He rose to more public prominence during battles over the same-sex “marriage” issue that saw him become the target of human rights complaints and threats from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to take away his church’s charitable tax status. At a fundraising dinner for the Kitchener, Ont.-based Defend Traditional Marriage and Family organization April 21, Catholic Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary showed how his scrappy and uncompromising attitude saw him ward off those attacks and become a hero to social conservatives across the country.

Greeted with several standing ovations from a sellout crowd of almost 400 at a Kitchener hotel, Henry said his approach to handling hot-button topics such as same-sex “marriage” is to apply a philosophy of “unconditional love and uncompromising truth.” He emphasized that persons engaging in homosexual activity must always be treated with respect, dignity and sensitivity. However, it must also be made known, as the Catholic church teaches, that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.

In recalling the phone call he received from the CCRA after he issued a pastoral letter to the faithful of his diocese on same-sex “marriage,” Henry said he stood his ground in the face of stepped up threats culminating in the insinuation that his church’s charitable tax status was in jeopardy because of his actions. Drawing laughter from the crowd, he described how at the end of the phone call, the CCRA official – who had hoped Henry would quickly back down – realized that “the phone call didn’t go the way he thought it would.” Henry made it clear to the official that he would issue the very same pastoral letter again if he had to – and likely will.

Henry said the clash with the CCRA was just one aspect of a trend that is seeing religious freedom coming under increasing attack in Canada. He pointed out that the Canadian Constitution enshrines freedom of religion as a fundamental right and that Canada was founded on principles that recognize the supremacy of God.

Yet, incidents such as the Chris Kempling case or the Knights of Columbus possibly having to rent out their facilities for a lesbian wedding reception belie those guarantees, he said. Human rights legislations and tribunals are serving as “swords” to allow “trump rights” to serve as vehicles for unfettered sexual expression. Consequently, there is less of a role for real democracy and “God help you if you’re not politically correct.”

Henry expressed concerns over the overall homosexual agenda, which seeks to use the marriage issue as a powerful psychological weapon to achieve general acceptance. The ultimate goal, he said, is “no limits, no boundaries” and a milieu in which want and desire become the dominant cultural values.

Through it all, the focus on the wants and desires of adults betray the children of our society. Ever-increasing numbers of people will be hurt by the consequences of recreational sex, he said: “When we separate sex from love, love suffers.”

In the face of some troubling developments, there are signs of hope, however. Henry pointed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s invocation at the end of his speeches to have God bless Canada as “an important promissory note.” And there was a positive conculsion to the Hugh Owens case, in which the Saskatchewan man was cleared after being to taken before a human rights body for publishing Bible verses condemning homosexuality.

Bill C-38 was a wake-up call for the Christian community, said Henry. “We’ve become pretty darned complacent … We really have to start celebrating marriage … We cannot let this sacrament be trashed any longer.”

Funds raised at the Defend Traditional Marriage and Family dinner will go towards the organization’s work to overturn Bill C-38 and restore the traditional definition of marriage, particularly by helping elect pro-marriage members of Parliament in Kitchener-area ridings.

A number of dignitaries attended the event, including clergy from various denominations, Kitchener-Conestoga MP Harold Albrecht, former MP Pat O’Brien and representatives for Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear.