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THE QUESTION of what role, if any, religion or religious convictions should play
in making public policy has arisen again and again in recent months: first over
the absence of abortion funding in the federal government’s Third World maternal aid package, and next over Marci McDonald’s book, The Armageddon Factor, warning of Christian influence in the Conservative government.
St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Cathedral parish in Victoria will advocate a strong Christian
presence in Canadian public life with a conference on Faith in the Public
Square, October 15 – 17.
It will feature American Archbishop Charles Chaput, Nelson Bishop John Corriveau
and Irish singer turned politician Dana Scallon.
The outspoken Chaput, archbishop of Denver, is the leading American Catholic
exponent of the right and benefit of a religious presence in public debate.
Bishop Corriveau is a strong advocate for social justice.
Scallon has performed at World Youth Day, cut secular and religious albums, and
served in the European Parliament. She lost her seat after opposing a bill to
legalize the morning after pill in Ireland.
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Reached in Denver, Chaput told BC Christian News that “No society, not even a self-described secular one, lives in a moral vacuum, and
most people draw their moral convictions from their religious beliefs.
“So the idea that religious faith should somehow be walled off from our political
decision-making makes no sense.
“Our faith isn’t mainly about politics, obviously. But defending the sanctity of the human
person, which includes working for social, economic and political justice, is
part of the gospel mission we inherit when we’re baptized.”
The archbishop said that while some opposition to religion was based on a
sincere fear of extremism, most of it is simply an attempt by those with
contrary views to silence the church on issues such as abortion, marriage and
the family, bioethics and sexuality.
Chaput added: “A lot of the hand-wringing about so-called religious interference in politics is
theatrical.”
Conference tickets are $50 each and banquet tickets are $75.
Tickets are available from St. Andrew’s Cathedral by phone: 250.388.5571; in person; by mail: 740 View Street,
Victoria, BC V8W 1J8; or by email: standrewscathedral@gmail.com. – Steve Weatherbe
October 2010
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