Everyday For Life Canada

St. John Bosco: an educator for all times

2012-02-02T18:25:00.029-05:00

What can we do as we face the confusion and the immorality of the policies of political correctness being forced into our schools? How can we best see a remedy for the children? One way is to look to the saints. Those holy men and women who have played a gigantic role in the education of young people and use them as our guide to steer us from the darkness of the present. They are the true teachers of all times.

On January 31 every year the Church celebrates in its liturgy the memorial of St. John Bosco. Don Bosco was born in 1815 close to the town of Castelnuovo, part of the diocese of Turin. His growing-up years were very difficult because of the poverty of his family and the death of his father when he was 2 years old. As a result, when he was ordained to the priesthood he dedicated a great deal of his work to the education of young people, especially street children, juvenile delinquents and disadvantaged youth. To do this, he founded congregations to instruct the young in the way of the arts, learning a skill and the Christian life. St. John Bosco was not afraid to write pamphlets to support and defend the faith.

At a time when corporal punishment and fear of authority were used as teaching methods, John Bosco's revolutionary approach was based on love. Where did John Bosco get this "Love"? In Chapter 25 of St. Matthew which has the all encompassing view of the last judgment of every human being, we find that secret: "Lord, when did we see you hungry... or thirsty... or a stranger?... Amen I say to you as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me." The method is known as the "Salesian Preventive System of Education". Using this approach, Bosco was able to attract numerous boys and adult helpers. He believed education to be a "matter of the heart". Students must not only be loved, but know that they are loved. There are three main components of the Preventive System: reason, religion and kindness with music and games added.

John Bosco was a student of the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales whose theology was one of optimism: God's mercy gives every human being a choice and an abundance of grace to obtain eternal salvation. In fact, Bosco had such passion for this spirituality that he dedicated his works to St. Francis once he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco. With Domenica Mazzarello, he also founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls. In 1876, he began an organization of laity called, the Association of Salesian Cooperators; their mission too was to help and instruct the poor. The Salesian Bulletin which was first published in 1875 is still with us today. He was canonized by the Church in 1934 by Pope Pius XI.

John Bosco put charity, prayer and love of Christ at the heart of his vocation. His mission was to instruct, not his own love to students, but the Love of Christ that can only come from God the Father. This is the true remedy of what's needed in education today and thanks to the saints like St. John Bosco they have given us a timeless model of Christian pedagogy to imitate.

McGuinty's "Accepting Schools Act" rejects religious freedom

2012-02-01T00:02:00.030-05:00

The McGuinty government's latest move is to completely reject the "Respecting Difference" guidelines and disregard denominational rights. The truth behind the "Equity" policy is now crystal clear: it's to politically force Catholic and public schools to have gay/straight alliances and accept the LGBT agenda. The "Accepting Schools Act" will accept and recognize a dozen socially constructed sexual orientations, but it will not accept, instead it rejects your religion. They will now push harder to pass Bill 13 because the "Equity" policy is merely an educational guideline called a policy/program memorandum. And as such it merely provides a direction in education, it's not law. School boards can choose to reject or change them.

Leaders responsible for Catholic education should endorse the "Respecting Difference" document and use it to defend students, the future of Catholic education and parental rights in this province. Christian leaders have an opportunity to show their school communities and the Liberals why they accepted such positions in the first place. They have the responsibility to begin by asking the Premier to withdraw Bill 13 or drastically amend it in order to tolerate all those who disagree with what he's doing. The Ontario Bishops have taken a strong stand on the issue of religious freedom and denominational rights, and the faithful need to support this position, if Catholic schools have a future in this province.

The Minister of Education, Laurel Broten told the Catholic Register, “We’ve been absolutely crystal clear that we expect students to participate in groups and have the issues important to them talked about." The "Respecting Difference" document released by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA), and with the approval of the Ontario Bishops, sets-up clear guidelines to fight bullying based on racism, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The clubs must not contradict Catholic teaching; they cannot advocate against the Church and must be supervised by an adult who knows what the Church teaches. This is not good enough for the Liberals.

Bill 13 proposed by the Liberals as part of the the "Accepting Schools Act", will legally force all schools to establish groups called, gay-straight alliances. Broten has gone as far as calling people who don't support GSAs “homophobic.” OCSTA’s document states that GSAs are “not acceptable in Catholic schools.” Schools should be combatting all forms of bullying, not just focus on bullying based on sexual orientation. But the Minister of Education doesn't agree when she says that students ought to decide whether their schools need gay/straight clubs and the name given to them. Since when do the students decide the curriculum?

This is the time that OCSTA should stop backing Bill 13. The trustees were hoping for some amendments and accommodation for Catholic schools. The Premier has said no. Many parents who have children attending public schools and don't agree with the way school boards are implementing the "Equity" policy were also wanting the right to exempt their children from the LGBT agenda. The Premier has said no. Broten and the Premier have no intention to create an accepting and tolerant climate unless you agree with their political correctness agenda. This is hardly the way to create "inclusive and equitable" schools much less a society.

What can we do next? First of all, let's support the Ontario Bishops by telling them we welcome the "Respecting Difference" document. Catholics are saying no to every kind of bullying and that schools should not focus merely on one type. Secondly, do all that you can to get Bill 13 killed. Third, if Bill 13 cannot be killed we must work hard to get the proper amendments to protect religious freedom and parental rights in education. Thirdly, teachers in schools who cannot follow the "Equity" policy in good conscience or because of religious beliefs ought to respectfully disagree and find ways to reject it. Presently the law supports denominational rights regardless of what the Premier says. Fourthly, we need to remind politicians and trustees that they are elected to represent us and not to rule over us undemocratically. We must elect politicians and trustees who truly will stand up for our values and beliefs. Fifthly, we need to pray for a conversion of hearts and minds.

Take Action: You can sign the petition put out by the Ontario Parent Catholic Advocates to the Legislative Assembly here.

