The election--Part III: the future of Canada.

Many readers are aware of the darkening clouds surrounding Christianity in the West. Others, however, are not adept at reading these signs of the time except, perhaps, in a very general way. Yes, they know about apostasy in the Western world, but not being inclined, or lacking time, to analyze the political, social and cultural news, they cannot pinpoint where the dangers come from.

Catholic Insight has tried to point out these dangers both within society at large and from within the Church from its very beginning fifteen years ago. We hereby continue to do so in this series.

Our April contribution consists of three parts: the attack on religion; the attack on the schools; and Part One of an article by Fr. Tom Rosica on the future of the Church in Canada.--Editor

SECTION A

The latest attacks on religion and speech

Saskatchewan

The February 2007 issue of Catholic Insight (p. 38) reported the position of the Regina Leader Post on homosexuality; to wit, that only religious leaders "should be permitted to publicly defend their religion's tenets [in criticizing homosexuality.] But extending that right to rank-and-file members of a religion goes too far."

In this April issue of C.I. (pp. 37-38), there is a report of an editorial in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix raging against the very existence of Catholic hospitals because a Catholic hospital in Humboldt, SK, would not perform tubal ligations. The newspaper denounced the Catholic Church's hierarchy "that wants to impose itself on the reproductive rights and sexuality of individual Canadians."

The editorialists have just won. A news item on March 9, 2007, announced that the new hospital in Humboldt, SK, will be under provincial control. The existing Catholic hospital will, presumably, wither away.

British Columbia 

In Kamloops, B.C., city councillor John DeCicco was denounced to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal for publicly remarking, in conformance with his Catholic faith, that homosexual acts are "not normal and not natural." For his remark, the HRT fined him $1,000 and required him to utter a public apology. Mr. Di Cicco did so in order to avoid a costly trial; accusations can be made free of charge; defence before a tribunal may cost $50,000.

Comment

Is there still freedom of thought and opinion in Canada? This is one of a dozen cases in the last few years, ranging from B.C. in the West to the University of Cape Breton in the East, where freedom of opinion has been publicly suppressed. Is it not time that Canadians start fighting back and take on the political appointees on these H.R. tribunals?

THE BATTLE OF BOOKS

In February 2007, former New York Times correspondent Chris Hedges was in Toronto to take part in a debate with Canadian evangelical leader Charles McVety. Hedges has just published a book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War in America. In Toronto, he found another platform to push his beliefs. What are those beliefs?

As a start, he compares evangelicals (and presumably others) who oppose abortion and gay 'marriage' to Nazis. His 'analysis' is as follows: a modern mass movement with many common elements of classic fascism--rampant nationalism, militarism, contempt for the poor, rejection of liberal values, disdain for intellectual truth, and a licence to hate, if not kill, those who oppose its views (Tor. Star, Feb. 11, 2007). It is astonishing, isn't it? His book is number five on the New York Times best seller list (of books sold in liberal booktores).

Hedges calls for censorship and prison sentences for those politically incorrect individuals who oppose the secular agenda. He postulates that the leaders of Christian evangelism are "consciously trying to exploit the economic misery of their adherents" by spreading a "theology of despair," and he thinks that conservative Christians will take over American politics (with Canada not far behind). He writes that the Christian "Right" (which presumably includes faith-filled Christians of all denominations) "should no longer be tolerated, because it would destroy the tolerance that makes an open society possible."

Hedges, an American, also rails against Canada's Conservative government: "Look at the policies Harper espouses. He wants to beef up the military. There's hostility to social welfare and health care benefits. There's tolerance for pseudo-science myth in the form of creationism and the literal word of God. James Dobson is on the airwaves, and they've opened a lobbying centre of the Family Research Council."

During the Toronto debate, Hedges baited evangelical Christians such as McVety as naive people, buffoons who don't have life or health insurance because God will take care of them, and individuals who rely on miracles. According to Hedges, "those of us who live in the rational, reality-based world have a hard time understanding how potent and dangerous these people (i.e. conservative Christians) are" (Nat. Post, Feb. 10, 2007).

Comment:

Contrary to Hedges' belief, the faith-based, pro-life, pro-family movement in Canada is neither menacing nor scary. One would almost wish it were! But as it is, as numerous articles and newsbriefs show, religious conservatives in Canada are being marginalized with hardly a peep out of them. This also applies to the Catholic community. If Catholics do not want to be completely driven out of the public Forum, we had better end this false humility and start speaking up, beginning with letters to editors, federal and provincial Members of Parliament, city councillors, school trustees, and radio and TV shows.

