He officially "retired" from academia some 16 years ago. But, as his daughter observes, if his desk at home is a current indication, he is anything but retired from the battle for life, family and faith at the age of 81. Dr. David Dooley, professor emeritus of English at Toronto's St. Michael's College, associate editor of Catholic Insight magazine and a contributor [...]
As the mother of two boys, 12 and five, I am constantly concerned about what entertainment they take in. To make matters more difficult, I must find appropriate movies, TV shows and videos that will be enjoyed by two boys with a seven-year age difference, and preferably ones that don't bore either my husband or I to tears upon the umpteenth time [...]
A certain mythology surrounds Simone de Beauvoir, one that presents her to the world as an independent thinker, a spokesperson for women and an advocate of freedom. In truth, she is none of these. The core of her philosophy is derived from the existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre; she does not, by any means, speak for all women; and the range of freedom she [...]
Toronto Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic won the hearts of pro-lifers Sept. 19 with his homily at the annual Red Mass. The Red Mass dinner, held after the Mass, featured pro-abortion Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark as keynote speaker. Clark attended the Mass and, from his front row vantage point, was a clear and obvious target of one of the Cardinal's remarks. The Cardinal [...]
It's easy to sympathize with the animal rights movement. It really is. When you own a cat or a dog, it's hard to not think of that furry critter as a member of your family, and harder to not become disgusted by some of the grotesque medical experiments that are performed on animals. The pro-life movement is all about saving innocent lives [...]
On Nov. 23, 1999, pro-life students at the University of British Columbia had their Genocide Awareness Project display trashed and vandalized by three pro-abortion student leaders from the Alma Mater Society, the student society at UBC. On Sept. 16, 2002, the pro-life students finally got their day in court. The court saw a video that showed the vandals - Erin Kaiser, Jon [...]
The results of a national U.S. survey on abortion conducted by a pro-abortion organization is generating some controversy south of the border. The Alan Guttmacher Institute - otherwise known as the research arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America - said in an Oct. 8 release that its survey of 10,000 women showed "U.S. abortion rates continue to decline, especially among [...]
If Anne MacLellan and Henry Morgentaler have their way on abortion, it will spell the end of the Canadian medicare system. Both the federal health minister and Canada's leading abortion advocate say that any surgical termination of pregnancy, for any reason or for no reason, is automatically "medically necessary" and must be funded by medicare. If a wealthy woman with a healthy [...]
Henry Morgentaler, Canada's most notorious abortionist, is threatening to go to court again. This time, he says he'll sue New Brunswick, and possibly Nova Scotia, for refusing to fund abortion procedures at his private abortuaries in those provinces, claiming the Canada Health Act requires that the provinces ante up. Morgentaler is a familiar face in the halls of justice. Throughout the 1980s, [...]
The famous photo of baby Samuel's hand reaching out from the uterus of his mother at 21 weeks' gestation during fetal surgery has turned a veteran photojournalist hired by USA Today for the shoot into a pro-life activist. Michael Clancy, who snapped the photo after seeing the baby's hand jut out of the hole in the womb made by the surgeons, now [...]
"Extreme weather events around the world have underscored the reality of climate change." With these words, Prime Minister Jean Chretien told the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg on Sept. 2 that Canada will ratify the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change by the end of the year. The "imperative for global action," Chretien said, "is strongly felt by Canadians." The Protocol [...]
Room for all in the public square It was thought modernity would lead to a secular state where religion would become so personal and privatized as to be virtually irrelevant to public life, and be without real influence in the public square. Now, just the opposite seems to be occurring. Globally, religion is gaining clout, and how we order our lives together [...]