large, indoor atrium offers a more social gathering place. The project follows through with a vision set out by Fr. George Smith, the Superior General of the Basilians and a former president of STM, who intended to make the college a second home for its students.

STM Students union president Desire茅 Steele is enthusiastic about the project.

鈥淚 look forward to welcoming friends into a building made hospitable to the different aspects of student life. More classrooms, study and lounge space means that more students will be able to enjoy learning at STM,鈥� she said. 鈥淭丑别 increased opportunities for STM to explore and share the riches of our Catholic faith will no doubt broaden our interactions with our university and diocesan community, giving fuller realization to the Basilian mission which formed this institution.鈥�

The expansion, to be finished in 2013, was recently put on the fast-track with two major donations. David and Karen Holst from Warman, Sask., and Allan Markin of Calgary have each contributed $500,000. The announcements were made in conjunction with the Oct. 15 groundbreaking. The project also received early commendation from the Catholic community, including support from the Saskatoon diocese and school board.

The donations coincide with another $1-million gift the college received earlier. Local philanthropists Les and Irene Dub茅 made the donation in support of STM鱿鱼视频app parallel campaign to establish an endowed chair in Catholic Studies.

The chair will support scholarship in the area of Catholic Studies through teaching, research and ecumenical dialogue and be a source of intellectual leadership in the province鱿鱼视频app Catholic community.

鈥淪TM is near and dear to our hearts,鈥� said Irene Dub茅. 鈥淲e are strong believers in the importance of a college that encourages students to explore both faith and reason, and the chair in Catholic Studies will be a vital contributor to this environment.鈥�

This is not the Dub茅s鈥� first donation of this magnitude. A previous $1-million donation was made in support of the college鱿鱼视频app social justice program. To recognize their longstanding commitment to the college and its students, the chair will be named in their honour.

St. Thomas More College was founded in 1936 through an agreement between the University of Saskatchewan and the Basilians to provide Catholic education in the province. Since then, it has grown to house 40 tenure-track faculty members and more than 2,000 registered students.

CALGARY - Newlyweds Christopher and Jacinta Pecora met in 2008 at a friend鱿鱼视频app pork roast. They hit it off after discovering their mutual interest in art, and their common Catholic faith solidified the connection.

Chris is a graphic designer and Jacinta is a print maker. This past summer, the 25-year-olds were married, a union filled with a love of art and strengthened by their mutual God-given artistic talents.

Both grew up creating art and pursued these passions in post-secondary education. Chris studied graphic design at the University of Lethbridge and Jacinta studied fine arts at the University of Calgary.

Art is 鈥減art of who we are, it鱿鱼视频app a similarity that we can share, along with our faith,鈥� Jacinta said.

Now that they are young professionals, they have begun to use their talents for the good of others and the Church.

Chris recently started his own graphic design company. At Chris Pecora Graphic Design, his clients are as diverse as a bike shop in San Francisco to a coffee company in Calgary. He also has a number of Catholic clients. He designs posters, graphics and logos for clients such as the diocese of Calgary, Catholic Christian Outreach and Clearwater Academy, a private Catholic school in Calgary.

But Chris finds that many Catholic organizations don鈥檛 prioritize on graphic design, so he ensures that he brands his designs in such a way that they appeal to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. By creating posters, ads and web sites that look both artistic and modern, Chris is able to endow these organizations with a competitive edge. For example, he designed promotional posters for FaithLife Conferences that happen every two months in the Calgary diocese. These eye-catching posters show what the conference is about without a preachy feeling.
Chris attributes his success to God.

鈥淚 feel like God is allowing me to do this,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 trust that what I鈥檓 making is from God.鈥�

Chris thanks divine inspiration for his work.