THE MEDIA'S CULTURE

Secular zealots are often portrayed as 'moderate' when they attack Christian teaching through threats and bullying. For example, former U.S. vice-president and current darling of the environmental movement, Al Gore, compared George W Bush's religion to Saudi Wahhabism (New Yorker, Sept. 13, 2004). Rosie O'Donnell, a lesbian and former Catholic, declared on ABC television that "radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam." Colorado Senator Ken Salazar, supposedly a Catholic, refers to the evangelical Dr. Dobson, and Focus on the Family, as "the anti-Christ of the world." Senator Tom Harkin (D.-Iowa) recently labelled religious broadcasters as "sort of our homegrown Taliban." These are all American examples. But as pointed out at the beginning with reference to editorials in Regina and Saskatoon, Canada has its own secularists at work who are preparing the way for future attacks.

PROF. STEIN CONTINUES THE ANTI-RELIGIOUS RHETORIC

Janice Gross Stein, a well-known political scientist at the University of Toronto, director of the Munk Centre for International Affairs, and a member of the Order of Canada, wrote an article entitled, "Living better multiculturally: Whose values should prevail?" It appeared in the Fall 2006 edition of the Literary Review of Canada. She argues that Canadian values and Charter values are synonymous and therefore, churches that oppose those values--abortion, 'gay marriage,' euthanasia, denying women ordination, for example--should be denied charitable status. Stein is a Conservative Jew.

Gwen Landolt, a Catholic, a lawyer and vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, takes Stein to task for her outrageous comments. She says Stein's views represent a "serious escalation in the anti-religious rhetoric previous in Canada and promoted as an ideology through human rights tribunals." Landolt places Stein on the far left of the ideological spectrum.

As for Catholic religious practices that supposedly "discriminate" against women, Landolt declares, "It's only radical feminists who feel that Christian practices are against women. That doesn't represent all Canadian women's views, because we don't share their common point of identity" (LifeSiteNews, Feb. 1, 2007).

The head of McGill's Institute for the Study of Marriage, Law and Culture is equally troubled by Stein's remarks. Daniel Cere, a Catholic, says that five years ago, "any mention of charitable status would have been a taboo topic, but now a mainstream public intellectual is talking about using the courts, the 'weapon of rights,' to pressure religions to conform to so-called Canadian values" (Deborah Gyapong, CCN, Jan. 31, 2007).

Peter Lauwers, constitutional lawyer for Toronto's Catholic schools, says Stein's article reveals her as a "convergence liberal" who has little tolerance for freedom of religion. "Freedom of religion is about creating social space in which religious bodies can be themselves.... The role of the state is not to impose its views about religion on anybody."

Responding to Stein's remark about revoking charitable status from religious bodies that don't toe the line on so-called Canadian values, tax law expert Terrance Carter also takes her to task. Carter doesn't see a political will to "go after churches," but he does caution religious bodies to be "vigilant and pro-active to protect the erosion of charitable status" (Deborah Gyapong, CCN, Jan. 31, 2007).

IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR PRAYER IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE?

Secular Ontario, an Ottawa-based group of atheists and agnostics headed by Jewish activist Henry Beitel, is warning that it will take to court any Ontario municipality that continues to recite the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of council meetings. Currently, 18 municipalities say the prayer in violation of a 1999 Ontario Court ruling, also brought about by Beitel, that found the practice violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. When asked about Secular Ontario's threat, Napanee Councilor Peter Veltheer showed no reticence: "I think it's a bunch of crap. We've been carrying on with the Lord's Prayer here for probably 100 years and there's been no problem with it."

Fortunately, Secular Ontario is not likely to get any assistance soon from the present Ontario government in enforcing the law. The Ontario legislature also says the Lord's Prayer before the beginning of its sessions. And recently, Premier Dalton McGuinty accommodated the Jewish community when he moved the newly fixed election date away from October 4, which falls on a Jewish religious feast, to October 10. Accommodation, not suppression, is what the true heritage of Canada is all about.

SASKATCHEWAN MARRIAGE COMMISSIONERS IN TROUBLE

As noted above, the province of Saskatchewan under its NDP government, does not intend to accommodate religion.

A Saskatchewan marriage commissioner who refused to 'marry' a homosexual couple in 2005 because it went against his religious beliefs, has been cited for discrimination. In a hearing before the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal, the defendant, Orville Nichols, stated his faith takes first place in his life. He had referred the homosexual couple to another Regina marriage commissioner, and the couple was subsequently 'married.' What could be more reasonable? But the complaint was laid anyway, and now Mr. Nichols faces charges. Although the legislation providing for homosexual 'marriage' is federal, it falls under provincial jurisdiction.

Saskatchewan's NDP bias is fully shared by Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper, needless to say. In an editorial on February 2, 2007, the Globe made this very clear: "If Mr. Nichols or other commissioners feel their religious beliefs make it impossible for them to do their job, they have the option of resigning."

