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| Parental rights issues in education highlighted | | | 2010-08-27 | | TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2010 - As students return to school in the coming weeks, several ongoing situations pose challenges for the rights of parents in education, and the Catholic nature of publicly-funded Catholic schools. In British Columbia, an agreement in 2006 between the B.C. Ministry of Education and two homosexual activists, Murray Corren and the late Peter Corren, requires boards to make curriculum materials as “gay friendly” as possible. It also created a new social justice option for Grade 12 that includes “non-heterosexual realities.” The League asked all public school boards if and how they will accommodate the wishes of parents and students who object to curriculum demands for reasons of conscience and religion, or who wish their children to receive the information in an alternative format, up to and including removal from class. In response, boards educating a majority of public school students have said they will honour requests for accommo... | | Canadian cardinal to set tone for Church | | | 2010-08-19 | | By Charles LewisNational PostThe new head of the Roman Catholic Congregation of Bishops, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, said a combination of secrecy in certain corners of the Church and a general degeneration of mores in society at large combined to cause and aggravate the sexual abuse scandal from which the Church is still recovering. "I think there was a certain culture of secrecy along with an ignorance of the psychological consequences of sexual abuse in parts of the Church in which people were displaced instead of really taking the problem very seriously," he said in an interview from Quebec City yesterday. "[For those who committed abuse] there was no coherence between their lives and pastoral service." Cardinal Ouellet's new role, which he will shortly take up in Rome, is considered one of the most important internal Vatican positions, perhaps only second to the papacy itself. He will advise Pope Benedict directly on who will make the best bishops, essentially picking those le... | | Catholic bashing always seems to be fair game | | | 2010-06-18 | | Cardinal Ouellet and Archbishop Prendergast’s recent call for aid to be provided to pregnant women who want to keep their babies pretty much got dismissed the same way as Cardinal Ouellet’s statements a week before, albeit with less venom. There was nothing startling in the remarks themselves, but the statement of Cardinal Ouellet, in particular, drew an unusual degree of hostility from politicians and journalists, with only a few of the latter taking the opportunity to uphold his right to free speech. The columnist who wished the cardinal “a slow and painful death” was extreme, but not exceptional in his derision.In researching 25 years’ worth of anti-Catholic hostility in the media, I was struck by how often such prejudice is sparked by Church participation in debates on the moral issues of the day. The reaction is probably strongest on abortion, but also colours discussions about the re-definition of marriage, euthanasia, faith-based schools and bioethi... | | Religious rights upheld, but concern remains, in Christian Horizons decision | | | 2010-05-26 | | TORONTO, May 26, 2010 (CCRL) - The Catholic Civil Rights League is pleased that the Ontario Superior Court has affirmed the right of Christian Horizons group homes to hire staff who meet faith requirements, but noted that the ruling still upheld some interference in that right by upholding a complaint of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In a broader context, the League remains concerned that a human rights tribunal has been allowed to interpret religious precepts, in this case as they may have applied to hiring and firing requirements of a Christian charity. Christian Horizons, founded and operated by evangelical Christians, is the largest community living service in Ontario, and is funded almost entirely by the province, receiving about $75 million each year. It operates more than 180 residential homes for people with developmental disabilities and provides support and services to about 1,400 people. Prior to this case, all e... | | League celebrates Silver Anniversary | | | 2010-06-23 | | TORONTO, June 12, 2010 - The advocacy and education work of the Catholic Civil Rights League is needed now more than ever, Rev. Raymond J. de Souza told those attending the League’s June 10 anniversary gala. Noting that the media has grown rapidly and embraced new technologies in the past 25 years, Father de Souza said that while there are better sources for news and commentary about the Church available now, there is also greater potential for bias and falsehood to spread in an instant.Father De Souza with Phil Horgan, League President“The League began in 1985, a time of renewed confidence for the Church. The synod that year celebrated and gave fresh impetus to the achievements of the Second Vatican Council. It was a good time for harnessing that confident spirit and creating a force for challenging media bias and participating in debates on public policy,” said Father de Souza, National Post columnist, Chaplain, Newman House and adjunct faculty at Queen's University... | | Court