Manoeuverings continue on same-sex "marriage".

A Pending vote on whether to reopen the same-sex marriage issue in Parliament comes at a time when some in the media see a resurgence in Canada for what is alternately being called social conservatism, the "religious right" or orthodox Christianity.

Evangelicals

A September 23, 2006 feature article in the Globe and Mail newspaper stated, "In Ottawa, faith makes a leap to the right." It outlined how evangelical and Protestant "conservative religious groups" are enjoying "a quiet boom," thanks to issues such as same-sex "marriage."

"In the past several years--dozens of well-organized and well-funded, religiously minded think tanks, lobbying groups and grassroots organizations have started up, relocated or greatly expanded, all aiming at broader entree into local and national politics," the article stated, while incorrectly claiming that many of the leaders of these organizations are seasoned, sophisticated political operatives with experience in the local and national political arenas.

The Walrus magazine joined in the act, citing an alleged "rising clout of Canada's religious right," attempting to link Prime Minister Stephen Harper with what it called "Theo-cons" and even suggesting that Harper will transform this country into "a stern, narrow-minded theocracy" (Walrus, Oct. 2006). These notions were later attacked in Maclean's magazine by Paul Wells, who referred to several evangelical religious conservative leaders as "kind of a bunch of losers." Wells minimized the impact they and their followers have on Canadian politics (Sept. 26, 2006).

Catholics

Overlooked by these writers is the fact that Canadian Catholics have long been leaders on the socio-political scene in Canada and have acted as a bulwark against some of the worst excesses of the secular humanist trend that has gripped the country since the 1960s. Longstanding, Catholic-majority groups such as Campaign Life Coalition (and the affiliated internet news service LifeSiteNews.com [LSN]), REAL Women of Canada, the Catholic Civil Rights League and the Catholic Organization for Life and Family--not to mention our own Life Ethics Information Centre--have carried the torch for the culture of life, the traditional family, morality and decency literally for decades.

Individual lay Catholics have also stepped forward to press the issues. Alberta MLA and candidate for the premiership, Ted Morton, put forth Bill 208 earlier this year, in an effort to protect the rights of those who oppose "gay" agitation and their recent achievement of same-sex "marriage." Although the bill was killed by the stalling tactics of opposition parties, Morton is promising to keep the issue alive during the leadership contest to replace Ralph Klein as Alberta's Conservative leader and thereafter. "I'm predicting that Bill 208 will be back as a government bill next February," said Morton. "I know I have the support of about three-quarters of caucus, plus the premier" (CTV.ca, May 10, 2006).

Catholic leadership has also come at the international level. On September 8 Pope Benedict XVI lashed out at Canada for legalizing same-sex "marriage" and abortion, calling them manifestations of "the exclusion Of God from the public sphere." The Associated Press noted the Pope has made the &fence of the traditional family a major goal of his papacy, speaking out often on the issue. He has also criticized Spain's socialist government over its institution of liberal reforms such as same-sex "marriage" and fast-tracked divorce (Globe and Mail, Sept 8, 2006).

Demonstrating how taking a stand in favour of life and the family exacts a price, the Pope lit up a firestorm among mainstream media outlets and writers of letters to the editor in Canada from coast to coast. "Through its recent dictates, the Church is openly seeking to violate not only the political sovereignty of this nation, but the right of self-determination claimed by each of its individual citizens," charged one Graeme Bacque of Toronto (Tor. Star, Sept 11, 2006). "If Catholics actually think their religious views are more important than the views of the electorate then I, like thousands of other Canadians, will never again vote for a Catholic," vowed blogger "Cathie From Canada" (cathiefromcanada.blogspot.com, Sept. 9, 2006).

Catholic social teaching

Despite the outburst triggered in this instance, it would be incorrect to lump Catholicism in with what the media derisively term "the religious right." Catholicism, in its essence, is supra-political, meaning it cannot be neatly slotted into a political pigeonhole of a secular construction. A distinctive feature of Catholic social teaching, for example, is its concern for the poor--which prompts some to align the Church with the left side of the political spectrum. On the other hand, when it comes to matters of human life and the family, some accuse the Church of leaning right. The fact is that Catholic social doctrine has consistently critiqued modern social and political ideologies of both the left and the right--nationalism, communism, socialism, liberalism, capitalism, fascism, Nazism, nihilism and, today, agnostic secularism. These have all been condemned by Popes at one time or another.

The body of Catholic social teaching as a whole is neither "right" nor "left," emphasizes Deacon Keith Fournier.

"It cannot be called 'liberal' or 'conservative,' at least in the contemporary political meaning of those terms. It is above all of these limiting categories ... There is no doubt that some on both the 'right' and the 'left' of the political spectrum have tried to clothe their ideologies and 'pet' positions in the terminology of this body of teaching. However, the social teaching of the Church requires an entirely different approach. You cannot simply take pre-existing political or economic positions and either figuratively or literally 'clothe' them in the terminology of the social teaching of the Catholic Church (CatholicOnline.org, Mar. 11, 2005)."

Spurred by the same-sex "marriage" imbroglio, the last federal election brought out the first distinctly religious-conservative vote in Canada's history. Andrew Grenville, senior vice-president at polling firm Ipsos-Reid, observed that for the first time in English-speaking Canada, Catholics who attended church voted for Conservatives more than Liberals in the 2006 federal election. In Quebec, the Liberal vote among weekly churchgoers dropped precipitously, from 56 to 29 per cent (see my "Catholic vote," C.I., Mar. 2006, p. 10).

At the same time, the Canadian hierarchy is becoming more active on family-moral issues than it has in the past. Calgary's Bishop Fred Henry has been prominent since 2003. In September he issued the latest of his pastoral letters that called on Catholics to "push back" in the battle against traditional marriage in Canada (LSN, Sept. 12, 2006). Other Canadian Catholic bishops have also spoken and issued pastoral statements, including Bishop Anthony Tonnos of Hamilton--who issued a pastoral letter to be read in all churches over the September 16-17 weekend. He characterized the June 2005 passage of Bill C-38, which legalized same-sex "marriage," as an action "in contradiction to common sense and the experience of centuries."

A week earlier, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of the Halifax and Yarmouth dioceses in Nova Scotia issued a letter to Catholics there, urging them to contact their MPs in support of traditional marriage. In August, Bishop Richard Gagnon of Victoria, B.C. wrote in his diocesan paper that Catholics should personally contact the federal party leaders, as well as their own MPs, to express the view that "the traditional definition of marriage should be restored for the good of the nation and for the protection of children" (CatholicOnline.org, Sept. 22, 2006).

The primate of Canada, Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec, at a press conference in Edmonton September 8, made it clear that Catholic politicians cannot push their faith aside when it comes to dealing with contentious issues such as abortion and same-sex "marriage." Ouellet noted that for politicians "faith must play an important role in their vote ... They are Catholic and they have to take into account the teaching of their church" (CatholicOnline.org, Sept. 15, 2006). The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops-affiliated Catholic Organization for Life and Family on July 28 issued the document, "Saving Marriage: A Second Chance!" which urged "the silent majority" to speak up.

Obviously, more remains to be done within the Canadian Catholic church. As of this writing, the main website of the CCCB listed nothing new on marriage since the bishops' statement in July 2005 regarding the passage of Bill C-38. As well, although a number have acted, many of the almost six dozen bishops throughout Canada had yet to issue public statements on marriage this summer or fall.

Tony Gosgnach is a freelance media person who is also assistant editor of The Interim newspaper.