By Sam Singson The Interim Following the Special Session on Children held at UN headquarters in May 2002, Canada, along with dozens of other countries across the globe, pledged to draft concrete strategies and legislation with the intent of bettering the lives of their youngest citizens. In her quest to fulfill this commitment, Senator Landon Pearson, the self-described "senator for children and [...]
For all the talk about the democracy deficit, there is a much greater deficit in the political arena: a morality deficit. Consider just two facts (for the sake of brevity): o In 2000, then-prime minister Jean Chretien declared that Canada had "social peace" on abortion, indicating that the debate was over. The blood of more than 110,000 unborn babies killed in the [...]
As we emerge from the Christmas season, sacred to many because it marks the birth of the Son of God to a virgin mother, this paper carries a troubling story of casual sexual activity among adolescents and older teens. It could be set in any part of the country. One teen noted that today, virgins are looked down on. With these attitudes, [...]
Interim StaffMorten Rostrup, president of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), has said the Vatican was responsible for spreading AIDS "by not supporting the use of condoms and not advocating the use of condoms as one of the preventative measures." He added, "I would say that the Catholic church is helping the spread of a deadly disease." On Nov. 30, the Vatican [...]
By Tony Gosgnach The InterimAs we take a look at the latest goings on among corporations and organizations that put themselves forth to be "charitable" in nature, let us keep in mind the saying with which we began The Interim's Corporate Watch feature: "Money doesn't talk. It screams." American retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is learning that lesson, as it saw sales at [...]
Youth's Major League Baseball career hangs in the balance A trial involving sexual activity between high school athletes and pre-teen girls has been causing a stir in Charlottetown, P.E.I. Cass Rhynes, an 18-year old recently drafted by the L.A. Dodgers baseball club, is accused of sexual involvement last year with two 12-year-old girls. He was still a high school student and they [...]
The government of Nova Scotia has changed its laws to allow Sunday shopping, which has long been a contentious issue in the province. Just before its fall session wrapped up on Oct. 30, the legislature amended the Retail Business Uniform Closing Day Act to allow shopping from 1 to 6 p.m. on the six Sundays before Christmas. Tory Premier John Hamm, a [...]
His male partner and two daughters from a failed marriage offered Gene Robinson his golden mitre before 3,000 people in a hockey arena at the University of New Hampshire. But the Nov. 2 consecration of the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion was not without protest and is causing shock waves throughout the communion. When presiding Bishop Frank Griswold asked [...]
On Nov. 19, in a 4-3 split decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the highest state court, has ruled that denial of marriage to homosexual persons violates the state's constitution. It has given the legislature 180 days to alter its legislation to reflect the court's decision. The case was a ploy by homosexual activists in the U.S. copying the maneuvers of homosexual [...]
Almost since the first day the word "musician" became a job description, and certainly since the early days of mass media, there have been musical acts that have combined spectacle with their music in an attempt to gain an audience. On Oct. 4, one band planned on taking spectacle to a new low. Hell On Earth, a St. Petersburg, Fl. heavy metal [...]
In a widely anticipated move, the Supreme Court of Canada on Oct. 9 avoided direct comment on the current political machinations aimed at redefining marriage, by quashing an application for leave to appeal by religious and pro-family coalitions that were fighting lower-court decisions on the matter. The court gave no reasons for its refusal to hear an appeal of the June 10 [...]
Judicial Activism: A Threat to Democracy and Religion. Edited by Fr. Alphonse de Valk (Life Ethics Information Centre, $19.95 165 pages) Reviewed by Paul Tuns The Interim It has become increasingly apparent in recent years, and impossible to ignore in recent months, that Canada is not a democracy. We are ruled by nine robed dictators on the Supreme Court and numerous miniature [...]
Almost since the first day the word "musician" became a job description, and certainly since the early days of mass media, there have been musical acts that have combined spectacle with their music in an attempt to gain an audience. On Oct. 4, one band planned on taking spectacle to a new low. Hell On Earth, a St. Petersburg, Fl. heavy metal [...]
The Archdiocese of Vancouver is being harassed by homosexual activists for breaking its ties to a credit union with a history of supporting pro-gay and pro-abortion causes. On an evening in late September, a small crowd of angry protesters shouted threats and obscenities outside the window of Archbishop Adam Exner. The archdiocese has also received over 100 telephone calls, faxes and e-mails, [...]
Many see the roots of the abortion problem, and other attacks on human life, as rooted in the phenomenon of contraception. To that end, a Mississauga, Ont.-based Catholic lay apostolate is drawing attention to this aspect of the culture of death, as well as to the importance of rank-and-file Catholics following their church's teachings forbidding the use of contraception in any state [...]