News round-up

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Stories about the God Fraud Squad:

Scam artists beware, God's Fraud Squad is in town
A Catholic priest and a Presbyterian minister known as God's Fraud Squad recently saved a Fraser Valley doctor from investing $1 million in an investment scam. "The guy was about to invest in a scam that offered a six-per-cent return -- every month," John Haycock, a Presbyterian minister in Abbotsford, recalled Wednesday. Haycock and his "squad" colleague, Fraser Valley priest Seamus Mackrell, believed it was scam and notified the B.C. Securities Commission about the doctor's pending investment. A securities investigator then met with the potential investor to show him it was a scam.
Vancouver Sun, October 4

Meet God's Fraud Squad
When they saw their flocks being fleeced and dispirited, a priest and a minister took action. Now they're spreading the word on how to spot swindlers who see religious groups as easy prey
Globe and Mail, October 4

Earlier: Alleged fraud artist accused of 'hiding behind the cross'

Stories about hookahs, Islam, and the West:

Hookah lounges exempt from bylaw
Vancouver's hookah-parlour owners are celebrating after winning an exemption Thursday from a proposed new bylaw that will ban smoking on most sidewalks in commercial districts, in bus shelters and even in taxis passing through Vancouver. In giving the bylaw unanimous approval-in-principle, Vancouver city council members bowed to arguments that hookah lounges provide an important cultural space for the city's Muslims and granted them a temporary exemption.
Vancouver Sun, September 21

Pass the hookah in Lotus Land
But this is Vancouver. So let there be no surprise, as it approaches the sublime apogee of utter civic perfectibility, that it was mindful - that even here, in addressing its last plague - it had to consider its dues to multiculturalism, plurality and tolerance for all. Vancouver will allow hookah parlours. That's "hookah," in case you stumbled. There are, I read, three hookah parlours, that offer their glass-bowls and water pipes to some of the city's newer citizens.
Rex Murphy, Globe and Mail, September 29

Dogma isn't history
The Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) has been bombarding journalists and local politicians with press releases urging that October be proclaimed "Islamic History Month." The cities of Victoria and Kingston have duly complied, in the same crowd-pleasing spirit that has inspired the U.S. Congress to proclaim the last week in May "National Pickle Week." As organizations go, the Canadian Islamic Congress is at once ludicrous and worrisome. When it is not trying to silence journalists, it is condoning militant Islamists. But just as a stopped clock is right twice a day, this time the CIC has got hold of an interesting idea.
David Frum, National Post, September 29

At The Globe and CBC, guerillas with tenure
Over the summer, when Somali-born writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali was promoting her new book about the atrocities she'd endured in the name of Islam, she ended up on Avi Lewis' CBC television talk show, On The Map. The result, recorded for posterity on the Web, was one of those over-the-top examples of left-wing bias that critics of the CBC are forever mass-forwarding to one another. The biggest whopper came when Ali -- who'd endured both genital mutilation and forced marriage before escaping to the Netherlands -- explained one of the key reasons her early life was so hellish: Whereas the Koran invades every aspect of life in Muslim countries, Western Christians respect the line between church and state.
Jonathan Kay, National Post, October 2

Mosque says to avoid Western holidays
A Toronto mosque is telling Muslims not to say "Happy Thanksgiving" or invite friends into their homes for turkey dinner on the holiday weekend. The Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque says to "avoid participating" in dinners, parties or greetings on Thanksgiving because it is a kuffaar, or non-Muslim, celebration. A two-part article on the mosque Web site says Muslims should also "stay completely away" from "Halloween trick-and treat nonsense," Christmas, New Year's, anniversaries, birthdays and Earth Day.
National Post, October 3

Rival boards vie for control of mosque
A prominent Toronto mosque is caught in the middle of a legal tug-of-war that has seen two senior clerics fired and accused of being sought by Canadian security agencies. The dispute began when two groups both claimed to be the legitimate board of directors of the Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque, which mainly serves the city's large Somali-Canadian community.
National Post, October 3