appeals underscore free speech concerns | | | 2010-04-06 | | OTTAWA, Ont. April 6, 2010 (CCRL) – Two recently-announced court appeals raise serious concerns about agencies of the state intervening against the right to freedom of expression of religious beliefs. In Alberta, complainant Darren Lund has launched an appeal of December’s Court of Queen’s Bench ruling freeing Stephen Boissoin from a fine and publishing prohibition imposed by the provincial human rights tribunal. The case stems from a 2002 letter written by Mr. Boissoin, a former pastor, in the Red Deer Advocate, expressing opposition to what he considered pro-homosexual “brainwashing” in the public school system. Mr. Lund filed the complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission.In Saskatchewan, the province’s human rights tribunal (SHRC) has announced its intention to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Bill Whatcott. The SHRC brought Whatcott before the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal in 2006 over his practice of distr... | | Role of media in abuse allegations | | | 2010-04-14 | |
Some allegations have staying power no matter how many times they are refuted. For the past month, including the Easter weekend, articles and broadcasts have abounded about the sexual abuse scandal and claims of cover-up at the highest levels of the Church. Most of the allegations concerned events in Europe and the U.S., and grew wildly after suggestions that Pope Benedict himself may have known of or approved a decision to return a German offender to ministry. Led by the New York Times, there were further efforts to accuse the Pope, in his former capacity as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with failing to act promptly in a U.S. case. The allegations, and the Times’ role in spreading them, have been widely and justifiably refuted and discredited (Register, April 4), including by the Times itself, albeit with less prominence than it gave the original. Many individuals and organizations also made phone calls and sent letters in pursuit of fairness.
Althou... | | Why attack the Pope? | | | 2010-04-07 | | By Richard BastienSexual abuse is deplorable, no matter where it occurs. But one wonders: Why the near hysteria regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, most of which occurred decades ago, from a society that celebrates the lack of constraints against almost every form of sexual activity, no matter how degraded? Is there any other instance of sexual abuse that generates similar outrage in the media? One answer might be that the Church is held to a higher standard because it professes a higher standard. But there is a deeper reason for the media attack that has nothing to do with moral outrage. One of the stark features of modernity is the conflict between two very different views of morality: moral relativism versus the natural law. The difference between these views resides in the way they draw a line between right and wrong. Moral relativism says the line is set uniquely according to one's estimation of the good and bad intentions or consequences of an act. Natural ... | | A Response to Christopher Hitchens' 'The Great Catholic Coverup' | | | 2010-03-25 | | By Sean MurphyCCRL Western RegionChristopher Hitchens venomous attack on Pope Benedict XVI (The Great Catholic Coverup, 18 March, 2010) is a revelation that deserves wider attention. Were it not for its appearance in the National Post, it would be difficult to believe that a reputable newspaper would publish such absurdity. Mr. Hitchens states that in May, 2001, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger sent a "confidential" letter to Catholic bishops to remind them that anyone who disclosed "child rape and torture" by priests would be excommunicated. He claims that Cardinal Ratzinger imposed a ten year "statute of limitations" on actions against such priests, and was thus guilty of "obstruction of justice."These assertions are false.The 2001 instruction was issued to clarify how reports of clerical sexual misconduct were to be handled. Ratzinger’s directive actually facilitated Church proceedings against clerical sex offenders by extending time limits that had previously hampered prosecutions. ... | | Free speech victory in Sask. Court of Appeal | | | 2010-03-02 | |
REGINA, SK, Feb. 27, 2010 - The appeal of Bill Whatcott from a $17,500 fine imposed by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission(HRC) for objecting to content about homosexuality being taught to children in Saskatoon Public schools has resulted in a victory for Whatcott. The decision reversed the fine of the HRC as well as a lower court of Queen’s Bench decision upholding the fine. The fine by the HRC included a fine for the distribution of two other pamphlets. One objected to the homosexual culture Mr. Whatcott believed was being taught at the University of Saskatchewan, and the second was a reproduction of a portion of a classified advertisement from a homosexual newspaper that included ads of men seeking “boys”.
The decision is especially important for Christians, as it establishes the precedent that one can criticize the morality of homosexual behavior without extreme caution and fear of prosecution by Human Rights Commissions. The earlie... |
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