A pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a sacred spot for religious reasons. Figuratively speaking, pilgrimages have been in existence “since Adam was a boy.” Muslims travel to Mecca. Buddhists go to Lumbini, where Buddha was born, Sikhs visit various “gurdward” or temples and Christians visit shrines in many places and countries. I have been on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, Lourdes [...]
An important decision has been made by the Federal government in granting an exemption from union dues on religious grounds. An employee of Revenue Canada has successfully applied for and received an exemption from the payment of dues to his union because of his strong objection to his union’s position on the abortion issue. The Revenue Canada employee, a member of the [...]
Joe Borowski, Canada’s long-time pro-life activist, has been warned that his refusal to pay a $50 fine (for trespass at the Morgentaler clinic in Toronto last November) will result in a warrant for committal to prison. Mr. Borowski pleaded guilty to trespass and informed the court last April that he would not pay a fine. He requested that the prison sentence be [...]
The recent election of Bill Vander Zalm as Premier of British Columbia and its coverage in the daily newspapers makes for an interesting exercise in a study of media bias. The attitude of the press is shown not merely by what is said, but what is stressed, and what is omitted. The B.C. newspapers obviously had a greater interest in the election, [...]
Workers in a Gatineau medical-refuse disposal plant for incineration have found the partly decomposed body of a baby. Evidence showed that the infant at birth would have weighed 1200 grams – just over two pounds. Traced through a hospital bracelet, it was discovered to have been a stillborn child sent with “other hospital waste such as amputated limbs, organs, old bandages and [...]
I take letters to the editor seriously. Particularly ones like the letter printed this month from AIDS Calgary, accusing me of misinforming and deliberately misleading readers to promote “bigotry” and “ignorance.” In the April editorial I referred to AIDS as a homosexual disease, and I believe I was right to do so. Since the AIDS virus was first identified – and named [...]
“The thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.” I can’t remember who wrote those words but they are part of a poem I learned in school more than 60 years ago. I recalled them recently when reading a historical novel by Ken Follett entitled Wings of Eagles. It is a story of the rescue of two American businessmen who had been imprisoned [...]
From a sermon on charity by Saint Basil the Great, bishop (330-379) Sow integrity for yourselves Man should be like the earth and bear fruit; he should not let inanimate matter appear to surpass him. The earth bears crops for your benefit, not for its own, but when you give to the poor, you are bearing fruit which you will gather in [...]
Two headlines in the Denver Post (June 15, 1986) highlighted the importance of the 1986 National Right to Life Convention: “Candidates fully aware of Right to Life’s political force,” and “Right to Life Group potential political force.” For three days, June 12 to 14, the usual workshops, displays and major speeches had been part of the annual Convention in Denver, Colorado, but [...]
In April of 1969 they issued the following clarification which deserves as much publicity as their first declaration, although it has received scarcely any publicity at all: “We cannot close our minds to the reactions of a certain segment of the public, both within our communion and outside of it, which appear to have distorted in some degree our pastoral application of [...]
Part V: Catholic moral theologians The Catholic Church in Canada is under serious strain, this for two reasons: an accommodation to irreligion among many of the faithful and the growth of dissent among theologians. This last aspect forms the subject of Part V of this series. Dissent and sexuality Dissent among Catholic theologians in the Western world is most pronounced in the [...]
Our Family, a Catholic monthly, is in trouble with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, following its publication of an article critical of homosexual activity. “A Psychoanalytic Look at Homosexuality and AIDS,” published in the February issue, was written by Melvin Anchell M.D., a Californian psychoanalyst with 40 years’ experience in psychiatry and medicine. Dr. Anchell maintains that homosexuality is neither glandular nor [...]
On Monday, August 4, The Toronto Star told us through Walter Stefaniuk, that peace, tranquility, and, let’s not forget, prosperity have returned to Harbord Street. The smiling faces of three local business people assured us of this return. It should be noted that The Star was careful to rehearse the lies and distortions of a notice which some businesses had chosen to [...]
Teachers for Life’s participation in the recently-held Pro-Life Policy Conference in Toronto brought this new organization into the limelight. The Globe and Mail, in particular, seemed incensed that such a group should exist. The following is how Dr. David Dooley analyzed the Globe’s attitude in a conference seminar. “Abortion and the media” The aims of Teachers for Life, as set forth in [...]
On May 20, as part of their annual general meeting, the North Toronto Chapter of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (APEO) presented what was advertised as a “panel discussion” titled “Limits to Growth – An Update” in a suite at The Inn on the Park hotel in Toronto. The advertisement further stated this would be a panel discussion “comparing predictions [...]