And, in another example of NDP intolerance, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission has ruled that there are no grounds to proceed with a complaint against The Sheaf,, the student newspaper of the University of Saskatchewan, after it ran an editorial cartoon in its March 2 edition depicting Jesus Christ performing a sex act with a pig.

Comment:

In our opinion, Saskatchewan citizens should organize themselves, solicit donations, hire a lawyer, and sue the Human Rights Commission. Their 'arbitrators' are trampling upon the rights of Freedom of speech as well as religion guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Sections 2 and 15, and part and parcel of a Canadian tradition which goes back to the Quebec Act of 1774. Saskatchewan Catholics should join the Catholic Civil Rights League and become active in word and deed.

Some Canadian Catholics may not be aware of what has been going on in this country. Fellow Catholics should enlighten them. Spread the word. Meanwhile, outsiders have taken note. Boston's Cardinal Archbishop Sean O'Malley, For example, recently noted: "In Canada ... they are already seeing the many different ways that people's religious rights are being trampled because of the redefinition of marriage" (LifeSiteNews, Mar. 6, 2007).

SECTION B

Who controls the souls of the children?

When same-sex lifestyles were accorded equal status by the Liberal government of Paul Martin in June 2005, many Canadians may have thought this would satisfy the homosexual community, and the 'progressive' movers behind them, and that this would be the end of it. They could only have believed this because they were unfamiliar with the thrust and nature of the homosexual drive for "equality." Now that homosexual activists have achieved their legal status, their next demand is that the validity of their lifestyle--and other, related perversions such as trans-sexuality--must be acknowledged by all Canadians as legitimate and acceptable. How is this to be done? It starts with the children.--Editor

Ottawa--Having won 'rights' such as same-sex 'marriage,' homosexuals are now setting their sights on the schools with a two-pronged agenda. First, they seek to inculcate their propaganda among children--whether in religious, public or private schools. Second, they want to expunge any vestiges of parental opposition.

Capital Xtra!

Ottawa's homosexual newspaper Capital Xtra!, full of pornography and an endless listing of sexual encounters, ran a lengthy feature on "Fighting the religious bully in schools" (Feb. 22, 2007). "The one thing all these schools--whatever their religious or cultural affiliation--seem to have in common is their unwillingness to go along with the public school system's attempts to teach that gays and lesbians are entitled to live their lives as equals, with equal protection under human rights legislations," the article said.

Xtra! quoted a homosexual Ottawa public school teacher as charging that, "All private schools tend to be at least implicitly homophobic ... all religiously formed independent schools are definitely homophobic." Xtra! described the situation as "a battle for the hearts and souls of Canadian students, with the battleground being queer rights." It acknowledged that, "Schools are crucibles for young people. They're where the personalities of students are forged."

What do we know about the situation across Canada so far?

QUEBEC

In 2006, the Quebec government ordered some Protestant private schools to teach the same graphic sex education and Darwinism taught in all other schools, in keeping with the provincial curriculum. It threatened these schools with closure if they failed to comply. At the moment, we have no further information on what the current Quebec curriculum teaches.

What is known is that in September 2007, Quebec schools will no longer teach any course from a Catholic point of view, including religion. The Catholic and Protestant system was dissolved in 1997. The Catholic bishops did not oppose it, even though it went against the wishes of a large body of Catholic parents (see "Secular fundamentalists undo Quebec schools," C.I., Jan.-Feb. 1998; pp. 24-25). Please note that in the House of Commons, the drive for the abolition of Protestant and Catholic schools in Quebec was led by one Stephane Dion, then a federal government cabinet minister. (See also Cardinal Ouellet's concerns in News in Brief, p. 38)

THE ATLANTIC PROVINCES 

In the Atlantic provinces, all schools are public schools. Readers may remember that Newfoundland's religious school system was also dismantled in 1997, under Liberal premier Brian Tobin, supposedly a Catholic. (See Fr. Carl Matthews, S.J., "Suppression in Newfoundland," C.I., Jan.-Feb. 1998, pp. 25-26.) This move was immediately supported by then-prime minister Jean Chretien, who by-passed the constitutional requirements of consulting at least five other provinces to get it approved in Ottawa.

Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick closed their Catholic schools over 50 years ago. The assumption at the time was that their schools were Christian, because the communities they reflected were Christian.

Well, times have changed. In 2006, Catholic Insight published three articles about the infiltration of the Nova Scotia school system by Planned Parenthood, an anti-life, anti-family agency (Alexander MacDonald, "Planned Parenthood's attack on Nova Scotia's children," April, pp. 13-14; "The school struggle in Nova Scotia. When is a health centre not a health centre?" May, p. 10; "Can Catholic teachers be compelled to teach sex education?" June, pp. 13-14).

The articles described how sex manuals with graphic depictions of sex, pornography and misleading claims about 'safe' sex have made their way into the province's schools; how, thereupon, so-called health clinics have been established in which youngsters are brainwashed into PP's manual of anti-life, anti-family propaganda of contraception, abortion, condoms, etc.; and how teachers have been steamrolled into compliance.