鈥�(The idea) starts as something from me and then working through it, suddenly these things that are way smarter than me kind of just appear.鈥�

Jacinta, instead of working with organizations, works with individuals. As a facilitator at Prospect, a human services organization in Calgary, she teaches adults with developmental disabilities different forms of art such as painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and drawing. She is required to look for moments throughout the day to help teach her students life skills and set goals so they can eventually be employed.

Jacinta turns to the grace of God to help her be patient with the sometimes-challenging behaviours that her clients exhibit.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app not a daily struggle for me to go through my day, whereas for some of them it鱿鱼视频app a physical struggle or for some of them it鱿鱼视频app a mental struggle,鈥� she said.

In turn, her students teach her to be more appreciative of her life.

鈥淚 am grateful for what God has blessed me with,鈥� she said.

In pursuing her own art, Jacinta allows God to inspire and direct her.

鈥淚 get really nervous every time I make something. Every new project is a little bit intimidating,鈥� she said. So she prays. 鈥淚f I didn鈥檛, I would be so nervous I wouldn鈥檛 be able to do it.鈥�

Jacinta鱿鱼视频app medium is a traditional form of printmaking called etching. She creates art to express herself and experiences she has had.

The fact that both she and her husband are artists helps them to understand and encourage each other in a deeper way, with both their art and their faith.

Two years ago, Jacinta worked with the Sisters of Charity in Calcutta. They inspired her to create prints based on this experience, and Chris encouraged her with ideas on how to create significant art from this faith-based trip.

The couple also create art together to inspire others, and their collaboration brings them closer together. To a close friend of theirs who recently was ordained to the priesthood, Chris and Jacinta gave a quote from Pope Benedict XVI burnt into wood.

鈥淚t makes the whole process of creating less daunting just to know that I have someone I can talk to about these ideas,鈥� Chris said, 鈥渂ecause art is a very personal thing, you have to be vulnerable, but I have my wife and I can tell her.鈥�

For both Christopher and Jacinta, the type of work they do is dictated by their faith.

鈥淚鈥檝e turned down work that is not in line with my faith, if what the client is asking me to do isn鈥檛 really congruent with my beliefs,鈥� Chris said.

鈥淲e can have these discussions so that things that we create would never go against our morals, and we can support each other in that,鈥� said Jacinta.

They are working in the world, but according to Jacinta their mutual understanding and faith 鈥渒eeps us accountable and in check about how we want to live and have people see our work.鈥�

They keep in mind the letter Pope John Paul II wrote to artists in 1999.

鈥�(Our work) should always glorify God one way or another,鈥� Chris said paraphrasing the Pope. 鈥淚t is a positive, hopeful Catholic perspective.鈥�

The letter also states that God created man and woman in His own image, for each other, and then sent them to create not only in the familial sense, but also in the other vocations they are called to. So through their work with Catholic and humanitarian organizations, Chris and Jacinta abide by John Paul II鱿鱼视频app request to 鈥渘ot to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbour and of humanity as a whole.鈥�

THORNHILL, ONT. - A financial analyst turned priest, Fr. Mario Salvadori is marketing an unorthodox and unapologetic formula of evangelization 鈥� and youth are flocking to it.

Salvadori, the only priest at Thornhill鱿鱼视频app St. Joseph the Worker parish, jokes that he has 鈥渕ore degrees than a thermometer.鈥� He has a bachelor鱿鱼视频app degree in computer science, a master鱿鱼视频app degree in theology and a master鱿鱼视频app in business administration. Before he was a priest, Salvadori was a businessman. In many ways, he still is.

鈥淚 used to be able to sell a glass of water to a drowning man,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow I sell Jesus Christ.鈥�

His congregation in this Toronto suburb seems to be buying it.

鈥淭丑别 numbers speak for themselves,鈥� said Vlad Mamaradlo, the lay minister Salvadori hired to work with youth. Mamaradlo said every Mass is standing room only. 鈥淓ven the foyer is full.鈥�

And in the five years since Salvadori joined the parish, he鱿鱼视频app paid off a $1.3-million renovation and $600,000 more off the mortgage.