New Catholic guidelines say no to McGuinty's gay/straight school clubs

2012-01-28T00:00:00.028-05:00

Finally we have some good news about the "Equity" issue. The Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association issued a document on January 25, 2012, called, “Respecting Difference”, and subtitled: "A Resource for Catholic Schools in the Province of Ontario: Regarding the Establishment and Running of Activities or Organizations Promoting Equity and Respect for All Students." Here's their rationale: "This 'Respecting Difference Resource' has been developed for students and employees to ensure compliance with provincial legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures as well as in recognition of fundamental rights and freedoms including those set out in the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Constitution Act, 1982."

Campaign Life Catholics praised the "Respecting Difference" document. Speaking for them in a press release, Suresh Dominic said, “We are grateful to Ontario’s Bishops for listening to the concerns of many parents regarding the perceived sexual agenda of the Ontario government. We thank them for such a thoughtful framework which provides solid protections from those who may have an agenda not in line with Catholic teaching."

OCSTA and the Ontario Bishops have now responded to Dalton McGuinty's "Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy" and Bill 13. They are saying to the Premier that Catholic schools will implement an anti-bullying policy against all forms of bullying. To do this, the parable of the Good Samaritan will be used as the Christian model of love and respect for everyone. Schools need not focus on a particular group, a belief or human activity when it comes to combatting bullying. Catholic denominational rights and the teaching of the Catholic Church must not be violated or compromised by the new secular policy. In short, Catholic schools should not have gay/straight alliances or promote a lifestyle contrary to the Catholic faith. The government needs to realize that If the "Equity" policy is so inclusive and equitable, it must tolerate the teaching of the Church, make room for religious freedom and fully respect parental rights in both Catholic and public schools.

Everyday for Life Canada supports both the guidelines and the objectives. The resource essentially states that Catholics schools should try to end bullying of any kind. Student clubs that are going to be established ought to be named "Respecting Difference" clubs. But the clubs, activities and all other resources used, including what is taught about same-sex attractions, must be faithful to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and fully respect denominational rights. The Ontario Bishops have clearly expressed the teaching of the faith on "Equity" education and for this we are thankful. The important question now is, Do we have the Catholic leadership in the schools and the boards that has the courage and the will to fully implement this document and respect Catholic teaching?

Here's a selection of some of the "Guidelines" for Catholic school boards to follow:

1. "Support and affirm the dignity of all students and employees in all aspects of school life irrespective of their membership in any of the categories set out in the rationale above;

2. "Improve understandings of the lives of all students and find ways to increase respect for the dignity of each other in ways appropriate to the school setting;

3. "Clarify and give definition to appropriate terms, behaviours and actions to promote greater awareness of and responsiveness to, the deleterious effects of bullying;

4. "Promote timely and effective rules and procedures against bullying to ensure the maximization of safety for all pupils;

5. "Provide training consistent with the Catholic faith for all teachers and other staff with respect to bullying prevention and intervention in schools;

6. "Provide resources consistent with the Catholic faith to support pupils who are impacted by bullying;

7. "Promote “Respecting Difference” activities or organizations in relation to the foregoing and ensure appropriate school supervision and consistency with principles of the Catholic faith."

Under the heading of "Education Staff and Professional Development" we find the following:

1. Boards are encouraged to provide and promote opportunities for staff to increase their awareness and understanding of the scope and impact of discrimination and of bullying against any person.

2. "Boards are encouraged to provide and promote opportunities for staff to increase their knowledge and skills in promoting respect for human rights, respecting diversity, understanding difference in relation to the Catholic faith and the surrounding society and addressing discrimination in schools."

Student activities or organizations must be in accordance with local board policies may request the establishment of activities or organizations within the school to address concerns regarding bullying. Nevertheless, these activities or groups must adhere to these rules:

1. "All activities and organizations should be opened to all students who wish to participate;

2. "The activities and organization of all groups or organizations formed within Catholic schools must be respectful of and consistent with Catholic teaching;

3."All mentors appointed to work with groups of students must know and be committed to Catholic teachings;

4. "Any outside speakers must be respectful of Catholic teaching."

One of the Administrative Procedures for “Respecting Difference” Groups or Activities in Catholic Schools is that:

5. "The principal, in consultation with other school staff, as appropriate, reviews expectations/resources and approves request or amends same if necessary. The nature, purpose and mandate of the student initiated activity and or organization will be clearly articulated."

There's no doubt that the government will either accept these guidelines and respect denominational rights or they will reject this document and try to politically force Catholic schools to have gay/straight alliances and promote the homosexual agenda. Their response will also be seen in how they proceed to deal with Bill 13. Whatever the government does we have little control over. We do, however, hope that those responsible for Catholic education will endorse this document and use it to defend Catholic beliefs, Catholic teachers, Catholic students, Catholic parents and the future of Catholic education in the province. Catholic leaders have an opportunity to show why they accepted such positions in the first place.

Christian education: Canada should go back to the future

2012-01-26T08:02:00.015-05:00

As we battle the "Equity" policy and Bill 13 in Ontario, a little Canadian history of Christian education in Canada can shed light on the issue and help us to move forward. The Manitoba School Act of 1890, under Premier Thomas Greenway removed the funding of Catholic, Protestant and denominational schools in order to establish tax funded public schools. In fact, The Manitoba School Act became a central federal election issue in 1896. On Dec. 18, 1897 Pope Leo XIII intervened with an encyclical called Affari Vos.

Just a week before Christmas, Pope Leo XIII made a profound statement on the need for Catholic education and urges the laity, the politicians and his venerable brethren to take action to protect religious instruction. The argument he makes is equally true, if not more so, today. Here are some selections from the encyclical. I hope you read the entire document to discover just how rich, practical, informative and spiritual is the encyclical. By doing this as Christians, we better inform ourselves from the news that stays news.

"The Need of Religious Education"

"There is another point upon which those will agree with us who differ from us in everything else; it is not by means of a purely scientific education and with vague and superficial notions of morality that Catholic children will leave school such as the country desires and expects. Other serious and important teaching must be given to them if they are to turn out good Christians and upright and honest citizens; it is necessary that they should be formed on those principles which, deeply engravers on their consciences, they ought to follow and obey, because they naturally spring from their faith and religion.

"Without religion there can be no moral education deserving of the name, nor of any good, for the very nature and force of all duty comes from those special duties which bind man to God, who commands, forbids, and determines what is good and evil. And so, to be desirous that minds should be imbued with good and at the same time to leave them without religion is as senseless as to invite people to virtue after having taken away the foundations on which it rests. For the Catholic there is only one true religion, the Catholic religion; and, therefore, when it is a question of the teaching of morality or religion, he can neither accept nor recognize any which is not drawn from Catholic doctrine." (5)

"Justice and reason then demand that the school shall supply our scholars not only with a scientific system of instruction but also a body of moral teaching which, as we have said, is in harmony with the principles of their religion, without which, far from being of use, education can be nothing but harmful. From this comes the necessity of having Catholic masters and reading books and text books approved by the Bishops, of being free to regulate the school in a manner which shall be in full accord with the profession of the Catholic faith as well as with all the duties which flow from it.

"Furthermore, it is the inherent right of a father's position to see in what institutions his children shall be educated, and what masters shall teach them moral precepts. When, therefore, Catholics demand, as it is their duty to demand and work, that the teaching given by schoolmasters shall be in harmony with the religion of their children, they are contending justly.

"And nothing could be more unjust than to compel them to choose an alternative, or to allow the children to grow up in ignorance or to throw them amid an environment which constitutes a manifest danger for the supreme interests of their souls. These principles of judgment and action which are based upon truth and justice, and which form the safeguards of public as well as private interests, it is unlawful to call in question or in any way to abandon.

"And so, when the new legislation came to strike Catholic education in the Province of Manitoba, it was your duty, Venerable Brethren, publicly to protest against injustice and the blow that had been dealt; and the way in which you fulfilled this duty has furnished a striking proof of your individual vigilance and of your true episcopal zeal. Although upon this point each one of you finds sufficient approbation in the witness of his own conscience, know nevertheless that we also join with it our assent and approval. For the things that you have sought and still seek to preserve and defend are most holy." (6)

The Christian baptismal responsibility to act

Pope Leo XIII makes it clear that there is a need for the faithful to pray and to take action. These words written nearly 115 years ago are just as encouraging and necessary today in order to fight back the radical secular humanism that is eroding our Judeo-Christian roots in Canada and the entire Western world. Who will protect today’s children and their souls from this abusive and immoral political curriculum if we the majority chose to remain silent? An excellent start is to look back to our rich Christian roots in Canada, such as this encyclical Affari Vos, and use the message as a truthful guide to the future.

Pope Benedict XVI's address to American Bishops: A message just as true for Canada

2012-01-22T00:10:00.014-05:00

In his Ad Limina Address, on January 19, 2012, to the American Bishops Pope Benedict XVI makes it clear that religious freedom in the United States is under attack. He reminds the bishops "to reflect on some of the spiritual and cultural challenges of the new evangelization." Today in America he says there are "powerful new cultural currents which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as such." Is this, also, not the sad state of what is currently happening in Canada?

Wake up call for all Christians

The Church at all times must preach the Gospel and its moral truths. The Pope then warns the Bishops of the societal consequences of not doing so: "To the extent that some current cultural trends contain elements that would curtail the proclamation of these truths, whether constricting it within the limits of a merely scientific rationality, or suppressing it in the name of political power or majority rule, they represent a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself and to the deepest truth about our being and ultimate vocation, our relationship to God." He gives Christians in North America a wake up call by saying, "When a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery, and to close the doors to transcendent truth, it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey, as the late Pope John Paul II so clearly saw, to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society."

Faith, reason and religious freedom

A just and free society need not fear religious and moral truths that are grounded on both faith and reason because they provide in the Pope's words a "'language' which enables us to understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world. She (the Church) thus proposes her moral teaching as a message not of constraint but of liberation, and as the basis for building a secure future." These are insightful words from a spiritual leader who cares about his flock and has the courage to state the truth.

It's through the "language" of faith that we ultimately define who we are and can become: "The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation." Without a language of the Word, we remove our connection to the faith, to our religious freedom and to our very Creator.

Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity

The presence of the Church in the public square is being undermined by "radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres." The Pope cites freedom of conscience and religious liberty as two areas being attacked currently. He urges all Christians to be informed and become engaged in order to offer a counter-cultural response to the dominant societal forces advocating secularism and devaluing faith.

Pope Benedict sees a need for "The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country; as essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level. ... There can be no doubt that a more consistent witness on the part of America’s Catholics to their deepest convictions would make a major contribution to the renewal of society as a whole."

This "radical secularism" is what we face in Canada in trying to live the Gospel. The new evangelization is at odds with the secular humanism afflicting Canadian culture. It's a battle for souls. Pope Benedict concludes by saying, "No one who looks at these issues realistically can ignore the genuine difficulties which the Church encounters at the present moment. Yet in faith we can take heart from the growing awareness of the need to preserve a civil order clearly rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, as well as from the promise offered by a new generation of Catholics whose experience and convictions will have a decisive role in renewing the Church’s presence and witness in American society."

In Ontario and the rest of Canada, this "reductionist and totalitarian" trend is to exclude religious beliefs from the important life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. It's also a call for the laity to fight policies like the "Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy." The moral dangers in the policy is that it over-sexaulizes children, redefines the human person and the family in a manner completely contrary to the Christian view. No Christian should be forced to behave in ways or accept political agendas that contradict the teaching of the Church. This would be tantamount to the state coercing its citizens to immoral and sinful acts.

The need for prayer

The responsibility for the new evangelization, for this spiritual battle, rests with all of us: "The hope which these “signs of the times” give us is itself a reason to renew our efforts to mobilize the intellectual and moral resources of the entire Catholic community in the service of the evangelization of American culture and the building of the civilization of love. With great affection I commend all of you, and the flock entrusted to your care, to the prayers of Mary, Mother of Hope, and cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord."

We thank and pray for Pope Benedict XVI that God will continue to give him the courage and consolation to continue to speak His Word and His truth in guiding the faithful. Only the truth can help us re-build a culture of love and life.

Humpty Dumpty, the "pro-choice" lies and language corruption

2012-01-19T07:55:00.011-05:00

Is it possible to think of anything without using words? Could you go for a day or two without talking to anyone? What would your friends and family say if you decided not to talk to them for a while? I'm asking these questions because we become so immersed in words that too often we no longer realize that without them it's hard to think and to carry out our day to day living. It's the same thing as taking our own breathing for granted until our environment fills with fire and smoke. The language we have absorbed and come to know during our lives shapes not just our thinking, but also how we feel and act. There's nothing "wet" or "cold" about these words or edible about a "hamburger". They are mere sounds, written symbols that represent a reality, and yet the words alone can trigger a response in us. So if our language about a subject is corrupted so can our thinking and behaviour.