All of this paves the way for homosexualists to move in under the same umbrella. In the small city of Sydney, N.S., for example, three K-12 school principals are known homosexuals. They will not stand idle.

WHAT IS THE SITUATION IN ONTARIO?

A Grade 12 student at a Richmond Hill, ON, high school, who describes herself as "bisexual," is seeking to form a school club focused on homosexual issues. (Editor: There is no such thing as a 'bisexual.' The term merely covers up the desire to Fornicate with both men and women.) An informal homosexual club, supervised by a supportive teacher, has been meeting there for several years. The principal thinks the "needs" of homosexual students would be better served through a new "diversity advocacy team" that is being formed. The student wants a club so it can issue announcements and put up posters. A "gay-straight" club, however, has, so far, been rejected for the school (Nat. Post, Jan. 22, 2007).

Today, Ontario's Liberal government has a lesbian education minister (as well as a homosexualist health minister). By coincidence or not, she is a graduate of the same high school mentioned above and was approached by the student to throw her weight behind the effort for a club, in the midst of what was described as "a homecoming queen's welcome" at the school. Kathleen Wynne applauded the student's initiative and recalled how she used to learn what the rules were so she could go about changing them. During her high school years, Wynne said, she had challenged a regulation against allowing female students to wear trousers and was also among the organizers of a controversial group of feminist speakers (Tot. Star, Jan. 13, 2007).

Hamilton citizens' group sounds alarm over school board's 'equity policy'

Another example may be found in Hamilton. The school board in that city is planning to impose an "equity policy" that includes an "anti-homophobia" curriculum for the city's public schools. An active organization of concerned citizens, the Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council, says that under the policy, expressing perspectives on homosexual and bisexual conduct from a principled and moral perspective will come to be seen as 'homophobia' and 'heterosexism.' In other words, it will be forbidden.

The Action Council is encouraging local citizens to speak now, for the policy is due for validation this spring. The consequence of the policy is the end of the freedom to speak out. It warns that lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered 'communities' will enforce the understanding that the homosexual lifestyle is natural and normal and is to be promoted and celebrated. Terms such as 'mother' and 'father' will be replaced by 'partner' (HWFAC e-mail and press release, Jan. 17 and 20, 2007).

The Hamilton-Wentworth Family Action Council can be reached at P.O. Box 66714, 38 King Street East, Stoney Creek, ON, L8G 5E6. Its website is: www.hamiltonfamilyaction.org.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

What about Catholic schools? Ah, you say, this cannot be a problem for Catholic schools, because the Church has vigorously rejected the false notion of same-sex 'marriage' and denied the validity of the homosexual lifestyle as either acceptable or natural. Well, think again. Homosexually active Catholics have been infiltrating Ontario's Catholic schools for some time and, with their new legal status, now demand to be recognized.

The homosexual network in Catholic schools

In Catholic Insight's January issue, we published an insightful article on the Pastoral Guidelines issued last year by the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops on assisting students with same-sex tendencies (the Guidelines used the term 'orientation,' about which there is more below). The article pointed out that while the document gives teachers much to think about, good pastoral judgement needs to be exercised in the section on pastoral practices, where terms such as 'orientation,' 'self-discovery' and 'homophobic' are used freely, as if they have the same meaning for people of opposing views. They do not. 'Homophobic,' for example, is used by homosexuals for any opposition at all, including the views of the Church. (For the January article, see our website at: http://catholicinsight.com/ online/ church/ education/ article_696.shtml.)

The Catholic Church's tradition has always declared homosexual acts intrinsically disordered and contrary to the natural law. The Catechism teaches that homosexual acts "close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved" (paragraph 2357).

Soon after the release of the Pastoral Guidelines, two Catholic homosexual activists, Michael Arbour and Barry Blackburn, co-composed an article in the now-defunct dissenting newspaper, the Catholic New Times. The two characterized the bishops' guidelines as, "Good News for gay and lesbian kids" (June 4, 2006). The January 2007 article in Catholic Insight shows they have twisted the Pastoral Guidelines to serve their own bias.

Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts 

The same Michael Arbour is head of the Department of Religion at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts in North York, ON. Blackburn is a retired teacher, a fully out of-the-closet homosexual, and the partner of the homosexual suspended Catholic priest, Tim Ryan. Blackburn and Ryan have been living together for a long time. (For more on Father Tim Ryan, see C.I., April 2004, p. 3, "Ft. Tim Ryan suspended.")

At a December 2006 school staff meeting on the subject of homosexuality, at least five teachers 'outed' themselves as homosexuals. A music teacher announced she is a lesbian who 'married' her partner following the passage of Bill C-38 by the federal Parliament in 2005. She has told her students that her 'lifestyle' is normal and acceptable.

