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Stories about the Anglican schism:
Anglican fight over church property heads to court
Three Anglican congregations that split from the Vancouver-area diocese over its support for same-sex blessings have gone to court to avoid being kicked out of their churches. The three congregations -- St. John's Shaughnessy in Vancouver, St. Matthias/St. Luke in Vancouver and St. Matthew's in Abbotsford -- argue in court documents that they should be allowed to remain because their opposition to same-sex blessings is consistent with "historic, orthodox Anglican doctrine." However, the Diocese of New Westminster and its bishop, Michael Ingham, argue that church doctrine evolves and there is no legal basis for congregations that leave the diocese to take church property with them.
Vancouver Sun, October 14
Tens of millions of dollars of B.C. Anglican property up for grabs
My colleague, Chad Skelton, has the latest property story in the ongoing liberal-conservative Anglican showdown. I predict the courts will decide on Anglican church property in much the same way they did in the early 1990s when some conservative United Church of Canada congregations tried to take their property with them in their dispute against same-sex blessings and homosexual clergy. In other words, the breakaway Anglican groups will also not win their battle for church property. Canadian property law seems pretty clear on the issue. Even the lawyer for the conservatives, Cheryl Chang, is not overly upbeat.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, October 14
Earlier: Vancouver Anglicans take dispute over buildings, assets to court
Stories about the pastor with the 10-year-old "wife":
Man guilty of sexually assaulting 10-year-old 'wife'
The head of a defunct Montreal church who says his so-called marriage to a 10-year-old girl gave him the right to have sex with her has been found guilty of sexual assault. Daniel Cormier was convicted by a judge in Montreal today.
Canadian Press, October 15
'Pastor' guilty of child sex
A self-proclaimed pastor has been found guilty of sexual assault of a minor from the time she was 8 or 9 until she was 13. Sentencing arguments for Daniel Cormier, 57, and founder of the now defunct Church of Downtown Mont-real, will be heard next month.
Montreal Gazette, October 16
Earlier: Mother unaware minister claimed to have married her 10-year-old girl
Stories about investigations at Christian schools:
Former Christian school principal suspended for failing to report sexual assault
The British Columbia College of Teachers suspended Steven Gerald Paras in August for four months after he pleaded guilty to professional misconduct in the wake of receiving several complaints in 2002 while he was principal at White Rock Christian Academy, CBC News reported.
National Post, October 9
Vice-principal resigns after sex-assault controversy
The vice-principal of Regent Christian Academy in Surrey has quit his job amid publicity over his handling of a sexual assault complaint from a 13-year-old student in 2002. Steve Paras submitted his resignation Wednesday night, school principal Paul Johnson said.
Vancouver Sun, October 10
Teacher off job during sex probe
A female teacher being investigated for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a male student has been put on leave, the school's principal said Friday. Burnaby RCMP announced on Thursday that they were investigating allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and student at St. Thomas More Collegiate, a Catholic independent school.
Vancouver Sun, October 11
Stories about Cardinal Ouellet's critique of Quebec society:
Senior Quebec cardinal lashes province's society
The spiritual vacuum created by secularism and relativism is eating away at Quebeckers' soul, creating widespread insecurity throughout the society, says the Roman Catholic Church's senior figure in the province, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
Globe and Mail, October 13
Cardinal blames decline in faith for social crisis
The Roman Catholic primate of Canada, Marc Ouellet, says the growing spiritual void is contributing to "grave and costly repercussions" in Quebec's public health system." In a philosophical review, Vita e Pensiero, published by the Catholic University of Milan, the Quebec City cardinal writes that Quebec's growing social problems can be attributed to the rupture between its religion and its culture.
Montreal Gazette, October 14
Earlier: Stories about religious and multicultural issues in Quebec
Stories about Henry Morgentaler's Order of Canada award:
Henry Morgentaler to receive controversial Order of Canada on Friday
Abortion rights activist Henry Morgentaler will receive his controversial Order of Canada in Quebec City on Friday. Morgentaler will be among 20 recipients at a ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean at the Citadel. A statement from Rideau Hall says Morgentaler, a Holocaust survivor, has had a major impact on Canadian public policy and been a "catalyst for change and important debate."
Canadian Press, October 9
Abortion activist Morgentaler to receive Order of Canada today
Prominent abortion-rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler, pictured, will receive the Order of Canada at a ceremony in Quebec City today, the Governor-General's office said. His nomination to the Order last July sparked controversy and highlighted the divide over abortion rights in Canada.
CanWest News Service, October 10
Morgentaler receives Order of Canada as a few demonstrators protest in Quebec City
Abortion rights activist Henry Morgentaler was awarded the Order of Canada on Friday as a few protesters voiced their opposition outside the Citadel in Quebec City.