Salvadori鱿鱼视频app success stems from his approach to Mass. For him, evangelization is no different than marketing. 鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app just a different word,鈥� he said. He and Mamaradlo look at Catholicism as a product they are selling. Something that, they say, the Church has failed to sell.

鈥淚n society, people are given options,鈥� Mamaradlo said, 鈥渟o let鱿鱼视频app give them options.鈥�

What Salvadori has given them is a refreshing twist on the traditional Mass. When he ordered the church renovation back in 2009, he made sure it would accommodate his style for delivering just that.

鈥淲e鈥檙e competing against 60-inch TVs, iPods and every other stimulation that鱿鱼视频app out there,鈥� Mamaradlo said.

So, Salvadori brought the technology to Mass. Every homily, his laptop is plugged into the pulpit, at the ready to bring up a clip on the two huge screens on either side of him.

He invites guest speakers and tackles current and controversial topics that many priests tend to shy away from 鈥� topics that weigh heavily on everyday life. One homily he delivered in May included a clip of U.S. President Barack Obama speaking about gay marriage. That homily has collected more than 300 views on YouTube as have some of his other videos posted on the site.

There are other options too, opportunities to connect with the congregation outside the now lessthan-traditional construct of Mass. There are trips downtown to feed the homeless, youth groups, parish events, even retreats in the United States that young people can sign up for.

Mamaradlo鱿鱼视频app role as a paid youth minister is rare in Canada. It is part of a model Salvadori discovered in the United States. Seventeen other people were interviewed, flying in from places like Montreal and Philadelphia, in hopes of landing the position.

In fact, Salvadori runs the entire parish based on the U.S. model. He was first exposed to it 18 years ago when he attended a conference in Steubenville, Ohio.鈥ㄢ�淭丑别 first thing that stunned me was that they used video,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 remember thinking 鈥榃ow, you can do this in the Catholic Church?鈥� 鈥�

When Salvadori came to St. Joseph with plans to use the technology, he was met with that same sense of uncertainty. Then, only days after ordering the renovation, the Pope spoke out in approval, advocating the use technology to evangelize youth.

The initial reluctance at the parish is not the only resistance he鱿鱼视频app encountered. Salvadori is known for a direct and unbending approach to Catholicism that can sometimes be hard to swallow.

鈥淛ust look at some of the comments he鱿鱼视频app got on YouTube,鈥� Mamaradlo said.

For example, a few weeks ago Salvadori asked the entire congregation to call one MP to voice their support for an anti-abortion motion. When the motion was denied he called it a 鈥渟in of omission鈥� and asked everyone who didn鈥檛 call to complete a penance.

Salvadori doesn鈥檛 shy away from this criticism 鈥� he welcomes it. When asked about this, his voice perked, as if he wasn鈥檛 the only priest in a parish who鈥檇 been running around all day before a 9:45 p.m. interview.

鈥淢any words have been used to describe me, but nobody has ever used the 鈥楤鈥� word,鈥� he said. In more than 15 years and after hundreds of good and bad e-mails from parishioners, no one has ever described a Mass with Salvadori as 鈥渂oring.鈥�

(Bronca, 21, is a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton University in Ottawa.)

TORONTO - In March of 2011, Toronto student Isabel Ng-Lai took part in a service trip to India, where she volunteered at two schools run by the Loreto Sisters. It was an eye-opening trip that also helped her to be named Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School鱿鱼视频app Catholic student of the year.

Ng-Lai was one of the 100 Ontario students who was to be recognized Oct. 20 at the 29th Annual Patrick Fogarty Awards Dinner. The dinner celebrates students at each Ontario Catholic high school who provide 鈥渟ervice to community, service to their Church, service to their parish and service to their parents,鈥� said Michael Monk, executive secretary of the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario, which sponsors the awards.