Under the leadership of Michael Arbour, Cardinal Carter Academy's religion department has created "co-curricular activities," corresponding to religion courses. The Grade 12 course entitled "Christianity Reloaded" (Church and Culture) has attached to it the co-curricular GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), described as "a conversation between gay and straight students." GSAs usually follow the umbrella, first of "safety," then tolerance, then affirmation. The nature of this "conversation" seems quite obvious, as already the terms "gay" and "straight" come directly from the homosexualists' language and culture. In fact, the whole idea of GSAs comes from there.

Some people may think that as long as it is restricted to Grade 12 students, it cannot be too bad because they are mature enough to handle this semi-indoctrination. We don't think so. Aside from that, this is not the end of it. The same religion department (together with the "chaplaincy") has a religion course for Grade 9 entitled, "Belonging," and for Grade 10, "Emerging." Attached to these Grade 9 and 10 courses (exactly what they are and what they have to do with the Catholic faith is not evident), the chaplaincy lists "grade-level retreats animated by Grade 12 leadership class." So the Grade 12 students now have a chance to pass on the affirmation of the homosexual lifestyle to the younger students!

With half-a-dozen teachers having 'outed' themselves as 'gay positive,' parents may want to rethink sending their children to this school, unless the trustees and the school board decide to act. (For the damage these disordered lifestyles can do and for their dangers, see the websites www.narth.com and www.pfox.org.)

Meanwhile, there seem to be homosexual teachers sprinkled throughout Toronto's Catholic schools, teachers who do not hesitate to posit their views against the Church in their classrooms.

Another Ontario example

The Windsor Star (Mar. 1, 2007) reported on a trans gender "dress-like-the-opposite-sex" exercise, held as part of a "Spirit Day" at St. Angela Catholic School. Joshua Johnson, a Grade 7 student who was found by his mother to be sporting female eyeliner, said there were "boys with boobs and everything; we had transgender day ... Some of the boys had wigs." Joshua's mother said she had no idea it was happening.

School principal Colleen Arfiero said a newsletter usually goes home with students to inform parents of what will be happening during Spirit Day, but that did not happen this time. Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board superintendent Joe Berthiaume called the event "inappropriate" and added cross-dressing "is not a Catholic belief." for his part, Joshua asked, "Why do they even have a day like that? It just teaches us it's okay to be a different gender. It's not, I think."

The Windsor incident came as 'transgendered' Ontarians are making a push for legitimacy and protection against discrimination in the province's human rights code. The group is said to include trans-sexuals, transvestites and "other individuals whose identities don't conform to traditional notions of sex." NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo, a United Church minister, said she will introduce a private member's bill to amend the provincial human rights code to add "gender identity" ("a person's inner sense of being a man, woman or other gender") to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination (Tor. Sun, March 6, 2007). Ontario MPPs should have the conviction to say No, but don't count on it. Ontarians better start writing their Members of the Provincial Parliament!

Michele Glavine

Michele Glavine, from the Dufferin-Peel (Mississauga) Catholic District School Board, is a member of the Catholic School Education Writing Team that produced the Ontario bishops' Pastoral Guidelines. She gave a workshop presentation on the Guidelines at the 11th When Faith Meets Pedagogy conference for Ontario Catholic educators, held in October 2006.

An attendee at the session told Catholic Insight that Glavine's remarks "contained many conflicting messages and ambiguities that left many in the small workshop with more questions than answers ... Glavine's approach sowed seeds of doubt regarding the Church's beautiful understanding of human sexuality." At one point, Glavine star ed that the Church's understanding of human sexuality is "still unfolding."

It was at this workshop that Glavine took credit for having been responsible for getting the term "orientation" into the title and text. As Catholic Insight pointed out in the March article "Elections, Part II," under our commentary about the statement of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (subheaded "Uneasiness," page 23), the Church's Catechism and other Vatican documents never use the term "orientation." This term was created by the homosexual community to indicate their belief that their condition is normal and natural. Instead, the Church uses the terms "tendencies" or "attraction." It is through these subtle maneouvrings that homosexualists gain their footholds in these programs and then expand into homosexual propaganda.

At the conclusion of her workshop, Glavine recommended as a resource the Gay-Straight Alliance Handbook, produced by the Canadian Teachers Federation. This handbook normalizes and celebrates homosexuality. That reconnects the story to Michael Arbour and his doings at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts.

The question about all this is: is somebody (teachers, principals, school boards, parish priests, trustees, bishops, or parents) going to do anything about it?

WESTERN CANADA 

In Calgary, Bishop Fred Henry says it is critical to reevaluate the kinds of sex education commonly being imparted to our young people. Citing an enormous increase in sexually transmitted diseases, the bishop is calling for a return to traditional sexual and social ethics that reserve sexual activity for married heterosexual couples (LifeSiteNews, Feb. 20, 2007).

In British Columbia, a battle continues over homosexual content in the classroom. As we reported in December 2006 ("Bishops and laity oppose 'gay'-positive curricula," pp. 36-37), the provincial government gave two homosexual activists unprecedented say over the provincial curriculum as part of the settlement of a human rights complaint. The agreement includes a provision that will prevent parents from taking their children out of classrooms in which prohomosexual material is being taught.

Thousands of parents have signed petitions and sent letters to the Education Ministry, insisting they be allowed to pull their children from public school lessons involving 'gay-friendly' instruction that conflicts with their moral or religious values. Education Minister Shirley Bond, however, says she does not intend to change a policy that allows withdrawal from only three courses.

Nonetheless, six of 60 B.C. school boards say they will not compel students to attend classes over the objections of their parents (Victoria Times-Colonist, Feb. 19, 2007). The Catholic Civil Rights League is working with B.C. parents to secure their ultimate right over the content of children's education in all the school boards (LiFeSiteNews, Feb. 27, 2007). The CCRL has provided an overview of the situation and a resource for parents through its website at: http://www.ccrl.ca/index.php?id=435.

Parents are also voters. They should organize the defeat of Shirley Bond at the next election. And they should organize resistance against local schools which introduce these courses.

The issue of legal rights and the clash of opposing values in schools has recently been discussed by Peter Lauwers in the Catholic Register (Mar, 4, 2007, pp. 15-22).

(N.B.: Catholic Insight is interested in receiving Factual information about the situations described above, and other similar ones, either by e-mail or letter. Please contact us.)

SECTION C

A new springtime: God's plan for Canada SECTION C

The Following article by Father Tom Rosica, C.S.B., C.E.O. of Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, fits the series on the Future of Canada initiated in February under the title Elections, Part I, and carried on in March under Elections, Part, H. As readers will have noticed, the series is far broader than just elections. We are discussing the Future of Canada, of both society and church.

The Following essay was delivered in Quebec City on December 30, 2006, at the Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) Rise up Conference.--Editor

INTRODUCTION

Once again it is a great privilege for me to be with you at the 2006 Rise Up Conference in this city that is a spiritual 'home' to each of us. You have invited me to speak about "God's plan for Canada" and the current state of our country. I do not want you to think for one split second that as head of Salt and Light Television Network, I have some secret, heavenly databank of information about Canada. Nor is such information infused in me because I am a member of the Congregation of Priests of St. Basil (the Basilian Fathers)! I am not a cultural critic or cynic, sitting back in some armchair and pointing the finger at Canadian society.

My reflections flow from the past several years of travelling this vast country, from sea to sea to sea, as we prepared for World Youth Day 2002 and then experienced this world event on Canadian soil. Those initial reflections matured as I was invited to develop the important tool of evangelization now known as Salt and Light Catholic Television Network and Media Foundation, truly born on the wings of World Youth Day 2002.

If we are to chart a new direction and course for Canada and the Canadian Church, we must be aware--painfully aware of the reality around us. And such knowledge and awareness must give way to an urgency--a biblical urgency to act.

Let us begin by raising some important questions about the contemporary scene in Canada, and about each of us here in this 'upper room.' The most important question is the one that Pope Benedict raised in his 2006 Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" message one week ago for the people of the world.

* Is a "Saviour" still needed by a humanity which has reached the moon and Mars and is prepared to conquer the universe; for a humanity which knows no limits in its pursuit of nature's secrets and which has succeeded even in deciphering the marvelous codes of the human genome?

* What are the trends and fads enslaving us and enchaining us at this moment in our history? What are the great crises of our times?

* In what ways are we living under the "dictatorship of relativism" of which Pope Benedict XVI has spoken so clearly and insistently since he began his Petrine Ministry in April 2005? What is my part in this dictatorship?

* What will root out this relativism and help us recover our rich heritage and new hope?

* How can we Canadians move forward through this very difficult 'malaise' or crisis?

* What are the challenges of the New Evangelization for us today in Canada?

* What can the Sacred Scriptures offer us in meeting these challenges?

REBUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR NATION AND OUR CHURCH

Let me take you back to an unforgettable moment in recent Canadian Church history when we were asked to consider the larger stage of world history upon which our Canadian history is unfolding. It was Saturday evening, July 27, 2002 on the tarmac of a former military air base in Toronto--Downsview Park. Pope John Paul II spoke these thought-provoking words to the crowd of 600,000+ young people gathered at the Great Vigil of World Youth Day 2002:

"The new millennium opened with two contrasting scenarios: one, the sight of multitudes of pilgrims coming to Rome during the Great Jubilee to pass through the Holy Door which is Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer; and the other, the terrible terrorist attack on New York, an image that is a sort of icon of a world in which hostility and hatred seem to prevail.

"The question that arises is dramatic: on what Foundations must we build the new historical era that is emerging From the great transformations of the twentieth century? Is it enough to rely on the technological revolution now taking place, which seems to respond only to criteria of productivity and efficiency, without reference to the individual's spiritual dimension or to any universally shared ethical values? Is it right to be content with provisional answers to the ultimate questions, and to abandon life to the impulses of instinct, to short-lived sensations or passing fads?"

There could not be more fitting images to describe the awesome backdrop of our work of evangelization in the Church today. Our contemporaries are living in a world that is suffering from tremendous pain and loss. The striking images evoked by the Pope remain engraved on people's memories. Terrorism, along with ethnic and religious divisions, generate violence that seems to have no end. Economic insecurity raises collective anxieties. We are lost, forgetful, without roots, and blinded to the lessons of history. We are living through a time of great crisis.

Against this background we need to recover the depth, beauty and vastness of the Church's mission. This is not a time for hesitation or retreat. Many of you are seeking something vast, something transcendent, to which to commit yourselves. We need to keep the arena large.

Let me say at the outset that when we face the awesome reality of our times, we must avoid the temptation to run to extremes in times of crisis like our own. There is a temptation to become fundamentalist and so rigid in doctrine and life that one becomes enclosed, like a hidden garden, or walled castle, so that nobody hears the word except those within. There is also the temptation to run to the other extreme and become so conformed to the ways and values of the world that sound Church teaching and the truth of the Gospel entrusted to us, will be diluted, distorted and lose its savour.

This world's values are clearly not enough for us--yet we do not despise them or constantly condemn our culture. Our culture is the context for mission, and the more we try to analyze and understand it, through the eyes of faith, the less of a problem there will be with our transformation of this culture and the evangelization of those who live in it.

This is our challenge and risk: to belong to two societies at one and the same time; to be in the world and not of it. How often do we quote the words of John's Gospel (3:16): "And God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son." Now and then we would do well to consider the world, that includes Canada, that God so loved. This world becomes our workshop for transformation and evangelization.

BENEDICT'S VISION OF CHURCH

There are those who argue that the best way for the Church to continue its struggle and spread its message is to embrace the largest number of people and to work with them where they are. And at the opposite end are those who would argue that actually the same message is much more credible when it is propounded by a smaller group of individuals who live it more intensely.

Of more interest to Pope Benedict XVI is that the Church is also bombarded by a secular culture that he believes offers no fixed values. And the eternal question for the Church remains: What do Catholics need to do and believe, in order truly to belong? How can Catholics become salt and light in the world today?

Shortly before he was elected Pope in April 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger preached the homily at the preconclave Mass, warning against the rise of "a dictatorship of relativism." That theme has continued throughout the past months of his pontificate.

Relativism is nothing more or less than the deconstruction of all objectivity in our perceptions of reality. Accordingly, there is no real, objective and historical truth, only those notions which each special proponent offers as his own idea of truth.

A dictatorship of relativism recognizes nothing as absolute. Believers who try to uphold the values of their faith are often labeled as fundamentalists (which might include most of us in this room! Welcome to the club!).

Relativism, powerful in Western life and thriving in Canada, is evidenced in many areas from the decline in the study of history and literature, through to the triumph of subjective values and the downgrading of marriage and family life. (Keep in mind that Pope John Paul II had also warned of the dangers of a society without ideals and a keen sense of history.)

Scientific advances have given us the power to alter even our own genetic code, and we now view the world and ourselves not as a gift from God, but as a product of our own making. Differences about important issues such as war, slavery, abortion, euthanasia are different claims to moral truth, not merely competing preferences. Some who have never been deprived of truth can give it up too easily, perhaps using talk of relativism or secularism to camouflage their actual commitment to money, success, possessions, power. Today more than ever, the world, and especially our nation, need a morality that influences the public sphere, to help us cope with the grave risks and challenges facing society and humanity.

How often have we heard our contemporaries say, "I have my truth and you have your truth." "We must simply respect each other and not become defensive!" Or perhaps we have heard and even used that foolish mantra: "There is no longer any objective, universal truth."

Pope Benedict's words at the beginning of his pontificate have nothing to do with being liberal or conservative, but with being honest and hopeful about the future of Christianity, the Catholic Church and Canada. The Pope is a courageous shepherd and truthful world leader who is not afraid to address the real questions and challenges of our time.

For Christians, Jesus said, "I am the Truth," and for this He, and countless good men and women throughout the ages, have lived and died. Nobody lives and dies for relativism.

