c. 2003 Religion News Service
SARS Quarantines Entire Religious Community
TORONTO (RNS) Nearly 500 members of an international Catholic charismatic community have been quarantined after public health officials identified a cluster of SARS cases that spread during a Mass and a prayer meeting, infecting 31 people, including three children and two doctors who treated them.
All the members of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant are in isolation. Ten members of the group, whose name means Open in Spirit to God, are believed to have Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and another 19 are suspected of having the virus. Three of the cases are children under the age of 10 who are receiving medical care. They are reported in good health.
Bukas Loob sa Diyos, or BLD, was founded in the Philippines and has chapters throughout Canada and the United States. It’s noted for spiritual programs focusing on marriage and youth.
Health officials obtained mandatory quarantine orders against two members of the community who refused to isolate themselves.
SARS spread to the community after several members attended a wake on April 3 for a person who, it was later learned, died of the illness. Some members of the deceased’s family were coming down with the disease at the wake and officials say they may have passed the infection to some people who attended.
Update: Iranian Christian Convert Can Stay for Now
MONTREAL (RNS) An Iranian convert to Christianity who was ordered deported from Canada has been granted a stay.
On Monday (April 14), the Federal Court granted “Nancy” a stay of removal while the United Nations examines her case, meaning she can remain in Canada for the next two to six months.
“Thanks be to God!” exclaimed the woman’s pastor and main champion, the Rev. Harold Ristau, in an e-mail to supporters.
Last month, an immigration panel rejected Nancy’s appeal to stay in Canada, ruling she must leave by April 24.
Nancy had applied for refugee status, arguing that she faces prison, torture or execution if forced to return to Iran. An Immigration and Refugee Board panel denied her request, saying it did not believe she was a Christian.
Officials also said she faced only a “slight” possibility of persecution if deported to Iran.
Imam Apologizes for Jihad Remark
OTTAWA (RNS) The imam of the Ottawa mosque has apologized for having called on Muslims across the Middle East to engage in a jihad against American troops in Iraq.
Gamal Solaiman issued the apology after Denis Coderre, the minister of citizenship and immigration, said he intended to conduct an “investigation” into the inflammatory comments and determine whether the imam was a Canadian citizen.
During the April 6 edition of Global TV’s Ottawa Inside Out, Solaiman said he supports the call for jihad “because to my mind, it (the American-led military action) is not a war for justice. It is not a war for principle.” The comments sparked a furor across the country.
In his apology, the imam said he does “not support or promote violence in any form against any country or any group of people. I deeply regret and sincerely apologize for my misunderstood comments and the hurt which it may have caused.”
Muslim Students Sue Over Prayer Space
MONTREAL (RNS) A group of Muslim students is seeking more than $1 million in damages from a major engineering school here in a dispute over the university’s refusal to grant the students space for their prayers.
The estimated 300 Muslim students at Montreal’s ecole de technologie superieure _ the sixth-largest engineering school in Canada _ have been left to pray in the school’s fire escape stairwell.
The students are also upset that the school has posted signs in its bathrooms forbidding students to wash their feet, which is required before Muslims’ prayers. University officials say the practice is dangerous because of water spilled on counters and floors.
The Muslim students have filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission seeking $10,000 each in punitive and moral damages for more than 100 Muslims at the school, according to the Montreal Gazette.
The university says it will go to the Supreme Court to ensure its right to remain secular. Officials point out that a Catholic student group requested prayer space a few years ago and was turned down.
Renegade Priests Refuse Fealty to Bishop
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (RNS) Clergy in seven Vancouver-area Anglican parishes face expulsion from the pulpit after refusing to pledge obedience to the local bishop, well-known for approving the blessing of same-sex unions,
Bishop Michael Ingham’s March 24 letter demanded the renegade bishops affirm their obedience to him, warning that failure to do so would leave him no choice but to discipline them, the Vancouver Sun reported.
The seven priests have refused to toe the line, accusing the bishop of trying to bully them out of the church they love. They argue Ingham and the membership of the Vancouver-area diocese exceeded their authority with their explosive decision last June to bless same-sex unions. Only the national church can decide the matter, they argue.
The seven churches attempted to move under the authority of Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle, who was willing to adopt them, but the move was staunchly rejected by both Ingham and Archbishop David Crawley, who is in charge of the church in British Columbia and the Yukon. “Parishes cannot vote to leave one diocese and become part of another,” Crawley said.
Archdeacon Faces Ecclesiastical Court
SUDBURY, Ontario (RNS) An Anglican archdeacon here will face a rare convening of an ecclesiastical court to probe allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The local bishop, Ron Ferris, has referred a charge of “sexual immortality” to the court against Thomas Corston, who was suspended with pay as rector of the Church of the Epiphany here pending the hearing.
Local police investigated a complaint against Corston but found no basis for criminal charges.
Corston is the senior aboriginal cleric in the parish of Algoma.
The ecclesiastical court is expected to convene next month.
Poll Shows Anti-Semitism a `Serious Problem’
MONTREAL (RNS) A new poll shows a majority of Canadians believe anti-Semitic sentiment is a serious problem in Canada.
At the same time, only a relatively small percentage of Canadians feel Jews project a negative image.
Conducted March 15-19 for the Association for Canadian Studies, the poll surveyed 1,570 Canadians ages 18 and over. It is considered accurate plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The poll found 54 percent of Canadians believe anti-Semitic sentiment represents a “somewhat” or “very serious” problem in Canadian society.
Only 12 percent think Jews project a “somewhat” or “very negative image.” Thirty percent believe Jews project a “very positive” image.
Canadians ages 18 to 29 show the most concern about anti-Semitism being a serious problem.
Christian Radio Gets Go-Ahead
BELLEVILLE, Ontario (RNS) A high-powered Christian radio station has been given the green light to hit the airwaves.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has approved a license application for United Christian Broadcasters, to be launched here at 102.3 on the FM dial.
The station will broadcast contemporary Christian music, praise and worship, and talk radio. It hopes to launch before the end of the year.
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