Phrases like "therapeutic abortion" and "termination" and "pro-choice" corrupt our language. They are deceptive and morally dangerous because they keep us from the truth. Language ought to accurately map reality; made up expressions should never be confused with reality, especially when they are misused to rationalize immoral actions like abortion and euthanasia. It's still an evil act even after we use pleasant sounding expressions like "mercy killing" and "freedom of choice". If we repeat these deceptive phrases, such as "reproductive rights", long enough we may begin to believe they represent a reality, even if that reality is a lie or exits only in the verbal world. In the phrase "pro-choice", for example, there is no real choice and so it becomes "real" only as a metaphorical construct to advocate for a real act: the killing of the unborn. The time has come for the lies, even the so called "legal" ones around this life and death issue to be exposed for what they are: a false verbal reality used to normalize the slaughter of the innocent.

In Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, Humpty Dumpty observes a powerful truth about language deception when he says to Alice:
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory,’ ” Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t—till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!’ ”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”

Let's read that last sentence one more time.“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” Isn't this faulty reasoning exactly what the "pro-choice for death" side has been doing with language to hide the truth? They use words to mean whatever they want them to mean. Supporters of abortion have hijacked the meaning of words in order to explain away an evil act as if it were something morally good for the person and the society. Commandment number 5: You shall not kill is not a suggestion open to interpretation.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson came to understand the language of deception well. This is a man who admitted for having been responsible for 75,000 abortions during his life. In 1996, thank God he was baptized and converted to Catholicism. "In Confession of an Ex-Abortionist", he admits how language was used to lie and manipulate thought in order to change attitudes and behaviour: "We persuaded the media that the cause of permissive abortion was a liberal enlightened, sophisticated one. Knowing that if a true poll were taken, we would be soundly defeated, we simply fabricated the results of fictional polls. We announced to the media that we had taken polls and that 60% of Americans were in favour of permissive abortion. This is the tactic of the self-fulfilling lie. Few people care to be in the minority. We aroused enough sympathy to sell our program of permissive abortion by fabricating the number of illegal abortions done annually in the U.S."

He continues to say, "The actual figure was approaching 100,000 but the figure we gave to the media repeatedly was 1,000,000. Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public. The number of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200-250 annually. The figure we constantly fed to the media was 10,000. These false figures took root in the consciousness of Americans convincing many that we needed to crack the abortion law. Another myth we fed to the public through the media was that legalizing abortion would only mean that the abortions taking place illegally would then be done legally. In fact, of course, abortion is now being used as a primary method of birth control in the U.S. and the annual number of abortions has increased by 1500% since legalization."

There you have it: the manufacturing of language deception and myth-making from someone who knows it from the inside. If you considered the questions at the beginning, you have probably realized just how important language is. Our lives would be drastically changed without the countless words we use and hear daily. But a corrupt and false language harms us and our society. Our language on abortion needs a reality and morality check. It needs an infusion of truth to dispel the evil behind it. When this happens, more people we hope will no longer accept "legal abortions" because we will recognize this as a lie and as a result of the new thinking and behaving, the majority will begin to embrace and live the truth.

Would a visitor to our homes know we were Christian?

2012-01-17T14:52:00.040-05:00

Would an archaeologist sometime in the future know we were Christian if they were to examine the artifacts we left behind? Would a visitor coming to our homes today know that we believed in Christ by what they would find? My guess is that we all have several television sets in our homes. What else? Probably there's a computer or two, cameras, telephones, radios and many CD and DVD collections. All these things are evidence of what we consider important in our lives. We spend many hours using these technologies, and time is life. We may not be aware of it, but our possessions have much to tell about what defines and drives our lives. So a reasonable question is to ask : Do our possessions and the way we spend our time show that we are people of faith?

You may be a coin or stamp collector. Do you have special works of art hanging on the walls of your house? You get the idea. But would there be any signs to show a visitor that you were Christian? Would we find Christian books or religious pictures displayed in your home? Are there any Christian calendars? Is there a crucifix, or pictures of our Blessed Mother, a photo of the pope or of any of the saints? Again you get the idea. Just recently I have seriously considered, on the advice of a friend, wearing a Brown Scapular and a religious medal such as a cross or the Miraculous Medal.

How can we make sure our homes have signs that we believe in Christ and that we are Christians. A simple way to begin this is to start building a small library of spiritual books. This need not be exhaustive or overwhelming. One could start with a copy of where it all begins: The Bible. We can then add the Catechism of the Catholic Church and for our teenage children a copy of YouCat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. This book makes for the perfect Confirmation gift. In addition, we could consider some catechism books for children. Texts such as The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism Book. 1 and Book. 2; the First Communion Catechism is also worth considering.

First Communion Catechism covers a great deal about the faith in only 65 pages. It can be used in the child's First Communion year usually in grades 1 and 2. It emphasizes Jesus in the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession. There are discussion questions at the end of each of the 11 lessons. The book begins with prayers for everyday and ends with an explanation of the Holy Mass. Book 1 - The Baltimore questions and answers are divided into three parts: The Creed, The Commandments, and The Sacraments and Prayer. This is for grades 3, 4 and 5. Book. 2 - Has the same division and order as Book No. 1, but the lessons are more in-depth for the older student in grades 6 to 8.

You could also buy a subscription for your children to MagnifiKid and Magnificat Junior. It's for children between the ages of six and twelve. Subscribers receive the issues on a monthly basis. In each month’s packet, children will find a booklet of sixteen color pages for each Sunday, and also special issues for all major feast days: Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, Ascension, Assumption and All Saints Day. These booklets are published by Magnificat and this too is a wonderful resource for parents to prepare and to better attend Sunday Mass; this, along with attending Mass on Sunday, receiving the sacraments and making time for prayer, are an important part of living the Christian life and giving our children a good faith example.

Of course there is so much more, but building a spiritual library begins like everything else with one step at a time. Today there are so many other sources, both in print and on-line, to explore, enrich and strengthen our faith. On the Internet we can learn much from the vatican website and so many many other Christian sites. There are even spiritual apps available for smart phones. The resources are numerous as long as there's a will to live and embrace the faith. I hope you do consider doing a home inventory of faith. I'm certain the spiritual exercise will yield many fruits for a future archaeologist or any visitor to find. But what's most important it will surely be a spiritual effort that will bring you and your family closer to Christ.

US Supreme Court backs religious freedom: A good lesson for Canada

2012-01-14T08:43:00.063-05:00

The recent Supreme Court decision in the United States about religious freedom we hope augurs good news for Canada. On January 11, 2012, a unanimous ruling was made in the case of, "Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School versus Equal Employment Opportunity Commission." The American government claimed that the Lutheran Church didn't have the authority to fire a minister who had been trained by the Church for six years and elected by the congregation. The minister who taught other subjects along with religion filed for discrimination after being dismissed. The White House was ready to challenge the First Amendment that protects religious liberty.

The Supreme Court in its 39 page ruling supported past decisions in saying that the American Constitution has always provided for "ministerial exemptions", an autonomy when it comes to employment agreements between religious institutions and their minsters or clergy. The White House, however, through the Department of Justice argued against this provision and went further: they asked for the exemption to be removed. Nevertheless, the court agreed that the Church was within its rights to "fire a religious minister." Remember we are considering a legal religious right and not whether the firing was justified. The decision is good news for all those who believe in the right to religious freedom.

It's the kind of decision that we hope the Supreme Court of Canada will soon make in the Quebec family who has been fighting for the right to have their children withdrawn from the province's mandated generic Ethics and Religious Culture course. A favourable decision would raise the obvious question for Catholic schools in Ontario: Do they have the denominational right to dismiss employees including teachers who are living in contradiction of the faith, regardless of what the teachers' unions may say? Do Catholic boards have the legal right to disregard the "Equity" policy?

Chief Justice John Roberts makes it very clear that the American government had no legal right to undermine the Church's decision. In his words, “Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister, or punishing a church for failing to do so, intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision. Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs. By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the free exercise clause, which protects a religious group’s right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments. According the state the power to determine which individuals will minister to the faithful also violates the establishment clause, which prohibits government involvement in such ecclesiastical decisions.”

The government then, should not be deciding who the Church selects to perform its religious functions. To force it to so is to undermine its very existence. This is a huge Constitutional victory for the freedom of all religious institutions to hire their own teachers, ministers, priests and rabbis. American citizens should be asking their federal government to explain why they are spending tax payer dollars to try to penalize people for practicing their faith and are ready and willing to even impose fines.

In Canada, we continue to find it harder to keep our religious freedom. We live in a society that has no law on abortion, but continues to kill tens of thousands of babies each year. This is an attack on all those who believe in the sanctity of life and their right to religious beliefs. Our Catholic schools, particularly in Ontario and British Columbia, are being forced to accept policies, such as the "Equity and Inclusive Strategy", which are an outright contradiction of the faith. It's a declaration of war on religious liberty. Why should religious organization and educational institutions be legally coerced into accepting regulations that contradict the faith, curtail religious expression and do away with freedom of conscience? We leave that judgement to the reader.

The government should be protecting religious liberty and freedom of conscience. What kind of country will Canada be without religious freedom? The government in forcing people to violate their faith by accepting a materialistic secularist agenda is not building a better society, but a more divided and less tolerant one. The American Supreme Court has told the Obama government that they made a legal and moral mistake in trying to challenge the Constitutional right of religious liberty. Canada too has much to learn from this refreshing legal decision.

"You shall not have strange Gods before me"

2012-01-12T13:39:00.048-05:00

Do you think Christians should be watching movies like The Devil Inside and The Twilight Saga? Is it fine to let children read the Harry Potter series and see the films? What about toning and relaxing the body and mind with exercises like yoga and meditation techniques? Should we be reading horoscopes and consulting fortune-tellers? Let's try to answer these questions within a Christian context.

In a recent article in The Telegraph on January 9, 2012, chief Vatican exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth says, "Harry Potter and yoga are evil." This may come as a surprise to many of us who over time have allowed New Age beliefs and practises to enter our homes, our families and our lives. To see the evidence for this just notice the number of places in our city that offer palm reading, magic cards and crystal gazing. Similar to Dungeons and Dragons, there's an Internet game called, Magic, also known as The Gathering with over twelve million players. If you're a parent, should you not know if your children are playing these potentially soul corrupting games?

Fr. Amorth, the honorary president of the International Association of Exorcists 1986 and chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome, has freed many people who were once afflicted with evil spirits. He says, "Yoga is Satanic because it leads to a worship of Hinduism" and “all eastern religions are based on a false belief in reincarnation”. He also warns thast reading JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books is just as dangerous. The Harry Potter books have now become international bestsellers and so may “seem innocuous” but they immerse readers, many of them are young, into the perilous world of black magic and wizardry.

According to Father Amorth, “Practising yoga is Satanic, it leads to evil just like reading Harry Potter. In Harry Potter the devil acts in a crafty and covert manner; he comes in the guise of someone with extraordinary powers, magic spells and curses. Satan is always hidden and what he most wants is for us not to believe in his existence. He studies every one of us and our tendencies towards good and evil, and then he offers temptations.”

In 2003, The Pontifical Council for Culture issued a document titled, Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life. (The publication is a solid reference on the subject to have in our homes.) It's subtitled, A Christian reflection on the New Age to warn Catholics of the potential dangers of yoga, Zen, transcendental meditation and other 'eastern’ practises. These New Age activities could “degenerate into a cult of the body” that debases Christian prayer. Yoga poses could create a feeling of well-being in the body but it's erroneous to confuse that with “the authentic consolations of the Holy Spirit." This document is an excellent resource in regaining the truth in order to fight back all New Age techniques and beliefs not compatible with the Christian faith.

