News round-up

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Stories about Anglicans and same-sex blessings:

Votes fail to resolve gay issue
A vote by the Anglican Church of Canada to forbid priests from blessing same-sex unions is leaving some conservative Anglicans with little in the way of comfort.
National Post, June 28

Anglican Bishop Michael Ingham on blessing same-sex unions
Canada's only Anglican bishop to authorize the blessing of homosexual unions says the refusal by his fellow bishops to approve the rite for the national church is the product of institutional inertia rooted in homophobia . . . Bishop Ingham kindly agreed to take questions from the readers of globeandmail.com this week on the issue.
Globe and Mail, June 29

Anglican priest to bless lesbian and gay couples
Father Antonio Osorio is 'pushing the envelope:' archdeacon
Victoria Times-Colonist, June 30

Church pours scorn on love
A small miracle occurred two days ago across the nation: Hundreds of gay and lesbian Anglicans showed up to worship in churches that had just scorned them. I know, that's not the official story. The official story is that by a narrow margin, the bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada voted to make it impossible for any parish in the country to bless same-sex couples. Warships and hamsters can be blessed, but not a loving pair of women or men.
Mark Abley, Toronto Star, July 3

Earlier: Anglican synod affirms same-sex blessings in theory, denies them in practise

Stories on Fr. Raymond J. de Souza's trip to Australia:

Unmanly whingin'
In Australia, a dispute over the ethics of stem cells has turned ugly
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, June 14

Lessons from Down Under
Immigration is transforming Australian society, much as it is in Canada, and the experience here has some important lessons to teach.
Fr, Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 19

Aboriginals at the margins
A scathing report on the condition of Aboriginal peoples had sparked interest in sweeping reforms aimed at restoring social norms and economic productivity to Aboriginal communities.
Fr. Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 21

Howard's political apprentice
Last month the Harper government moved to punish Environment Canada bureaucrat Jeff Monaghan for leaking details of their environmental legislation. The action surprised many. It shouldn't have. After all, the Australian government of John Howard did the same thing here three years ago: Allan Kessing, a customs officer who leaked a report on security at the Sydney airport was pursued, eventually convicted and received a suspended sentence. The Harper government's centralizing of communications, silencing of backbenchers and aggressive pursuit of leakers is modelled on Howard's own success in asserting similar media control.
Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, June 28

A contrast in memory
After three weeks down under, and trying the patience of those readers who don't find Australia as fascinating as I do, this Canadian leaves principally surprised at how similar the two countries are.
Fr. Raymond J. De Souza, National Post, June 30

Stories on hate crimes and anti-Semitism:

Quebec cartoons hit ethnicity nerve
Jewish groups say caricatures 'in less than good taste'
National Post, June 28

Hate-crimes pilot fund to launch
The Conservative government will announce a pilot project to pay for security equipment for communities targeted by hate-motivated crimes, overriding the objections of a senior civil servant. The new pilot fund, expected to be about $3-million, will respond to a long-standing effort led by Canada's Jewish community and backed by some of the country's major Muslim groups to get governments to share the costs of security measures at schools, synagogues, mosques and other places that could face attacks.
Globe and Mail, July 4

Stories on Islam and the West:

Britain isn't worthy of Rushdie
Sunday, Oct. 1, 1989 was a typically chilly morning in London. That did not dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of angry British Muslims who were heading toward the Royal Albert Hall to hear a South African orator, Ahmed Deedat, rip into Salman Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses. Nearly 6,000 men, some bussed in from as far as Birmingham, jammed the hall. What happened at the start of the event tells us a lot about the Rushdie saga, which it seems, will not die until the man they now call Sir Salman is sent to his death.
Tarek Fatah, National Post, June 28

Eurabia's author comes to Canada
It appears to be a sign that you're doing something abundantly right when the leaders of the Canadian Arab Federation and the Canadian Islamic Congress demand that your conference be monitored by the Police Hate Crime Unit. Which is the case with a Fraser Institute symposium taking place this week, entitled "On The Front Line of Immigration, Terrorism and Ethno-Politics."
Michael Coren, National Post, June 29

Stop the mewling
I meant, what does Mr Bush know about how the world works? More, much more, than his political opponents -- according to my considered judgement of the years since 9/11/01. But less, I am increasingly convinced, than he needs to avoid embarrassment. I say this after looking through his remarks at the rededication ceremony for the Saudi-funded Islamic Centre in Washington, on Wednesday. It would be understatement to say they were naive. Nearly six years after he visited that place, in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington, and announced as if with the authority of an imam that, "Islam is a religion of peace," he opens himself to the charge of having learnt nothing.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, June 30

Cultural beliefs may spur sex attacks, official says
Young Muslim girls in Toronto schools are being targeted for sexual assaults because attackers consider them less likely to report the incidents to authorities, an education official told the Star.
Toronto Star, July 1

Continue article >>

Bad advice hurting churches
Pews of religions which compromise their theology are quickly emptying
Ted Byfield, Calgary Sun, July 1

Amateurish attacks puzzle U.K. investigators
In Britain, where terrorist plots have become alarmingly familiar, this weekend's dramatic string of attempted car bombings demonstrated a new and disconcerting element: An enthusiastic, and often incompetent, amateurism.
Globe and Mail, July 2

