A few notes
about our writers

I want to congratulate Theresa Smyth, our family and society reporter, who has been selected as the new executive director of Aid to Women, a downtown Toronto crisis pregnancy centre. Her social work background, her Christian commitment and her humanity all make her an ideal leader for that fine organization, which helps vulnerable women and saves unborn babies. Unfortunately, her new responsibilities prevent her from continuing news writing for The Interim. But she will begin a new regular column for us, focusing on the issues facing abortion-minded women, later this fall.

I want to congratulate Pete Vere, our senior writer, for hitting the “big time.” Pete has written in numerous publications, including regular gigs in Challenge and The Wanderer, but this summer he penned a pair of articles for the Washington Times. One was on the Harry Potter controversy and the other on a Canadian Human Rights complaint filed against a conservative website. It is always nice to see our writers get wider exposure.

Interesting items

There are always literally dozens of stories that never make the paper, even as news bits on page 2 or as news briefs. That doesn’t mean they are unimportant; there is just never enough space to get to everything. So here are a few stories sitting on top of my desk that I offer (with comment).

The Toronto Star reports that gonorrhea cases in Montreal have increased 65 per cent in five years, including a 40 per cent jump in 2006. The sexually transmitted disease is spreading so much that nearly three in 10 Quebecers with gonorrhea cannot be treated with regular antibiotics, because the STD has become drug-resistant. In 2004, 93 per cent of cases were treatable with regular antibiotics. Furthermore, “Quebec officials also suggest the number of cases is likely a conservative estimate,” because many doctors treat, but don’t report, incidences of STDs. And it is not only gonorrhea. The number of syphilis cases has increased from three in 1998 to more than 400 in 2006. Public health officials say more needs to be done to promote “safe-sex” – precisely what has been happening in Canada’s schools and municipal health campaigns for 20 years. Apparently, more of the same is expected to change things.

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory wants to extend full funding to independent religious schools, and bring them under public school boards, if the schools agree to the provincial curriculum and standards and submit to other government regulations in hiring practices, etc. This is, in part, in answer to justifiable criticisms that the current system of funding Catholic education to the exclusion of other religious traditions is unfair. My concern is simply this: considering that an increasing number of parents worry about the Catholicity of separate schools, might Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu schools likewise see a weakening of their moral traditions in order to comply with the curriculum?

In fact, don’t many parents send their children to independent religious schools precisely to avoid potentially offensively curriculum issues such as sexual health and the teaching of evolution? Tory is groping toward the right policy, but he has been worryingly short of specifics. What happens when the teachings of a religion, say on homosexuality, clash with the quasi-official orthodoxy on gay rights? Tory hasn’t answered this question yet. Until he does, the policy of extending full funding to independent religious schools should be resisted. The 30 pieces of silver just won’t be worth the loss of religiously based moral teaching.

The Network Responsibility Index sounds like something we should like. Perhaps it would monitor inappropriate sexual content, language and violence. But it doesn’t. Rather, the NRI is put out by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and it measures the television networks for their “quantity and quality” of sexual diversity. It monitored all the 4,693 hours of prime-time programming that aired from June 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007 and gave four of five networks passing grades. ABC led the pack, followed by CBS, the CW, NBC and Fox.

While GLAAD said the other networks still need to work “to represent millions of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender viewers,” Fox was the only network to get a failing grade. ABC said it will increase the number of prominent homosexual characters in its programming and do more to highlight gay themes. Fox’s failing grade came despite having one show (The War at Home, since cancelled) about a gay teenager being accepted into a stranger’s home after his own family kicks him out of their house because of his sexuality and six other shows with recurring homosexual characters. In an official statement, Fox said they “acknowledge we have work to do” to “take these issues seriously.” In other words, despite the numerous gay characters and homosexual storylines, prepare for even more of them in the future.

Advertising reps needed

We need your help. In July, our advertising salesperson, Dolores Toth, left the paper due to illness. She has worked with Campaign Life Coalition and The Interim for nearly three decades. Dolores mostly dealt with the church ads and without her work and their support, this paper would not have been able to continue publishing. Now we are in a bind. We are looking for people who can sell advertising, whether it be church sponsorship ads or business advertising, either from our Toronto office or from home. Ideally, we’re looking for one person who will quarterback the advertising sales operations out of The Interim in tandem with several regional advertising sales reps across the country.

If you are interested, please contact Dan Di Rocco at dirocco@lifesite.net or call us at (416) 204-1687 or 1-800-730-5358. Also, please forward this information on to anyone who might be interested in these employment opportunities. It is a great way to make a full-time or part-time income while helping the pro-life movement. Lastly, if you are a business owner, please support The Interim by placing regular ads. Call our office for a rate sheet.