The essential problem with all New Age practices and films glorifying vampires, magic and witchcraft is that they can deceptively contradict, undermine and lead to the outright rejection of our Christian beliefs. There's a spiritual risk in entertaining these ideas or trying them out. In our attempt to live the Christian faith, we need to have a living relationship with Christ. The First Commandment is where it all begins: "I am the Lord your God: You shall have not have strange Gods before me." How do we explain what these strange Gods are? In the Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find this very useful explanation. (By the way, this book is a wonderful spiritual resource especially for teenagers.) The commandment forbids us:

1. "to adore other gods and pagan deities or to worship an an earthly idol to devote oneself entirely to some earthly good (money, influence, success, beauty, youth and so on);
2. "to be superstitious, which means to adhere to esoteric, magic or the occult or New Age practices or to get involved with fortune telling or spiritualism, instead of believing in God's power, Providence and blessings;
3. "to provoke God by word and deed;
4. "to commit a sacrilege;
5. "to acquire spiritual power through corruption and to desecrate what is holy through trafficking." (355)

Any teaching, activity or belief that claims human beings alone can know their destiny and the truth about life through secret powers is spiritually dangerous. It can too easily make us forget God and begin to replace Him with occult activities such as the Ouija boards, astrology and clairvoyance. Human beings, however, are not divine. In New Age practices there's the hidden assumption that redemption is possible without Christ. Christians believe only Christ and God's grace can redeem us from sin and death.

We will end with the sound spiritual advice found in Psalm 40 in dealing with all the New Age deceptions: "I have waited for the Lord,/ and he stooped toward me and heard my cry,/ Blessed the man who makes the Lord his trust;/who turns not to idolatry/ or to those who stray after falsehood." All we really need is God's truth.

The Premier's own video reveals the deception behind his school policies

2012-01-10T08:10:00.031-05:00

If you had any second thoughts at all about the real agenda that is driving the anti-bullying legislation of the Liberals, Premier Dalton McGuinty finally reveals the lies they have been spreading. In the video, McGuinty uses the LGBT slogan, "It Gets Better", coined by two men living together in the United States. It's an Internet campaign to fight bullying based on sexual orientation. The men claim they are responding to teenager suicides that have resulted from bullying because the teens were either gay or others thought they were. The project began late last year to encourage coming out to express one's sexual orientation, moving beyond bullying and telling others that the homosexual lifestyle is normal and needs to be promoted. These are not the issues on which the Liberals were elected.

Mr. Premier the goal should not be to just focus and single out the prevention of suicide among LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) youth. It should be about preventing suicide among all students. Mr. Premier we ought to be creating schools where bullying against every student is eradicated and stop placing a special emphasis on any particular group. The lives of teenagers is not going to change because you release a video or try to pass legislation to protect and promote the lifestyle of certain students while risking to alienate the majority you need to reach.

A truly "inclusive and equitable" policy has to be comprehensive and thus not exclude anyone. If you want to create safe, caring and supportive learning environments where all students can succeed and feel welcome, you need to begin as a government by telling parents the truth about the school policies and legislation you wish to implement. The video reveals in your own words, or at least with language you borrow from the gay activists, that you and the Ministry of Education have been practising the politics of deception with your "Safer Schools" initiatives. It's time to tell the truth.

Allan Hubley, the father and councillor from Kanata South, who recently lost his son to suicide says it best in his article, Teens' clubs don't need politicians' labels, in the Ottawa Cicizen, "Support for student-led initiatives is the key to giving kids the ability to help each other. My son Jamie wanted to start a club where every child who felt out of place could join and gain peer support. He talked about tall, short, thin, fat, and kids with freckles who would benefit from a safe place to be and the acceptance by others. My son said that this club would help kids learn to accept the differences in each other." In other words, schools, parents and the government should do all that they possibly can to try to help all students from discrimination and harassment of any kind. Why single out sexual orientation or a particular lifestyle?

We are all in support of an anti-bullying policy based on respect for the dignity of the person. However, many of us want the policy to complement Catholic/Christian teaching, not reject it. All students should be free from bullying of any kind. The Commandment to love one's neighbour has neither a category nor a qualification. The Premier needs to stop playing the politics of correctness and deception. This is why Bill 13 must be withdrawn or amended and MPPs like Randy Hillier who has spoken against it need our support. The Premier represents the people of Ontario not a list of sexual orientations. Please do watch the video and do make an effort to let the Premier and your MPP know that they have a responsibility to the truth and to build the common good both in our schools and the province they're privileged to govern.

The San Jose Articles: the United Nations' abortion lies exposed

2012-01-07T17:34:00.030-05:00

Canadians should support MP Jeff Watson's call for Parliament to re-open the debate on abortion. We need to educate ourselves about the truth. For too long now, most people in Canada and the international community have come to believe that there’s a "fundamental human right" to abortion. This is totally false. Yes, you read that correctly. In Canada, we currently have no law on abortion, and no United Nations treaty makes abortion an international right. However, many nations have been pressured by the UN, as it recently happened in Colombia, to change their laws because of this false assumption. It’s time nations push back this culture of death. We need to unmask the lies. The San Jose Articles are designed to help countries do just that.

The United Nations has no legal and no moral authority into forcing member countries to accept abortion as a "legal right". They have been advocating a lie as if it were a truth. This evil effort has served to promote abortion internationally and to continue to deceive and intimidate those countries that are currently pro-life. The San Jose Articles provide a legal defence to combat the anti-life propaganda and expose the lies. Let's hope that all counties begin to use them to bring an end to abortion and the deceptive means by which the pro-abortionists at the UN spread the culture of death.

What follows are the objectives the Articles are designed to address and the articles themselves.

The Aim

“The purpose of the San Jose Articles is to provide expert testimony that no such right exists. The San Jose Articles were prepared by a group of 31 experts in international law, international relations, international organizations, public health, science/medicine and government. The signers include law professors, philosophers, Parliamentarians, Ambassadors, human rights lawyers, and delegates to the UN General Assembly.

“The purpose of the San Jose Articles is also to demonstrate that the unborn child is already protected in human rights instruments and that governments should begin protecting the unborn child by using international law."

San Jose Articles

"Article 1. As a matter of scientific fact a new human life begins at conception.

"Article 2. Each human life is a continuum that begins at conception and advances in stages until death. Science gives different names to these stages, including zygote, blastocyst, embryo, fetus, infant, child, adolescent and adult. This does not change the scientific consensus that at all points of development each individual is a living member of the human species.