Little Mosque is back and it's a lot funnier
Okey-dokey. Let's look at CBC's lineup tonight. It's a big one for our friendly public broadcaster. First: So two Muslims walk into a country and western bar. One tells the owner that he wants him to stop serving alcohol and ban mixed dancing. The other stares around at the saloon scenery and says, "Five-cent wings! Is that possible?"
John Doyle, Globe and Mail, October 3

Earlier: Stories about Islam, Muslims and the West

Stories about the Buddhist monks protesting in Myanmar:

Where are Myanmar's monks?
After paying a heavy price for their uprising, Myanmar's monks are nursing their wounds and hoping for international action against the military junta that crushed their peaceful protests with bullets and tear gas. A new estimate by a well-connected dissident group has concluded that 138 people were killed and about 6,000 detained, including about 2,400 Buddhist monks, when the regime smashed the anti-government protests last week. . . . Ms. Villarosa said her staff had visited up to 15 monasteries around Rangoon and every single one was empty. She put the number of arrested demonstrators, monks and civilians in the thousands. "I know the monks are not in their monasteries," she said. "Where are they? How many are dead? How many are arrested?" She said the true death toll may never be known in a Buddhist country where bodies are cremated.
Globe and Mail, October 2

When religion and politics hold hands, watch out
Why am I not surprised that the latest spontaneous popular revolt against an authoritarian government - in Myanmar - has been sparked and led on the streets by religious figures? Because men and women of organized faith have regularly taken the lead in populist movements for political change throughout the world in recent decades. Myanmar should help clarify parallels in the Middle East and other regions where religious and political forces are at play simultaneously in society.
Rami Khouri, Globe and Mail, October 2

Stories about polygamy and the cult at Bountiful:

Jeffs jury saw crime for what it was
Conviction of sect leader shows ordinary people understood forced marriage of underage girl was not acceptable
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, September 29

Hope springs Bountiful?
With polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs facing life in a Utah prison, British Columbia insists its dithering days are over
Maclean's, October 1

The Macleans.ca Interview: Wally Oppal
British Columbia's Attorney-General insists the polygamist community of Bountiful will finally be dealt with -- soon
Maclean's, October 1

Earlier: Stories about the polygamist cult at Bountiful

Continue article >>

Other stories from the past week:

Anglican rift sparks move for new church
Conservatives seek to set up parallel body along more orthodox theological lines
Toronto Star, September 29
Earlier: Stories about Anglicans and same-sex blessings

Christianity 'banished' from Canadian public life
Father Richard Neuhaus, the Catholic priest who edits the highly influential New York-based magazine First Things, which covers religion, culture and public life, recently returned from his annual summer vacation in the Ottawa Valley.
National Post, September 29

Pope picks his battle
Benedict's stand against the 'dictatorship of relativism' has its doubters
National Post, September 29

Making friends with Mr. Vig
Filmmaker Pernille Rose Gronkjaer turns her lens on an eccentric and deeply moving story of faith and commitment
CanWest News Service, September 29
Earlier: VIFF films explore cults, homosexuality and forgiveness

Ukraine vote fuels religious tensions
Religion may seem well beneath the radar this time around, but followers of Eastern European politics say a festering spiritual Cold War remains a significant factor as Ukraine goes to the polls this weekend. Schisms older than Ukraine itself permeate the country's multi-confessional religious jumble, each fault line a legacy of the former empires that once jockeyed for control of its rich black-soil steppes. Now, fears of new empire-building run through the dominant Eastern Orthodox Christian faithful, where the battle lines between pro-Russian loyalists and Western-leaning Ukrainian nationalists can be found parish by parish. Though almost identical in terms of liturgy, the two Orthodox streams answer to decidedly different masters, with the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church and its more than 9,000 communities under the canonical authority of leaders in Moscow. The rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church, by contrast, answers to its own self-declared Kyiv Patriarchate, a breakaway entity created in June 1992 upon the collapse of the Soviet Union and consisting today of nearly 3,000 communities.
Toronto Star, September 29

