Philip Tomchyshyn:
On May 17, Halton Catholic District School Board trustee Helena Karabela proposed a motion to alter the board’s fundraising policies by recognizing the sanctity of life. The motion, “Upholding the Sanctity of Life in Fundraising Services at the Halton Catholic District School Board – Embryonic Stem Cell Research,” stated “that the Halton Catholic District School Board because it is a Catholic institution, will not provide or facilitate any fundraising services through any of its schools and board office, to registered charities and non-profits (including their subsidiaries, affiliates and associates) that in any way are involved in or support abortion through embryonic stem cell research through the advocacy, programs, finance, or material support.”
After a debate, the motion failed to pass in a 5 to 2 vote.
Karabela believes that Catholics need to uphold their values in all aspects of their lives, including when they donate money to charity. “We need to make sure that we are not giving money, not even one dollar, to any charity or non-profit that does not uphold the sanctity of life. If we did, then we would be in danger of funding or promoting evil actions,” she said in her opening comments during the debate.
Several trustees disagreed with the motion because it will halt fundraising for several prominent organizations, including the Terry Fox Run and the SickKids Foundation. “I refuse to believe these collective acts of charity, love, and kindness which are happening in our schools and across our HCDSB system are evil,” trustee Brenda Agnew said.
Jack Fonseca, Campaign Life Coalition’s director of political operations, said that those who resisted the motion are misguided for various reasons: some believe that abortion is good despite the teachings of the Catholic Church, while others believe that the good that the charities do out weights the evil, and some might simply fear the mainstream media more than they care for Catholic moral teaching. “Whatever the reason, it boils down to an insufficiency of Catholic faith and ignorance of Catholic moral teaching,” he stated.
Several statements made during the May 17 debate support all three of Fonseca’s observations.
Alex Power spoke behalf of Rev. Micheal Coren, an Anglican priest. She stated there was “nothing Christian” about the motion because it was against women’s rights. Reading Coren’s statement, she claimed that the Bible supports abortion, a statement which conflicts with Catholic teaching.
Kristen Kelly, a student representative stated that Christ “guided us to be non-discriminatory,” arguing that the motion inhibited students from helping others in need.
“I am pro-life. I have a tendency to be pro-life and I don’t shy away from saying that,” trustee Peter Derosa said, while opposing the motion. “The role to make those decisions of life or death depend on the individual and their own morality, because, in the end, I don’t have to live with the decisions they make. They do.”
Fonseca said the Catholic hierarchy in Canada was to blame for trustees abandoning Church moral teaching. “Our Bishops have failed to pass on the authentic Catholic faith for generations,” he said.
This is not the first time this year that Karabela proposed this kind of motion. Earlier this year she proposed a similar amendment to trustee Nancy Guzzo’s motion, Policy V-04 School Fundraising Activities. The amendment was defeated in a 5 to 3 vote.
Last month, Karabela proposed two similar motions, “Upholding the Sanctity of Life in Fundraising Services at the Halton Catholic District School Board – Contraception” and “Upholding the Sanctity of Life in Fundraising Services at the Halton Catholic District School Board – Sterilization,” restricting funding for organizations that support contraception or sterilization. Both were determined to be out of order by chair Marvin Duarte. Trustees Karabela and Tim O’Brian attempted to appeal both rulings, but each was defeated in a 4 to 3 vote.
Even though each motion proposed this year has been rejected by the board, Fonseca thinks Karabela’s perseverance and persistence is important. “We’ve seen how unrelenting persistence works for the other side, and it’s very effective,” he said.
The Halton Catholic District School Board did pass such a motion in the past. In 2018, the motion “Upholding the Sanctity of Life Through Donations to Charities and Non-Profits” was carried in a vote of 5 to 3. It was claimed the public were not consulted during the decision and the policy was amended prior to being suspending in May of that year and was overturned in October 2018.
Jim Hughes, president emeritus of Campaign Life Coalition, told The Interim, “Karabela should supported in her re-election and electing new pro-life colleagues so that Catholic principles can be upheld.”