THE CRISIS IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE

One of the most visible and deep crises of our times is the crisis of marriage and family life. At the arrival ceremony in Toronto for Pope John Paul II at the beginning of World Youth Day 2002, the Holy Father spoke these provocative and prophetic words to government officials and the people of Canada at Pearson International Airport on July 23, 2002:

"Canadians are heirs to an extraordinarily rich humanism, enriched even more by the blend of many different cultural elements. In a world of great social and ethical strains, and confusion about the very purpose of life, Canadians have an incomparable treasure to contribute--on condition that they preserve what is deep and good and valid in their own heritage."

The teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage is clear, constant and well known, and has been reiterated by the Bishops of Canada on many occasions. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, citing the Second Vatican Council, states: "The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman. 'The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life'" (no. 1603, quoting the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et spes, no. 47).

The Bishops of Canada uphold the exclusive union of a man and a woman as central to marriage, and thus cannot accept the civil redefinition as the union of any two persons. This conviction is shared by many other Canadians from all religious traditions as well as those who hold no religious faith.

As we know, the government of Canada has voted to alter the definition it gives to marriage for the purposes of Canadian civil law. We are witnesses to a dangerous deterioration of our communal values. This worrisome decline in shared concern and care for the common good is also evident in the continuing high rates of marriage breakdown, the annual number of abortions and the declining number of births.

Our society needs to do more to encourage the committed relationship of man and woman that remains so basic to all civilizations, and has proven to be the best support for the rights and needs of children. Canadians have to reflect carefully on the social consequences involved in the redefinition of marriage, examining all that is entailed if society no longer gives a privileged place and fundamental value to the lifelong union of a man and a woman in marriage. As the keystone of society, the family is the most favourable environment in which to welcome children. At the same time, freedom of conscience and religion need to be ensured, while also respecting the dignity of all persons, whatever their sexual tendencies.

Two distinct challenges emerge from this great debate of our times:

1) You lay people here present are the ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage. You are its beneficiaries. Uphold the dignity of this important institution and sacrament. Support the Marriage Preparation Programs in your parish communities. Insist that in your parishes and dioceses, you have solid vocational programs for young adults and young people. It all begins there. Parishes, dioceses and movements that do not have creative pastoral strategies and vocational programs for young people leave the door open to tremendous moral confusion and misunderstanding, misinformation, emptiness.

As Cardinal Marc Ouellet indicated so well in 2005 in his pastoral statement on the proposed legislation on same-sex 'marriage,' we must not forget that other bonds of love and interdependency, of commitment and mutual responsibility exist in society. They may be good; they may even be recognized in law. They are not the same as marriage; they are something else. No extension of terminology for legal purposes will change the observable reality that only the committed union of a man and a woman carries, not only the bond of interdependency between the two adults, but the inherent capacity to bring forth children.

2) And the second challenge is this. As Christians, we must banish from our vocabulary, our hearts and our communities all existing tendencies of hating, reviling and destroying homosexual people--women and men with homosexual tendencies for whom their condition constitutes a trial. While the word "gay" is often used in place of "homosexual orientation" or "same-sex attraction," the reality is that for many people being homosexual is anything but being happy.

Homosexual people may be our sons and daughters, brothers or sisters, colleagues, neighbours, confreres, health care workers, clergy, and friends. They are also sons and daughters of God, created in God's image and likeness. On the other hand, however, there are those who proudly describe themselves as 'gay activists.' Over the past ten years, they have lobbied government officials to get their lifestyle recognized in Canadian law as "marriage," of equal value to marriage between one man and woman. Their efforts won in 2005. While their continued lobbying for the raising and education of children should be firmly resisted, persons with a homosexual orientation must never be reviled or hated.

Together as God's people, let us continue to help one another to bear the crosses that the Lord has given to us. Let us recommit ourselves to building up the human family, to strengthening and enshrining marriage, to blessing and nurturing children, and to making our homes, families and parish communities holy, welcoming places for women and men of every race and language.

THE CHALLENGE OF BEING FOR LIFE

We must never lose sight of the atrocities against the unborn, the untold and too-seldom spoken of pain and lingering anguish experienced by those who have been involved in abortions. Nor can we ignore the other great challenge faced by humanity today--the serious question of mercy killing, or euthanasia as it is sometimes called, no longer found in abstract cases and theories. It concerns ordinary people and is debated not only in Parliament but also around dinner tables and in classrooms. This issue strikes to the very core of who we are and what we believe. Even when not motivated by the refusal to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering, euthanasia must be called a false and misguided mercy. True compassion leads to sharing another's pain, not killing the person whose suffering we cannot bear.

Life is an extraordinary adventure, a God-given gift to be cherished, treasured, and protected. Is it any surprise that so many hundreds of thousands of young people consider themselves to be explicitly pro-life, while their elders are so whimsical and noncommittal to the issues of life and death?

To be continued in May

ARTICLES BY TONY GOSGNACH AND FR. ALPHONSE DE VALK, C.S.B.