September 23, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — Once again young people have an opportunity to do serious research and reflection by the theme of the 14th edition of the Father Ted Colleton Scholarship.
With so many life and family issues in play these days this year’s essay topic is extremely relevant.
The family has been described as the “Engine of the world and of history. Everyone builds their own personality in the family, growing up with a mom and dad, brothers and sisters, breathing in the warmth of home.” (PopeFrancis)
Write a commentary on this statement discussing several of the greatest challenges that the institution of the family faces today, what is the nature of the assault on the family and what can be done to halt the crumbling of family structures.
The family is the institution that serves as the first school, the first introduction to belief in God, and the source of personal identity and well being. It is under siege today as never before. Students are being challenged to write a 1200 word essay on the topic.
Since 2001 more than 860 high school students have participated in previous editions of this scholarship program, inspired by the exemplary missionary and pro-life work of the late Father Ted Colleton, beloved member of the Spiritan Order.
Last year the Minister of Defence, Jason Kenney, called The Interim to congratulate the winning candidate for his remarkable essay on Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, The Emperor’s New Clothes. Students have responded to the scholarship’s challenges, with many of them having already been inspired by their own involvement in local pro-life activities, while others have been prompted to become so involved as a result of learning more about the values and principles at the core of the pro-life cause.
Posters and application forms are available at https://www.theinterim.com/features/the-father-ted-colleton-scholarship/
The essay may be written in either English or French.
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To be eligible students must be in the senior secondary (grades 11 or 12). Candidates are welcome from all over the world, but traditionally they have come primarily from publicly funded and private schools from the different provinces of Canada and a few from American states. A significant portion also has come from homeschooling families.
The program has been co-sponsored by The Interim newspaper (Canada’s life and family monthly) and Niagara Region Right to Life. The scholarship offers prizes of $1500, $800 and $500 respectively for the top three prizes.
The scholarship organizers relish the opportunity to learn about the new generation that is filled with so much hope and prepared to do their part to help build a new culture of life. Though the essay themes change each year, the quality of candidates remains outstanding. For further information candidates and teachers can contact the scholarship co-ordinator, Dan Di Rocco by email [email protected].