鈥淲e feel we need to recognize the good things that are going on in Catholic high schools,鈥� said Monk.

Ng-Lai went to India for a month with Adventure Learning Experiences. She volunteered at Loreto Sealdah and Loreto Panighatta, where she learned about the local culture and students鈥� daily lives.

鈥淚 had the opportunity to teach English and art to class 3 and 4 students. They were an absolute joy to teach, very respectful and hardworking, which I think is a testament to what the Loreto Sisters are doing in their schools,鈥� she said.

Of the 49 students under her tutelage, Ng-Lai recalls accompanying one student on her hour-long walk home from school.

鈥淪he told me that when she grew up, she wanted to be like me and volunteer abroad to help children in Africa. It was a pivotal moment in my life because I came to the realization that my actions could inspire others,鈥� said Ng-Lai.

鈥淢any of these students are street children or come from families who suffer from extreme poverty. I tried to pass on the message to my students that they can break the cycle of poverty through education. They should always strive to achieve their full potential.鈥�

When Ng-Lai returned home, she and a friend founded the non-profit organization 1Focus that chooses a specific cause each year, alternating between international and local.

鈥淟ast year 1Focus raised $8,000 for Loreto Panighata,鈥� she said. 鈥淭丑别 funds will help expand the educational system and provide the opportunity for underprivileged children to attend school on a full-time basis.鈥�

This year, 1Focus is raising funds for two youth homeless shelters, Eva鱿鱼视频app Initiatives and Pathway.

鈥淥ne of the main things I learned from my trip is that children are the same everywhere, they need affection, love to play with their peers and are very curious. So if children are the same everywhere, then they should be given equal rights,鈥� she said.

Ng-Lai is now a first year student at York University鱿鱼视频app Schulich School of Business.

Chris Harrison is also among this year鱿鱼视频app Fogarty Award winners. The Grade 12 student at Burlington, Ont.鱿鱼视频app Corpus Christi Secondary School was recognized for his efforts at home and abroad. He has been an altar server since Grade 6 at St. Raphael鱿鱼视频app parish, where he鱿鱼视频app also served as a eucharistic minister. This year, he took part in his school鱿鱼视频app Hope trip to the Dominican Republic.

鈥淚鈥檝e been to a lot of places,鈥� said Harrison, 鈥渂ut that was definitely one of the best trips I鈥檝e ever been on.鈥�

Harrison recalls that the locals were strong in their faith.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app nice to see the smiles everywhere, even though they had so much less than us,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really brought you down to earth.鈥�

At the awards dinner, the CEFO鱿鱼视频app medal of honour was to be presented to Archbishop Paul- Andr茅 Durocher. And the Michael Carty Awards, financial grants of up to $2,000 each, were to be presented to eight elementary and secondary schools for proposing 鈥渋nnovative and engaging programs or projects鈥� in their Catholic school environment.

TORONTO - Faith Connections and the Newman Young Adult Ministry are co-hosting 鈥淎 Date to Remember,鈥� a Catholic speed dating event where single adults can gather and get to know one another.

Speed dating is an activity where participants spend four to five minutes chatting with a person before moving along to the next person. Organizers offer a list of suggested questions to help participants during each session.

Then participants use scorecards placed in envelopes to let organizers know with whom they wish to share their contact information.

Geared towards Catholic singles between the ages of 19 and 39, A Date to Remember draws people who are formerly and currently affiliated with the University of Toronto and the Newman Centre.

鈥淲e have young adults asking for an event like this so we try to include that yearly,鈥� said Kelly Bourke, interim program director for Faith Connections, a branch of Fontbonne Ministries.

Both ministries are preparing to hold their third collaborated speed dating event on Oct. 27 at the Newman Centre. The first speed dating night was held last summer.

While there are many socials and mixers hosted by both ministries throughout the year, speed dating provides a special venue for single Catholics.

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app an opportunity for singles to help develop new friendships that could develop into something else,鈥� said Gem Ofreneo from the Newman Young Adult Ministry.