Punk rocker Bif Naked, Vancouver sports writer hitch in traditional wedding
Punk rocker Bif Naked married sportswriter Ian Walker on Saturday in surprisingly traditional nuptials at a downtown Vancouver church. More than 100 family and friends joined the couple in St. Andrews Wesley United Church for the 30-minute ceremony. Walker's parents are Salvation Army ministers while Naked, born Beth Torbert, was adopted in India by American missionaries and later raised in Winnipeg.
Canadian Press, September 29

We're still looking for something to believe in
A consequence of losing religion is the loss of a unifying vision of how we live -- hence the 'accommodation' debate
Peter McKnight, Vancouver Sun, September 29

One woman's war against weapons
Scholar and philanthropist has donated almost $15 million to anti-armament and peace efforts
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, September 29

Christian Brother faces new abuse claim
A British Columbia man has filed a lawsuit alleging he was sexually and physically abused by a Christian Brother who was convicted of assaulting young boys at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland. The suit alleges that the man was molested at two Catholic schools in Burnaby, B.C., between 1978 and the early 1980s - after the Mount Cashel abuses took place and before they received public attention.
Globe and Mail, October 1
Earlier: Catholic schools settle abuse case

Declaration of citizens' rights announced by Quebec city of Rimouski
A declaration of citizens' rights that includes equality between the sexes has been announced by Rimouski municipal officials as the small city tries to attract immigrants. Mayor Eric Forest told Quebec's hearings on reasonable accommodation for immigrants that his city in the Lower St. Lawrence region also gives immigrants a guide to help them integrate economically and socially. Forest told the hearing Tuesday that Rimouski's declaration of citizens' rights doesn't discriminate on the basis of race or religion. . . . The declaration is in contrast with the controversial code of conduct for immigrants by the small central Quebec town of Herouxville released last winter.
Canadian Press, October 2
Earlier: Stories about religion in Quebec

Jehovah's Witness parents in transfusion case can cross-examine doctors
The Jehovah's Witness parents of sextuplets have won the right to cross-examine the medical professionals who provided affidavits supporting blood transfusions for some of their babies. The babies were seized when the parents refused to give their consent for the transfusions because their religious beliefs prohibit the procedure.
Canadian Press, October 2
Earlier: Stories about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions

Food or crack. The choice is yours
That's the message one northern B.C. aid group has issued to people knocking on the door for help, saying they must now provide proof of financial need to gain assistance. The requirement stems from bureaucracy -- an audit of the Dawson Creek Salvation Army last year slammed the fact people didn't need to show what they were earning to gain free food -- but now workers hope it could help break the poverty cycle. Kim Mulligan, director of family services for the Dawson Creek Salvation Army, said blithely handing out assistance without proof of need was "enabling people to destroy themselves."
Globe and Mail, October 3

Nun throws down gauntlet to councillor
In one corner is a 77-year-old nun who's walking the half-marathon route at the Royal Victoria Marathon for the second straight year. In the other corner is her challenger, a 53-year-old Victoria city councillor, recreational cricket player and very part-time rugby player who actually has one full marathon under his belt -- even though he ran it two decades and 40 pounds ago.
Victoria Times-Colonist, October 4

Police rush to school following threat
A Catholic elementary school near Eglinton Ave. W. and Weston Rd. went into lockdown yesterday and police flooded the building after teachers heard an anonymous threat aired on their communication devices.
Toronto Star, October 4

A Humbled Boss
The last time Bruce Springsteen appeared in this column was three years ago, having just announced his decision to headline a series of anti-Bush concerts in the last months of the 2004 presidential election campaign. I wrote then that trading the musical vocation for the partisan political one was a step down. But in a popular music world dominated by manufactured ciphers with talent and insight thinner than a CD, it is hard to be upset with the Boss for long. His new album was released on Tuesday, and he is back with the E Street Band in all its saxophone-wailing, piano-keys-dancing, mandolin-plucking, guitar-blazing, harmonica-haunted fun.
Fr. Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, October 4

October 4/2007