"Article 3. From conception each unborn child is by nature a human being.

"Article 4. All human beings, as members of the human family, are entitled to recognition of their inherent dignity and to protection of their inalienable human rights. This is recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international instruments.

"Article 5. There exists no right to abortion under international law, either by way of treaty obligation or under customary international law. No United Nations treaty can accurately be cited as establishing or recognizing a right to abortion.

"Article 6. The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) and other treaty monitoring bodies have directed governments to change their laws on abortion. These bodies have explicitly or implicitly interpreted the treaties to which they are subject as including a right to abortion.

"Article 7. Assertions by international agencies or non-governmental actors that abortion is a human right are false and should be rejected.

"Article 8. Under basic principles of treaty interpretation in international law, consistent with the obligations of good faith and pacta sunt servanda, and in the exercise of their responsibility to defend the lives of their people, states may and should invoke treaty provisions guaranteeing the right to life as encompassing a state responsibility to protect the unborn child from abortion.

"Article 9. Governments and members of society should ensure that national laws and policies protect the human right to life from conception. They should also reject and condemn pressure to adopt laws that legalize or depenalize abortion."

Everyday For Life Canada believes it’s important for governments, health care professionals, lawyers, doctors, priests, parents and for all citizens the world over to share and act on these articles of life. It was this truth about the sanctity of life that Blessed John Paul II's encyclical called, Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) urges the faithful to safeguard at all costs. This is one of the truths that served to define John Paul II's entire pontificate.

The language of truth in the San Jose Articles takes a bold and necessary step forward in raising an awareness of the lies about abortion "rights" both at the national and international level. It's this kind of pro-life effort that can help restore a culture of life in the world. We hope it will serve as guide for Canada and the rest of the world to reconsider the evil of abortion and pass new laws making it a crime to kill unborn. In the end, the truth will win out over evil.

The articles were published in San Jose, Costa Rica on March 25, 2011. Please do spread this refreshing word of truth; this life-saving information to help promote the pro-life message with the hope of saving countless, innocent human lives.

St. Andre Bessette: a saint for Canadians to remember

2012-01-06T08:25:00.019-05:00

It was in 1982, that blessed John Paul II beatified Canadian Andre-Alfred Bessette from the Congregation of the Holy Cross. On January 6, 2012, we celebrate his memorial. He was a simple man of the people who practised a deep prayer life. Known by his humility he was called "Brother Andre". Physically he was a weak man by human standards, but spiritually he was a giant who sought the help of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of St. Joseph in order to help the poor and the sick.

St. Andre was instrumental through prayer in building the common good by loving his neighbour. He also played a central role in the construction of the wonderful basilica of St. Joseph in Montreal. He became known for his service to his community and the deep devotion to St. Joseph. He left for all Canadians a beautiful example of his witness to faith, to life and the culture of love. His Christian example of truth is what Canada needs most today. St. Andre, pray for Canada.

A mother's witness and example on fighting back the "Equity" policy

2012-01-04T07:56:00.017-05:00

At the Toronto Catholic District School Board meeting held on December 15, a mother made an important presentation to trustees and board members. She came to express her serious concern that the Education and Inclusive Education Strategy is being used to promote and normalize the homosexual lifestyle. Her address will be overlooked by a compromised mainstream media, but it's the kind of information parents need if they wish to push back the Liberal government's plan to over-sexualize and radically transform school curriculum. This parent correctly identified the need to monitor the kind of resources schools use such as textbooks in order to prevent the total erosion of Christian teaching. As a mother, she urged the trustees and board officials to implement the "Equity" policy so that it's consistent with these four pillars of the Catholic faith:

1. to uphold the Church's teaching especially on the vocation to chastity;

2. to promote more prayers and a stronger faith life in the schools: the Rosary, confession and the Mass;

3. to promote the teaching on sexuality based Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body;

4. to allow parents to be the first educators of their children when it comes to sexuality and moral issues.

Yes, the "Equity" policy continues to be implemented in Ontario schools that have not already done so. The McGuinty government now wants to pass Bill 13 in order to back this policy with legislation and make every sexual orientation equal before the law. This mother's appeal is a good example to all of us, if as Christians, we really want to fight the Equity policy. Everyday for Life Canada fully supports and applauds this mother's efforts.

As we enter 2012, we should ask ourselves a number of questions: Do we care enough about the faith to defend it? Will parents take, as this mother has, the issue of their children's instruction on moral and sexual matters seriously enough to reclaim their parental rights? Are we ready to make the sacrifices necessary to make sure the schools our children attend are being truthful to the Catechism of the Catholic Church? Are parents trying themselves to live the faith in order to know what they are protecting and at the same time giving their children a witness to that belief? Parents, after all, have the responsibility to be the true and primary educators of their children's morality and sexuality.

These no doubt are difficult confessional question, but our answers not what the government and school boards do, will in the end determine whether we will continue to have faithful, funded Catholic schools in this province. It's not easy to overcome our complacency and not anaesthetize our spiritual needs with the lure of more material comforts and electronic toys. Faith as we know is neither legislated nor can it be taken away by premiers or kings. It's a divine gift. Each Christian, each family makes a choice whether to accept it and live it or reject it by not practicing it or taking it for granted. Let's pray for the grace to know how best to live, promote and protect God's gift of faith to children and their parents.

Baby Jesus in chains: a Canadian sign of our times

2012-01-03T07:59:00.007-05:00

As part of our Christmas celebration, my wife and I went to visit one of our favourite nativity scenes put up each year in the Toronto. It's a life size creche displayed outside the church of St. Francis of Assisi Parish which is located on Mansfield Avenue. How appropriate in that it was Saint Francis of Assisi who created the first nativity scene in 1223. He actually used real people, "a living creche", in an effort to bring people closer to Christ. At a time of the year when we tend to concentrate on shopping and coloured light decorations, it's wonderful to spend some time in front of the creche and pray. We wanted to thank God for the many blessings during the past year and to ask for a New Year filled with peace and health for everyone.