Kevin Lo, 27, participated in A Date to Remember after learning about it from a Faith Connections newsletter.

鈥淚 was a bit hesitant at first because of its non-traditional approach for finding a potential spouse, but I decided to give it a try,鈥� Lo said. 鈥淚 thought it would be a good chance to meet some new people and, particularly, fellow young Catholics.鈥�

Space is limited due to the size of the venue and organizers have had to turn people away in the past.

鈥淒uring the first year it was easy to have women sign on right from the beginning when we advertised,鈥� Bourke said. 鈥�(With) the men, there were still spaces in the final week. This year I see men and women signing up (from the start).鈥�

鈥淚 had never attended a speed dating event before so I didn鈥檛 really know what to expect,鈥� Lo said. 鈥淗owever, the event was well organized. The organizers and volunteers did a great job in making the participants feel welcome and comfortable.鈥�

These events provide a friendly and low-pressure environment for participants.

鈥淢en were saying that it takes the pressure off of asking someone for their phone number,鈥� Ofreneo said.

While exclusive to Catholic singles, the dance that follows is open to all young adults. The dance also works as a fundraiser where proceeds will go to the two ministries to fund other activities such as Newman鱿鱼视频app outreach programs.

The organizers aim not only to fulfill young adults鈥� requests for such events, but also to host them in a way that upholds Catholic values.

鈥淯ltimately we say when it comes to something like speed dating... can we bring something there that allows a really healthy and faith-filled idea of meeting new people without perhaps the agenda of 鈥楧o they make my list?鈥� 鈥� said Bourke.

She hopes participants will be 鈥渙pen to the possibilities of friendship (and) romance,鈥� and will 鈥渂e able to be open to truly meeting new people.鈥�

鈥淚t鱿鱼视频app core to our faith how we connect to other people as strangers, as friends or otherwise.鈥�

Ofreneo encourages single young adults to attend, 鈥渂ut not with the goal in mind of getting a date right away, but to start new friendships and go from there and see where that goes.鈥�

Lo recommends the event.

鈥淩egardless of whether you find that special someone, there is a chance that you may develop many new friendships,鈥� he said.

Lo advises participants to keep an open mind and to pray before and after the event.

鈥淰iew all 鈥榙ates鈥� and potential matches as brothers and sisters in Christ,鈥� Lo said. 鈥淏e yourself, have fun and smile.鈥�

(Bernardo, 26, lives in Toronto, Ont.)

(CORRECTION 24/10/12 to Michael Taylor's job title)

TORONTO - Citizenship and Immigration Canada has granted half-a-million dollars over three years to the University of Toronto for its Religious Diversity Youth Leadership project.

Launched in late September, the program investigates and acts upon the problems and possibilities of living in a religiously diverse society.

鈥淭丑别 most important thing the CIC funding was looking for was the kind of projects that would bring together communities that wouldn鈥檛 normally be talking to each other,鈥� said Pamela Klassen, professor in the Department for the Study of Religion and director of the Religion in the Public Sphere Initiative.

The project promises to bring together and build networks of communication between students, faculty, community leaders and youth in the Greater Toronto Area. It is run by the U of T鱿鱼视频app Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and Practice, the Religion in the Public Sphere Initiative and the Centre for Community Partnerships. The project aims to raise awareness on how religious diversity and civic responsibility are connected and to work against exclusion and marginalization.

鈥淲e put in a proposal, the RPS, together with the Centre for Community Partnerships and the Multi-Faith Centre that was focussed on a university-based project that would take students out into the community and bring various community organizations in contact with students and with the wider university,鈥� Klassen said.

The project has three main activities. The religious diversity youth training activity will have U of T students enrolled in a service-learning certificate program, which is meant to prepare them for serving in diverse communities, including religious communities.