Canadian Press, October 10
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Poland's "preemie miracle" is an embarrassing postscript to Henry Morgentaler's Order of Canada
Abortion czar Dr Henry Morgentaler will be receiving his Order of Canada in a quiet little ceremony in Quebec City today. The typical OC is inducted in Ottawa amongst his or her peers. So it is fitting that Dr Morgentaler's should be in Quebec, where the abortion rate is double that of the rest of Canada, and therefore the least likely place in Canada to draw a large protest. Ah well, just one more symbolic displacement from the centre of Canadian life for the peripatetic abortionist.
Barbara Kay, Full Comment, National Post, October 10
'Proud' Morgentaler wears Order of Canada
The announcement in July that Morgentaler would receive Canada's highest award sparked protests and members of the order who oppose abortion returned their medals, including Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte. Yesterday morning, a handful of protesters stood outside the Citadel where Jean presented the order to 20 recipients, including Morgentaler.
Montreal Gazette, October 11
Morgentaler gets his medal
Inside he was treated as a hero. To a handful of protesters outside on Friday, he is a murderer.
CanWest News Service, October 11
Earlier: Abortion debate remains heated despite attempts to keep it out of election
Stories about "human rights" tribunals and commissions:
B.C. rights commission rejects Muslim complaint over Maclean's article
The B.C. Human Rights Commission has rejected a human rights complaint against Maclean's magazine that claimed an article about Islam violated anti-hate laws. In a ruling released Friday, the commission found the article by Mark Steyn did not violate anti-hate laws or raise hatred against Muslims.
Canadian Press, October 10
Maclean's wins third round of hate fight
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ruled on Friday that a controversial article about Islam in Maclean's magazine did not violate the province's hate speech law, marking the third time this year the Canadian Islamic Congress has failed in its efforts to force the magazine to print a rebuttal.
National Post, October 11
Maclean's wins tribunal case on 'hate speech'
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ruled Friday that a controversial article about Islam in Maclean's magazine did not violate the province's hate speech law.
CanWest News Service, October 11
B.C. Human Rights Tribunal may never live down embarrassing Steyn fiasco
Panel's hearing over Maclean's article was an affront to free speech and a waste of public resources and time
Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun, October 13
Earlier: Stories about "human rights" commissions and tribunals
Other stories from the past week:
School choice makes smarter children: study
The C. D. Howe report, entitled School Choice and the Benefits of Competition, focuses on English-speaking Catholic and public school boards in Ontario and tracks the willingness to move from one school to another by examining what effect the opening or closing of a school in one system has on enrolment at a nearby school in the other system. The authors note that while non-Catholic families must attend public elementary schools, Catholic parents might choose to send their child to a public school for a variety of reasons, including preference for a secular education, the quality of a school and the distance away for home.
National Post, October 10
Ricci goes from Jesus to Darwin
The knock against much serious literature of recent vintage is that it has been too homey, too family-centric, too modest, insufficiently "red in tooth and claw." You can't fault Nino Ricci for this. The man's last two novels, 2002's Testament and now The Origin of Species, are prime examples of ambitious and audacious writing. The first, a Trillium Prize winner, was nothing less than a polyphonic retelling and expansion of the Jesus story as contained in the Four Gospels of The New Testament. The second, just published, is nothing less than a sort of fictional rewriting -- adaptation, if you will -- of the themes of Charles Darwin's 1859 world-changer, On the Origin of Species.
Globe and Mail, October 13
Earlier: Canadian novelist writes controversial life of Christ
Spirituality at the Games
Vancouver Olympic officials are negotiating with Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and Hindu groups to serve athletes' religious needs
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, October 13
Victims 'such good people'
The brutal deaths of a churchgoing grandmother and her daughter early yesterday have stunned a northeast Toronto neighbourhood.
Toronto Star, October 14
Dial a fatwa rings up religious rulings
Abdulrahman Ammoura, one of the Persian Gulf's most distinguished muftis, flicks on his computer, dons a headset, and readies himself to answer the most pressing religious questions of the day. Normally, the soft-spoken Islamic scholar dispenses religious advice to his faithful from a nearby mosque. Today, he is issuing religious edicts from a cramped cubical at the world's first fatwa call centre, a toll-free government line whose popularity easily eclipses attendance at his Friday prayer sermon.
Globe and Mail, October 15
Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West
Movie Review: Grim but realistic 'Passchendaele' undermined by religious imagery
With a $20-million budget that would barely cover the lead actor's salary on a U.S. studio blockbuster, Paul Gross - who writes, directs and stars in the production - manages to create a stunningly bleak landscape in which weary Canadian soldiers prevailed against a relentless German assault and a punishing rain. Gross also manages to juggle smart, sober themes on the futility of war and heroic personal sacrifice without treading too heavily on the morality of armed conflict. However, the film is ultimately undermined by heavy-handed religious imagery and an overly sentimental love story.
Cassandra Szklarski, Canadian Press, October 15
Church hall location revives Fraser-Hickson
The Fraser-Hickson Library's dormant book collection will be available to the public again in the lower level of Trinity Memorial Anglican Church in Notre Dame de Grace, as part of a $6-million plan unveiled yesterday in partnership with the church.
Montreal Gazette, October 16
October 16/2007
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