Finding refuge among the pews
Faced with deportation, the Razas found sanctuary in a Winnipeg church. A growing number of congregations are opening their doors to those they believe Canada's refugee system has overlooked
Globe and Mail, July 3

We should back Muslims who seek to reconcile faith and modernity
Part of the conflict within Islam, Jeffrey Simpson wrote recently, "is how to deal with those of other faiths." Without a doubt, this is a central question in the Islamic world. It is also a central question for the entire world.
Jean-Louis Roy, Globe and Mail, July 3

We can't be complacent
The good news is that if Muslim terrorists bring their campaign of jihad to Canada -- as they did (again) this weekend in Britain -- we all will likely miss the attacks. The bombs will go off without us as we stand in line at the airport, holding up our shoes for scanning with one hand while securing our beltless pants with the other and watching guards search our carryon for contraband shave cream and bottled water. Any attacks here will more likely be carried out by suicide bombers than hijackers.
Lorne Gunter, National Post, July 3

Hamas's mascot of death
Imagine your kid is watching Sesame Street and he sees Big Bird and Cookie Monster get into a vicious argument, which ends when the demented chocolate-chip addict bashes Big Bird's brains out with a baseball bat. Or imagine an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood in which Mr. Rogers dispatches Mr. McFeely with a sock full of pennies. Or Mr. Dressup suffocates Finnegan in the Tickle Trunk. What sort of effect would that have on your average six-year-old? Palestinian parents may have a clue.
Jonathan Kay, National Post, July 3

Today's jihadists: educated, wealthy and bent on killing?
U.K. suspects radicalized in West, researchers say
National Post, July 4

Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West

Other stories:

RCMP questions priest about euthanasia trip
The RCMP has launched an investigation into the case of a retired Anglican priest who helped his wife travel to an assisted-suicide centre in Switzerland. Police yesterday interviewed Eric MacDonald of Windsor, N.S., who watched his wife die on June 8 after she consumed barbiturates provided by Dignitas, an assisted-suicide advocacy group in Zurich.
National Post, June 28

St. Stephen's mass appeal
Amid the drumbeat of deals and dollars, Catholic mission offers tranquility to many
Toronto Star, June 28

Donations, volunteers, build Eden
They saved paradise and didn't put up a parking lot. There were those who wanted to, for the congregation's use, but greener, grander plans prevailed. And what better location than a church for a Garden of Eden? Built by volunteers with donated materials, it is the village of Tyrone's pride and joy.
Toronto Star, June 28

Original Blind Boy still moved by spirit
Jimmy Carter, 75, 'jumps for Jesus' onstage
Vancouver Sun, June 29
Earlier: Blind Boys as vital as ever

The children who didn't stand a chance
The aboriginal boys and girls who endured devastating abuse are, as adults, victims, survivors and heroes
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, June 30

Sea to sea
In a sad, sad way, this is a parody of Christianity: "Judge not, lest thee be judged." Leave out every other particle of Christianity, and any possibility of context. Retain only this, and one might well call the postmodern void, "Christian." It is a post-Christian Christianity, and I have heard it preached in several denominations. It is also a ridiculous lie, but who are we to choose between truth and falsehood? ("What is truth?") Reason itself makes people unequal, for some can reason better than others. The Canada of the government-funded paper flag-waving and painted faces -- the "new" Canada that is celebrated each year on what is now called "Canada Day" -- has nothing controversially Canadian about it. You could wave a different flag, and choose another face paint, and nothing would be lost. It is a kind of recess from kindergarten, after which we return to "sleepy time" again.
David Warren, Ottawa Citizen, July 1

Sharing a park bench with Canada's 'cunning man'
Better late than never, the City of Toronto recently named a park after Canada's grandest man of letters, Robertson Davies. Davies, who died Dec. 2, 1995, at the age of 82, would approve, I am sure. . . . One theme that remains ambiguous in his work is religion. He was brought up in a Presbyterian home - indeed, Davies credited the Shorter Catechism with providing the "theological skeleton" of his fiction. While at Oxford, he was confirmed in the Church of England. But in his art and life, Davies prized clarity, discipline, and order - qualities notably absent from Anglicanism.
Ian Hunter, Globe and Mail, July 2

God not out of the question for most Canadians
Canadians may not be as religious as Americans, but a new poll suggests they are not prepared to rule out God's essential role in creation. The Canadian Press-Decima Research survey suggests that 60 per cent of Canadians believe God had either a direct or indirect role in creating mankind, shattering the myth that Canadians had long ago put their faith strictly behind the scientific explanation for creation. The poll suggests Canadians divide in essentially three groups on the issue of creation: 34 per cent of those polled said humans developed over millions of years under a process guided by God; 26 per cent said God created humans alone within the last 10,000 years or so; and 29 per cent said they believe evolution occurred with no help from God.
Canadian Press, July 3

First person: Saved from the streets
At the behest of my beleaguered mother, I tried a few adult shelters but found them to be scarier and more unpleasant than the streets. A shelter worker was in the process of kicking me out for breaking curfew when he asked me how old I was and suggested that I call Covenant House.
Stuart Elmes, Vancouver Sun, July 3
Earlier: The homeless you have with you always . . .

July 5/2007

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