In the next category of activity, academic and service-learning community partnerships, young adults will work in community organizations or university departments to see first-hand how civic responsibility and religious diversity play out in real-world situations.

鈥淛ust as our society becomes more diverse, our responses to spiritual and religious care should evolve with it,鈥� said panelist Michael A. Taylor, Regional Manager with the Ontario Multifaith Council and a mental health professional. 鈥淎 nation that accepts diversity should accept the entire diversity of a person.鈥�

The third category of activity is the public forums and community research workshops. This connects policy makers, scholars, community leaders, practitioners and students.

The first forum was held on Sept. 27, the day the project launched. Titled 鈥淐are of Souls and the Soul of Care,鈥� the forum lasted two days and was held to discuss the successes and failures of religion in publicly funded health care and the challenges religious diversity poses for biomedical health care.

On day two of the forum, the community research workshop brought together palliative care doctors, neonatologists, nurses, executives, hospital chaplains, scholars and students.

鈥淲hat happens when a young baby dies in an ICU in the hospital and it鱿鱼视频app a Muslim baby and the parents don鈥檛 want to wash the body, but the nurse thinks the body must absolutely be washed,鈥� said Klassen, recalling the events of the workshop. 鈥淗ow do they negotiate those very emotionally fraught kinds of questions and understand what kinds of compromises the health care system can and cannot make to accommodate religious concerns?鈥�

Future forums will address gender and sexuality in religious communities, youth violence and religious identity, as well as religion and the arts.

MARKHAM, ONT. - A new youth study group aims to help young Catholics find answers to their questions about faith.

The Salesian Sisters are inviting Toronto-area youth age 15 to 35 to study the youth catechism from October to July. Sr. Corazon Beboso will be running the program at the Don Bosco Centre in Markham.

鈥淭丑别 Catechism of the Catholic Church is more for adults, for bishops, for priests,鈥� said Beboso, who calls it 鈥渧ery theological.鈥� In contrast, the YouCat, or youth catechism, targets youth to deepen their faith.

Pope Benedict XVI presented the YouCat as a gift to World Youth Day 2011 pilgrims in Madrid, Spain.

鈥淭丑别 YouCat study group is not a training program. It鱿鱼视频app not a prayer group,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a young adult-led discussion sharing session wherein they come, they bring their questions, they bring whatever impact the world has on them... (and) they place it at the table for discussion depending on the topic that we have chosen.鈥�

But Beboso promises prayer will be incorporated.

鈥淭丑别re鱿鱼视频app a bit of fun too because we have to make use of the things that are happening around, and then afterwards we pray, we stop and say what does the catechism say?鈥� she said.

The study group is an offshoot of a discernment program that started last year. Called Duc in Altum (put out into the deep), the title is based on Luke 5:4-11, which refers to going farther to catch fish.

鈥淪o for us the fish that we want to catch with these young adults is know yourself, know your relationship with God, know your faith, know the Church and what the Church expects from you,鈥� Beboso said.

After the discernment program, the participants wanted to know what was next.

鈥淚 said why don鈥檛 we make this study group as a response to the invitation of the Holy Father to make 2012-2013 the Year of Faith.鈥� And so the YouCat study group was developed.

Beboso hopes the program will help participants figure out 鈥渉ow our quest for the truth is wrapped in the language of young people鱿鱼视频app experiences today.鈥�

Registration is $30 for the entire program. The price includes a copy of the YouCat and the balance is a participant鱿鱼视频app contribution to the program. But those who come with their own print or e-book copies are asked to make a small donation. Currently, lists 19 sessions at about two sessions a month, the first of which was held on Oct. 1.

Beboso believes youth are attracted to this type of group not only because they are looking for precise answers to the questions they have about the faith.

鈥淭丑别y鈥檙e also attracted because there are other young people who are searching like them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭丑别y don鈥檛 have the language... to express the faith. They know mentally because many of them are cradle Catholics... So they want to study together with others.鈥