Merry Christmas To You All!

 

A Christmas decoration piece in a Home Sense store in Scarborough, Toronto

Photo by Jerome D'Costa

Archbishop Moses M. Costa, C.S.C., Dies of COVID-19 Complications

Bishop Moses M. Costa, CSC, of the Diocese of Dinajpur,
Bangladesh, visiting the Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Bishop Moses M. Costa, CSC, in front of the Niagara Falls

Bishop Moses M. Costa, CSC (3rd from left) 
with Mrs. Mary D'Costa and her sons Ujjal Peter D'Costa,
and Shouvik Mikhail D'Costa at the Niagara Falls,
Ontario, Canada

Mrs. Mary D'Costa and her son Ujjal Peter D'Costa
with Bishop Moses M. Costa, CSC at the Niagara Falls,
Ontario, Canada

Bishop Moses M. Costa, CSC (5th from left) and
Mrs. Mary D'Costa (1st from right) pose with some
American visitors at the Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

All the photos above by Jerome D'Costa (July 2002)

Archbishop Moses M. Costa, C.S.C., of the Archdiocese of Chattogram (Chittagong), Bangladesh, died on July 13 at the Square Hospital in Dhaka of COVID-19-related multiple strokes caused by a brain hemorrhage. He was 69 years old.

His body was taken to nearby Tejgaon Catholic Church in Dhaka and then to his village home parish church of Tumilia in Gazipur District before his burial at the Chattogram Catholic cathedral graveyard.

On June 13, Archbishop Moses was admitted to the Square Hospital with severe respiratory distress and cough and the following day he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He was recovering from it, but later on July 9 he suffered brain strokes and was put on life support two days later. With the further deterioration of his condition, he was transferred to the intensive care unit where he ultimately died.

He was well-known in Bangladesh for his selfless work among students, youths, seminarians, and disadvantaged people of different ethnicities and faiths. He is being mourned by them all.

Archbishop Moses Costa, son of Hiron Pundit (teacher), was born on November 17, 1950, at the village of Tumilia. He had several brothers and sisters, among whom three -- Sister Mary Catherine, S.M.R.A., Sister Mary Tara, S.M.R.A., and Sister Mary Bibha, S.M.R.A. -- became nuns.

He became a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross on February 5, 1981. Later, on July 20, 1996, he was named the bishop of the Diocese of Dinajpur. On April 6, 2011, he was appointed the Bishop of Chattogram Diocese. Pope Francis, in 2017, elevated the Diocese of Chattogram into an archdiocese and appointed him the first archbishop of Chattogram on February 2, 2017. In both the dioceses he served, he worked relentlessly for the spiritual upliftment of his Catholic folk.

The Quotation of the Week (April 26 - May 2, 2020)

A quotation of Will Smith on 'the importance of the
comprehension of the education material and 
its application in life,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo (The City of Toronto through the front car window:

 Jan. 20, 2019) © Jerome D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (April 19 - 25, 2020)

A quotation of Hugh Jackman on 'multicultural food,'
compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo (A painting on a wall of a Tibetan restaurant 
in Toronto: Feb. 17, 2019) © Jerome D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (April 12 - 18)

A quotation of Caroline Klein Simon 'looking, acting,
thinking, and working by a woman,'
compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo (A display of lipsticks in the Hudson's Bay Store 

in Scarborough Town Centre, Toronto: June 10, 2019)

PhotoSpeak

KAKA Restaurant in downtown Toronto

Photo (March 5, 2019) © Jerome D'Costa

We don't know what 'KAKA' used in the name of this restaurant means. In the Maori language of New Zealand 'Kaka' is the name of a large parrot, in Hindi and Bengali languages, it means 'uncle,' and in an African language, it means 'King of Egypt.' Whatever, 'Kaka' is a good word. 

The Quotation of the Week (April 5 - 11, 2020)

A quotation of Abhishek Ratna on 'changes that will come
with the COVID-19 outbreak,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo (Flowers in Toronto: June 30, 2019) © Jerome D'Costa

The Quotation of the Week (March 22 - 28, 2020)

A quotation of President Ronald Reagan on 'the greatest leader,'
compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo © Jerome D'Costa (Dec. 16, 2017)

Ontario Teachers' Strike Paralyses Publicly-Funded Schools, Over 2 Million Students Remain Out Of Class

The Ontario province-wide strike of elementary and secondary school teachers and their supporters completely shut down the schools having over two million students, reports the Global News.

About 30,000 teacher members, belonging to four teachers' unions -- the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA), and Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) -- participated in the walkout and demonstrated on the compounds of the Queen's Park, the provincial parliament in Toronto. 

The bones of contention were disagreement on the class sizes, full-day kindergarten, e-learning, teachers' compensation, special education, and teacher hiring. 

For further details, please read the following:

• Entire Ontario public school system closed, millions out of class Friday as teachers strike (Feb. 21, 2020)
• 'We're in it for the kids': Education unions lead thousands in job action at Queen's Park (Feb. 21, 2020)
• These are the key issues in the Ontario teachers' disputes with the province (Feb. 21, 2020)
• Ontario's teachers' unions walk off job together in provincewide strike (Feb. 21, 2020)
• Teachers surround Ontario legislature during provincewide strike (Feb. 21, 2020)

All photos above (in Queen's Park, 

Toronto: Feb. 21, 2020) © Jerome D'Costa