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Stories about the pro-God and anti-God bus ads:

Those bus ads
The fool hath said in his heart, "There is no God," according to the Psalmist; or as an advertising standards council in Britain ruled, the line should read, "There's probably no God," when it appears on the sides of transit buses. Ottawa's city council voted last week to make OC Transpo the latest carrier of this message, which is already appearing on buses in other Canadian cities, and across former Christendom.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, March 15

'God cares for everyone,' new billboards tell Calgary transit riders
The debate over the existence of a supreme being will ramp up next week when 10 pro-God advertisements appear in response to atheist messages already running on Calgary Transit. Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy, who has been leading the faith-based campaign, said the ads will start running on eight buses and two C-Trains Monday. They feature the slogan, "God cares for everyone . . . even for those who say He doesn't exist."
Calgary Herald, March 19

Earlier: Bus ads -- reflective and provocative

Stories about the multi-faith prayer service for the victims of last Thursday's helicopter crash:

Harper to attend prayer service
Hundreds are expected at a multi-faith prayer service today in St. John's for the 17 victims of last Thursday's helicopter crash off Newfoundland's east coast. The service will be held at the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, a 154-year-old Roman Catholic parish in the city's downtown area.
Canadian Press, March 18

People from many faiths join to mourn air-crash victims
More than 1,000 gather in St. John's to remember 17 who died when helicopter went down
CanWest News Service, March 19

Stories about anti-Semitism:

Anti-Semitism 'a threat to us all': PM
Anti-Semitism is an evil so profound that it is ultimately a threat to all Canadians, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday while attending a ceremony to honour Jewish victims targeted during last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The ceremony, held on Parliament Hill and attended by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and several other MPs, was organized by Chabad Lubavitch, an international Jewish group that operates centres in more than 50 countries.
CanWest News Service, March 13

Ottawa may halt grants to 'anti-Semitic' groups
As part of a "zero tolerance approach towards anti-Semitism," the federal government is reviewing all its public service grants to remove state support from groups that advocate hatred or express support for terrorism.
National Post, March 19

Earlier: Stories about Islam, anti-Semitism and the West

Stories about Zoe Heller's novel The Believers:

Zoe Heller is a believer
Best-selling author copes with the 'unpleasant' tag as she launches a new novel
CanWest News Service, March 14

Marriage, politics, religion - ha!
English transplant Zo Heller trains her wit on a family's sacred ideas in her third - and terrific - new novel
Globe and Mail, March 16

Other stories from the past week:

Peering down the tunnel beyond death
This year, the world's largest study of near-death experiences will begin in 25 hospitals in Britain and the United States to test the recollections of cardiac patients who are brought back to life. The study is being led by Sam Parnia, a British critical-care specialist and a leading researcher on near-death experiences, who has brought together an international team of scientists and physicians for the Human Consciousness Project. Their exploration of the link between consciousness and the brain was the subject of a symposium at the United Nations last fall.
Globe and Mail, March 13

Women and the washing machine
Bless me, Father, for I have committed the sin of professional jealousy. The object of that unworthy feeling is the comment staff of the Osservatore Romano, the newspaper of the Vatican. It's not the 19th century anymore, and although the paper is still owned by the Holy See, these days it pursues an independent editorial line respectful of the Pope and Catholic teachings. But the global media, having about as much curiosity about Catholic affairs as a gnat, hasn't gotten the memo. So whenever something even slightly controversial appears in the Osservatore's comment pages, everybody flips out and acts as though it had been inscribed in brass by the Vicar of Christ himself. The rest of us can only dream of creating such buzz.
Colby Cosh, National Post, March 13

Continue article >>

Pro-choicers deny doctors right to choose life
Abortion on demand may soon take on a whole new meaning in Alberta. The Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons has rewritten its guidelines covering the standard of care that doctors must provide. Most of the changes are unremarkable, but some doctors and members of the general public are balking at proposed changes that essentially ask physicians to set aside their moral beliefs, conscience objections and medical opinions to ensure women have unfettered access to abortion.
Susan Martinuk, Calgary Herald, March 13

Bif Naked takes on cancer, death ... and her new album
Love. Death. These two big themes capture the current life of the Vancouver singer/songwriter with the raunchy image. Let's begin with death. Or staying alive -- because full-tilt living seems the aim of the punk-rocker who has been boxing with breast cancer for the past 14 months.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 13

Bif Naked on love, marriage and spirituality
The streams of Bif Naked's personal and spiritual life came together in her Sept. 29, 2007 wedding to Ian Walker, which began at St. Andrew's Wesley United Church in Vancouver and ended at a wild reception with Indian bhangra dancing.
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 14

Was ailing nun the first saint in Toronto?
The news came surprisingly quickly from the Vatican, where ecclesiastic decisions usually unfold over years, not days or weeks. Five months after asking, the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto has permission from Rome to assemble a panel of theologians and historians to delve into the life of Sister Carmelina Tarantino, a plain-spoken nun who spent decades bedridden in hospital, to see if she has sufficient "heroic virtue" to be a candidate for sainthood.
Toronto Star, March 15

Crux books founded on spirit
Most everyone would want to be remembered the way Pat Paas is now being remembered by his family, his many friends and the legion of loyal customers of Crux Books. "He lived his life in a way he wanted to, but not in a way that let anybody else fall by the wayside," his son, Aaron, said the other day. Pat was a proud American and Canadian, he was a former carnival worker, a Roman Catholic turned Protestant pastor who returned to Catholicism, an extraordinary entrepreneur, and by all accounts one of the greatest bosses Toronto has ever seen.
National Post, March 16

Soccer/football really is religion (especially in Britain)
If I ever wondered if sports can function much like as a religion, I had no more doubts after making a pilgrimage to an Arsenal soccer/football game in sunny London this weekend with two of my sons, Nate and Thomas Todd-Jones.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, March 16

Lights! Camera! Action! Cue God!
Preacher does good box office since going Hollywood with movie-themed sermons at West End church
Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun, March 17

Pundits praise, protest Pope's condom condemnation
Full Comment brings you a regular dose of international punditry at its finest. Today: Pundits clash on the Pope's prophylactic proscription. Is Benedict simply "telling the truth," or is the Pontiff "irresponsible" and "grievously wrong"?
Full Comment, National Post, March 18

The threat of 'no-differencers'
Since 9/11, two distinct views have emerged about the best way to deal with jihadism. One of them is exemplified by terrorism "expert" Louise Richardson (of whom more anon), who believes that "in the process of radicalization, there is no fundamental difference between terrorists and the rest of us. They are people like you and me."
Barbara Kay, National Post, March 18

"Shame on Canada!"
That was the repeated chant heard by many of the 50,000 celebrators of St. Patrick's Day who swarmed on Trafalgar Square in London this week for a concert and much beer drinking. The call-response of "Shame on Canada!" was coming from a group of protestors right outside Canada Place, the official home of Canada in Britain. It borders on Trafalgar Square, which forms the heart of central London.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, March 18

Goodbye, peace process. Hello, 'conflict management'
At Knesset meetings yesterday with recently elected members from Israel's various parties, I heard more references to "conflict management" than I did to the "peace process." That may well be good news: Those who follow Arab-Israeli affairs closely know that there has not been a peace process here for many years, at least in the sense that there is any discernible progress toward any plausible peace. It's good to see that Israelis aren't deluding themselves otherwise.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, March 19

March 19/2009