c. 2003 Religion News Service
Governor General Rebuked Over Communion
OTTAWA (RNS) Catholic Church officials say Canada’s Anglican governor general, Adrienne Clarkson, should not be taking communion in Roman Catholic churches.
A spokesman for the governor general acknowledged Clarkson “does take communion in Roman Catholic services” and attends Mass “fairly regularly” in Quebec City’s basilica.
The controversy surfaced late last month after it was revealed that Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais gave Clarkson communion last September, when she came forward at a memorial service in Notre Dame Cathedral.
Church officials said last week that with a few narrow exceptions its practice is to refuse communion to non-Catholics.
Gabrielle Tasse, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa archdiocese, said the archbishop decided not to “make a scene about it and refuse communion.”
But she said Clarkson “should not have come forward. It is not a policy in the church to give communion to people of other faiths.”
Bill Kokesch, a spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, agreed, adding, however, sometimes non-Catholics are not refused the sacrament “just for civility.”
Anti-Islamic Conference Met With Protests
KITCHENER, Ontario (RNS) A planned anti-Islamic conference here turned into a colorful confrontation between event organizers and protesters, with both sides claiming partial victory.
The conference, provocatively titled “Islam: A Religion of Peace?,” was organized by Mark Harding, a self-styled Christian minister and evangelist who was convicted in 1998 of wilfully promoting hatred against Muslims by writing and distributing anti-Islamic leaflets outside a Toronto high school.
The hotel that was to host the Feb. 1 conference canceled the meeting, saying organizers did not fulfill their obligation to provide security at the event.
On the day of the meeting, about a half-dozen participants gathered on the sidewalk outside the hotel and were promptly met by a busload of protesters.
About 60 protesters handed out anti-hate leaflets. Words flew back and forth for about an hour before both sides dispersed without further incident.
Former Prime Minister to Open Anti-Semitism Conference
TORONTO (RNS) Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney will open a major conference on anti-Semitism at the University of Toronto Feb. 10 and 11.
The conference, which will bring together academics and public figures from the United States and Canada, will examine the historical roots of current anti-Semitism in Europe and North America; the scope and characteristics of contemporary anti-Semitism; whether there is a “new” anti-Semitism; and the appropriate mixes of legal, regulatory, political, social and educational policies that can best respond to the problem.
The conference comes on the heels of heated incidents on several Canadian university campuses involving free speech and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Church Issued Warning on Abuse Liability
TORONTO (RNS) Fresh from reaching an agreement with Ottawa to limit the church’s liability for abuse of native schoolchildren last century, Presbyterian congregations across Canada are being told they need to develop strict protocols to prevent abuse of children and vulnerable adults today, reports the Presbyterian Record.
Marsh Canada, an insurance broker for 280 Presbyterian congregations, told the churches that Zurich Canada, which insures the congregations, has raised concerns about screening, hiring, monitoring and documenting of employees and volunteers. The “clear subtext,” said the Record, is that the company won’t underwrite insurance for abuse if tough new protocols aren’t adopted.
Church officials also said Zurich was dropping coverage for abuse from $2 million to $100,000 per incident.
Report: Prisoners Permitted Wiccan Rites
OTTAWA (RNS) The Correctional Service of Canada pays for Wiccan priests to visit prison inmates and sets aside space for Wiccan ceremonies in penitentiaries, reports the National Post.
As many as 200 inmates across the country profess to follow Wicca, a pagan religion whose members often call themselves witches, belong to covens and wear the pentagram as their symbol.
Offenders who follow the religion are allowed to don ceremonial robes and keep altars in their cells.
Corrections officials say they have an obligation under human rights legislation to allow the practice of virtually any kind of religious belief, and to try to provide help from outside clergy when requested.
Wiccan priests visit the institutions as often as once every two weeks.
The list of religions recognized by Canada’s prison system includes all the world’s major faiths, as well as more obscure ones such as Druidry, Rastafarianism and Hare Krishna, according to a new corrections report.
Catholic Politicians to Be `Targeted’
CALGARY, Alberta (RNS) The leader of Calgary’s Roman Catholics is preparing to target selected Catholic politicians for failing to follow “non-negotiable” church doctrine on issues such as abortion, gay marriage and mercy killings.
The campaign is a “wake-up call” for federal, provincial and municipal representatives, Bishop Fred Henry told the Calgary Herald.
The move comes after the Vatican recently released a 17-page document, “Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life,” which appeals to Catholic politicians to closely follow the teachings of the church on social and scientific trends.
“Once I get an official copy, I’m likely going to send it to a select number of politicians for their edification and study,” said Henry, who wouldn’t say which officials he would attempt to illuminate.
U.S. Court Rejects Indian’s Religious Claims
SAN FRANCISCO (RNS) A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of an American Indian from Canada for smuggling bald eagle parts into the United States.
Leonard Fridall Terry Antoine, a member of the Cowichan Band of the Salish tribe in British Columbia, had argued his conviction should be overturned because he brought the eagle parts into the United States for use in religious ceremonies, the AP reported.
Antoine, who is not a member of a U.S.-recognized tribe, was convicted of one count of smuggling and four counts of knowingly possessing, selling, bartering or offering to sell or barter eagle parts. He was found to have parts of at least 29 eagles in a storage facility in Washington and the parts of at least 124 eagles at his home in British Columbia. He has been in jail for the past year.
Witnesses had testified Antoine would buy carcasses from them for $20 to $50, and he would then prepare parts of the birds such as wings, talons and feathers for use in ceremonies. The birds are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Antoine maintained he was not selling the parts for profit, but exchanged the parts for money or goods as part of the custom of “potlatch,” which he said has religious significance for him. He also argued he was exempt from eagle protection laws under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
But in a ruling handed down Jan. 31, the appeals court said in this case, environmental concerns outweigh religious considerations.
“The government has a compelling interest in eagle protection that justifies limiting supply to eagles, even though religious demand exceeds supply as a result,” wrote Judge Alex Kozinski for the unanimous three-judge panel.
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