Before I say anything else about Game Of Thrones, this Spring’s big-budget HBO epic miniseries, it has to be understood that there’s nothing family friendly about the show. Full of blood and sex, full-frontal nudity, incest, animal cruelty and some wildly explicit language, it almost seems like the producers, having seen quality cable push the boundaries with each new series, are attempting [...]
Catholic parents fight separate system to maintain moral teaching Ontario bishops have issued a memo urging Catholic school boards to set up clubs explicitly aimed to counter “bullying related to sexual orientation,” even though they banned the establishment of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) at Catholic schools just months ago. Meanwhile, parents at the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) are speaking out against [...]
Eunice and Owen Johns, 62 and 65, have just last month been ruled by the highest British court to be unsuitable as foster parents. They’re renowned as wonderful people, they do extraordinary outreach in their own English midlands black community, they give large amounts of their time and money to charity, and they have successfully and selflessly cared for 15 [...]
The last few months have been a disgrace for journalism. Especially for Canadian journalism. Especially for liberal Canadian journalism. Unable to tolerate what seems to be losing in the game of democracy and terrified by the possibility of a Conservative majority government, left-leaning pundits decided to blame the participants. Welcome to the hellish world of The Christian Right. I’ve never [...]
Fr. Raymond Gravel, a priest in the Roman Catholic diocese of Joliette, Que., has sued LifeSiteNews for $500,000, claiming that the pro-life internet news provider damaged his reputation and career as a priest by reporting on his public stances on abortion and gay rights. Fr. Gravel represented the Repentigny riding from 2006-2008, and as an Blocc Quebecois MP he defended [...]
As we report on page three, the Halton Catholic District School Board caved to gay activists and their allies in the media, by rescinding their admirable and principled equity and inclusion policy that respected and upheld Catholic moral teaching on the issue of homosexuality, while respecting the dignity inherent in all human beings. But for gay activists, who are no friends of [...]
On Jan. 10, Orville Nichols was in a state of shock: He knew he might lose in a ruling that day by a panel of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in the Marriage Commissioners Reference, but he probably was not expecting to lose by an overwhelming five to nothing decision. Nichols is a devout Baptist who has served as a [...]
On Jan. 18, the Halton Catholic District School Board caved to pressure from gay activists and rescinded its Equity and Inclusive Education Policy II-45, following a media storm over the board’s policy banning gay-straight alliances. Over the past year, public and separate school boards in Ontario have been required to implement policies in line with the province’s Ministry of Education equity and [...]
Sometimes life can be disappointing. Just like when I was a child and that longed-for present wasn’t in Santa’s sack, my hopes were dashed recently when I was once again not included on the list of the inductees into Canada’s Queer Hall of Fame. Last year saw the first inductees: Pierre Trudeau, swimmer Mark Tewksbury and drag queen Robert Kaiser, [...]
Cromwell and communists banned Christmas, too On Oct. 4, the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on the ban on “celebratory religious music” upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the South Orange-Maplewood district in New Jersey. The issue was first raised in 2004 when a parent sued the school board after it issued a memo before its [...]
The New York Times reported that “Pope Benedict has said that condom use can be justified in some cases to help stop the spread of AIDS.” That was the gist of stories that appeared in the Toronto Star, Guardian and Associated Press after L’Osservatore Romano, a Vatican-based newspaper, printed excerpts from Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and [...]
Every political regime, whether ancient Sparta or 21st century Canada, contains within it a vision of what it means to be a human being. Whereas the Spartans held up the ideal of the manly warrior, it is unclear what a Canadian is supposed to be. Some say we are tolerant, but others say being tolerant of everything is empty of content and [...]
In a compelling ruling on June 18, Mr. Justice Gérard Dugré of the Superior Court of Quebec emphatically backed Montreal’s Loyola High School in its determination to uphold the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church on life and family issues over the objections of the Liberal government of Quebec. However, it’s far from certain that this fine judgment will stand [...]
On May 14, a three-judge panel of the Ontario Divisional Court unanimously delivered in Ontario Human Rights Commission v. Christian Horizons another blow to freedom of religion in Canada. This ruling could have a devastating impact on Christian organizations involved in everything from providing disaster relief overseas to operating pregnancy crisis centres here at home. The complainant in this case, [...]
Fr. Leonard Kennedy C.S.B., a frequent contributor to Catholic Insight and Challenge magazines, passed away April 1 at the age of 88. Fr. Kennedy, tall, upright, white hair, twinkle in his eye, smile on his lips, love in his heart will be sadly missed. He was born in England in 1922, but moved to Canada when he was four. He [...]