It was a glorious summer’s day at High Park in Toronto on June 25, as pro-life university students gathered to celebrate life with friends. The University of Toronto Students for Life (UTSFL) club hosted a barbeque for fellow campus pro-lifers and newcomers. All were invited and it proved a great success, as more than 50 people arrived throughout the day. According to [...]
Interim Staff On July 17, almost 5,000 young people gathered in the nation’s capital for a Christian youth rally, Cry2. CRY stands for Canada’s Revived Youth. The event was organized by the evangelical youth group 4 My Canada (Motivated Young People for a Strong Canada). The throng on the Hill heard speeches on the sanctity of life and the family, prayed for [...]
This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Father Ted Colleton Scholarship program. More than one hundred students have participated in the program, producing interesting and insightful essays on a variety of topics dealing with life issues. On these pages appear their thoughts, concerns and hopes for the pro-life movement in Canada. We were impressed by their knowledge, commitment, spirituality and activism. [...]
While Canadians went to the polls to bring in Stephen Harper’s Conservative minority government, U.S. pro-lifers converged – at least 100,000 strong – on the Washington Mall. More and more, the annual Marches for Life in Ottawa and Washington are being represented by the young, who have survived an entire generation of abortion. The Syracuse Post Standard newspaper reported that the overwhelming [...]
Theresa Matters The Interim The National Campus Life Network hosted 34 students from across Canada at its annual symposium at St. Augustine’s Seminary, Toronto, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2. The event was for campus pro-life leaders and had as its purpose the equipping of campus leaders to effectively spread the message of respecting life from conception to natural death. Two students, Chuck [...]
Eric Mason The Interim Thomas Jefferson once wrote that, “The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” These inspiring words hold a special significance today in Canada, where the culture of death and its destructive vision of humanity permeates the political sphere. This Jeffersonian aphorism has become an empty [...]
John-Henry Westen The Interim By all accounts, World Youth Day, held this year in Cologne, Germany, was a phenomenal success and one during which young Catholics and the world were exhorted to rise above the fray, respect orthodoxy and defend the sanctity of life. During his homily for the closing Mass of World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the youth to [...]
More than 6,000 pro-life Canadians took part in the main March for Life in Ottawa May 12, with youth comprising at least half of that number. Dozens of schools and church youth groups organized school trips on buses to the event. The seasoned verterans of the movement reported the reinvigorating influence of their presence. Many in the crowd said they were eager [...]
Tony Gosgnach The Interim It’s been rockin’ the U.S. for many years with the pro-life message and now it’s spreading in Canada. Rock for Life started in this country in 2002 and in the time since, has already established itself with chapters in Calgary, High River and Westlock in Alberta, as well as Prince George and Victoria in B.C. It was also [...]
Theresa Matters The Interim On Feb. 4, on the west coast of Canada in British Columbia, just over 30 young adults gathered at Rosemary Heights retreat centre with the common goal of becoming more active in the pro-life movement. The weekend was organized by Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and featured Stephanie Gray, its executive director, as the speaker and trainer. The [...]
Richard John Neuhaus Special to The Interim The demographics of the abortion controversy are often overlooked. Recent months have seen a number of reports indicating that opposition to abortion is growing dramatically among young people. In a Gallup survey of youth aged 13 to 17, only 19 percent said that abortion should be legal in all circumstances (the current regime of Roe [...]
Minutes after the room was filled with youthful cheers and joyous songs, one could hear a pin drop though the room was still filled with more than 200 teenagers as they listened to Senator Anne Cools. The senator was the first speakers following a musical kick-off to the full day May 14 CLCY conference on the campus of the University of Ottawa. [...]
By Gillian Long The InterimPro-life leaders can be assured there are some young pro-life activists stepping up to the plate to reinvigorate the movement. On March 17, students at the University of British Columbia, University College of the Cariboo, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, University of Toronto, and Carleton University in Ottawa, working in conjunction with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical [...]
Students ponder where to go next after initial pro-life forays Canadian pro-life student organizations continue to struggle with the age-old question of retaining the talent, enthusiasm and experience of students who are reaching the crossroads in terms of longer-term commitment to right-to-life work. While many organizations throughout North America have established youth wings and stepped up efforts to solicit student input, they [...]