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A flawed father's best-seller salvation
William Paul Young has the kind of life story that sounds like it came out of an episode of Dr. Phil. He spent the first 10 years of his life in New Guinea with Christian missionary parents from Grand Prairie, Alta., with a father he describes as "brutal in his discipline," and where, he claims, he was sexually assaulted by the locals. The family returned to Canada and his father became an itinerant preacher wandering through Western Canada. Mr. Young went to 13 schools before graduating high school. He then moved to the U. S. Pacific Northwest, went to Bible college, married, had six children, numerous jobs, an affair, became addicted to pornography, caused the near destruction of his marriage and then went into bankruptcy. Then, he pulled off one of the greatest publishing coups ever -- his religious novel, The Shack, self-published originally as a small family project, has sold more than five million copies so far and has topped the New York Times best-seller list for 37 weeks.
National Post, February 14
Earlier: Shack author strikes a nerve
Minister guilty of preying on woman
When a 42-year-old depressed mother of four joined Manor Road United Church in Toronto, she sought the minister for support and counselling. She soon entered into a nine-year sexual relationship that Rev. William Major insisted was mutual and full of "caring and love." Yesterday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Elizabeth Stewart ruled otherwise, finding the 65-year-old retired minister guilty of sexual assault against the woman with whom he had a relationship of power, trust and authority.
Toronto Star, February 14
Tracing the origin of Valentine's Day
Feb. 14 was officially designated as Valentine's Day by Pope Gelasius at the end of the fifth century, but its roots date to an earlier Roman Empire era
Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun, February 14
Minister announces Saskatchewan will approve Sunday hunting for this fall
Saskatchewan's environment minister used a speech to the annual convention of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation to announce that Sunday hunting will be allowed across the province starting this fall.
Canadian Press, February 15
Man charged with robbing, setting fire to church in Quebec's Beauce region
A 52-year-old man was arraigned Monday on charges of robbing and then setting fire to a church last weekend. Michel Fournier, who was arrested Saturday during a traffic stop, was also charged with violating probation conditions.
Canadian Press, February 16
The plain, strong hand of Riel lives on
With near-impeccable penmanship, Louis Riel jotted down his thoughts about life, death and God in two faded green hardcover journals while housed in a Regina jail awaiting his date with the noose.
Globe and Mail, February 16
Canadian schools get low grade on teaching evolution
The Canadian school system is failing to properly educate citizens about evolutionary theory - especially about the diversity of evolutionary theory. With all the media attention given last week to Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the release of his earth-shattering Origin of Species, you would think evolution would now be embedded in the Canadian psyche. But it turns out Canadians are almost as ignorant as Americans about evolution. An Angus Reid poll recently showed that only 58 per cent of Canadian accept the well-tested theories of evolution based on Darwin's research.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, February 16
Earlier: Stories about evolution and the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin
'Caravan of hope' heads to El Salvador
Fr. Astudillo, the priest at San Lorenzo Anglican Church, is the man tasked with getting two ambulances donated by the city of Toronto to their destination in Soyapango, El Salvador. At the beginning of March, he will lead the convoy of two on an expedition he calls the "Caravan of Hope." Last Tuesday, city council confirmed the donation, despite the objections of councillors Rob Ford and Doug Holyday, who would rather have seen them go under the hammer for the $6,000-$10,000 they would normally fetch. But Fr. Astudillo prefers to remember the congratulations he got from other councillors when they heard about his plans.
National Post, February 17
Lessons learned, history remade
In the year 2009 the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood look like brothers from another planet and look especially exotic when installed in that temple of 21st-century design, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Sin and Salvation: Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision, organized by Katharine Lochnan, turns out to be a magnificent curiosity, an exhibition of art that once created a sensation around the English-speaking world but now needs to be rescued, once or twice a generation, from the mists of memory.
Robert Fulford, National Post, February 17
'Ashraf' an eager jihadist, trial told
A Quebec man dedicated his life to spreading propaganda for al-Qaeda and other jihadists, according to a controversial expert testifying at the man's trial. Rita Katz, the director of the Search for International Terrorist Entities, or SITE Intelligence Group, said that Sad Namouh was one of the most eager, fervent and trusted participants in an online cell dedicated to promoting al-Qaeda and other Islamic terror groups.
Globe and Mail, February 18
Was this B.C.'s first church service?
A New Westminster church will soon be marking the 150th anniversary of what it has been calling the province's "first worship service." But a (friendly) debate has developed over the claim.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, February 18
Men end action against church
Three former residents of a boys rehabilitation facility in Newfoundland have settled their lawsuit with the Roman Catholic Church, but they are continuing their legal fight against the province and the estate of a priest. The application to discontinue the action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Falls was granted Tuesday in Newfoundland Supreme Court.
Canadian Press, February 19
Predators on the border
For Canadians anxious about the thickening of our border with the United States, worrying trends can also be seen here in Nogales, on the Arizona-Mexico border. The effects of mass immigration to the U. S. are already evident -- Spanish is the primary language in the city. While the pedestrian heading south can stroll unmolested into Mexico without having to show any documents whatsoever, the return trip requires full documentation. The reason is obvious: Nogales, Ariz., is a shabby town, Nogales, Mexico, is considerably shabbier still.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, February 19
Where else do they wear fleece to the opera?
Vancouver. Seattle. Portland. Residents of Cascadia are bound together by cultural values of do-your-own-thing, live-and-let-live, nature-based spirituality and an outdoors fashion sense - symbolized by rain-repellant fleece.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, February 19
February 19/2009
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