During our visit, just as two men came around and asked if we liked the creche, I noticed that Baby Jesus was chained to the ground. We said yes of course we liked it very much, and we quickly went on to add that we had been coming down for years, especially to bring our children when they were young. It turned out that these two men were part of the group that volunteers each year to erect the creche. We expressed our appreciation and encouraged them to continue with this tradition because it reminds us all of the true reason for Christmas. Then we asked why Jesus was chained down. We were told that the little Baby had been stolen a few times and so they thought this was a way to prevent it from happening again.

I decided to take a few photos of the creche and two of them are included with this blog entry. As we drove home, I began to think of how sadly telling it was to see Baby Jesus strapped down by a chain. I know that we are talking about a statue of a baby, but perhaps the chain was a way to reveal the truth: today Jesus continues to be bound by human sin. Baby Jesus in chains: isn't this a sign of our times in Canada? It's our nation's evil such as abortion, the push for euthanasia, the constant efforts to remove religion from schools, from the public square and whenever the Ten Commandments are disobeyed that keep Baby Jesus in shackles. Our refusal to openly accept Baby Jesus as a nation is a rejection to free Him, to embrace Him and the grace He brings to everyone from the Father: the gift of life and love. We hope and pray that Canada will one day soon remove the chains around Baby Jesus.

There are good reasons for hope in 2012

2012-01-02T06:28:00.005-05:00

The organization CatholicVote.org has put together a wonderful video celebrating events that should help and encourage us to be strong in our faith efforts in 2012. It's called the "Top Ten Reasons for Hope - 2011." In Peter's First Letter we find these instructive words, "Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have." (3:15)

CatholicVote.org has given us their reason for hope in words and images. A number of the events featured refer to the Catholic Church in America, but the issues also apply to Canada and the rest of the world, as in the case of the World Youth Day held in Spain this past year. The Catholic Church after all does mean the universal Church; we are all baptized to one family under God. The Creed we say on Sunday is the same for the entire world. Enjoy the video as we recall 2011 and enter the New Year 2012. Best wishes to you, our blog visitors, for peace, joy and good health.

Message for the 45th world day of peace: the heart of a true education

2011-12-31T07:19:00.032-05:00

Pope Benedict offers the world a timely message for Jan. 1, 2012, the 45th World Day of Peace. The theme is "Educating Young People in Justice and Peace". The Pope reminds the adult world of the need to realize and to help in the crucial role young people have in building the common good. He also affirms the importance of a society based on God, justice and peace in order that true human rights can be lived fully. I urge all parents, students, educators, trustees, school board officials and those in government to read the entire message. If you care about the education of children, you will certainly want to read it. What follows are merely some of my observations.

To achieve true human freedom and peace, the Pope focuses on the education of a new generation. A true education for children cannot reject religion, morality and God. He warns parents and educators about the dangers of relativism, particularly in schools and the media. My interpretation: Parents must protect their children from socially constructed policies like the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy; they have the responsibility to guide with love each child who is created in the image of God to find,

“Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law that he did not lay upon himself, but which he must obey. Its voice calls him to love and to do what is good, to avoid evil and to take responsibility for the good he does and the evil he commits. Thus, the exercise of freedom is intimately linked to the natural moral law, which is universal in character, expresses the dignity of every person and forms the basis of fundamental human rights and duties: consequently, in the final analysis, it forms the basis for just and peaceful coexistence. The right use of freedom, then, is central to the promotion of justice and peace, which require respect for oneself and others."

The Pope says, unlike the propaganda we are getting from the Ministry of Education and our Liberal premier, parents are the first educators of their children. Parents, not the state or schools, have the baptismal duty to teach their children about sexuality, the dignity of being human, the family and other moral values. The Pope makes it clear: "Where does true education in peace and justice take place? First of all, in the family, since parents are the first educators. … The family is the first school in which we are trained in justice and peace."

At a time in Ontario when a religious education is under attack by our provincial government and even our Catholic school boards, the Pope is not afraid to remind us that the moral dimension must be at the heart of truly educating the young,

"Man is a being who bears within his heart a thirst for the infinite, a thirst for truth--a truth which is not partial but capable of explaining life's meaning--since he was created in the image and likeness of God. ... Hence the first step in education is learning to recognize the Creator's image in man, and consequently learning to have a profound respect for every human being. Only in relation to God does man come to understand also the meaning of human freedom.”

A true Education cannot exclude God. Justice is formed by a moral law so that one's conscience must by necessity promote peace. For this to happen, parents need to reclaim their right to educate their children in religious and moral matters. In the words of the Pope each child hears,

"Its voice calls him to love and to do what is good, to avoid evil and to take responsibility for the good he does and the evil he commits. Thus, the exercise of freedom is intimately linked to the natural moral law, which is universal in character, expresses the dignity of every person and forms the basis of fundamental human rights and duties: consequently, in the final analysis, it forms the basis for just and peaceful coexistence. The right use of freedom, then, is central to the promotion of justice and peace, which require respect for oneself and others."

True human freedom recognizes that peace and justice can be achieved when we put God at the centre of our families and “we educate ourselves in compassion, solidarity, working together, fraternity, in being active within the community.” There's no higher calling, work of charity or better education when the only aim is to help children save their souls in order to give glory to God. The Pope in his wisdom offers parents the ultimate lesson plan for life. What a great idea as we enter the Year of Faith, to make this our goal and for our children's sake, our main resolution for the New Year. A blessed 2012 to everyone!

A blessed and holy Christmas to everyone

2011-12-15T21:20:00.016-05:00

(Note to our readers: With this entry, Everyday for Life Canada will take a Christmas break and return in the New Year. We wish you all a holy and blessed Christmas. Happy New Year to everyone!)

In his Christmas Message of 1959, Pope John XXIII offered a very insightful statement about achieving peace: His address urges us to work for peace of the heart, in our social relations and in the international sphere. At the time, the world was concerned about the build up of nuclear arms and that the crisis could lead to the destruction of the planet. The Pope's observations continue to be just as relevant today because the obstacles to peace, human malice and greed, remain the same. For human beings to experience a true conversion to peace, they must put Christ at the centre of their lives. I hope you read the entire statement. Here's a brief selection of the message:

"Peace is a gift of God beyond compare. Likewise, it is the object of man's highest desire. It is moreover indivisible. None of the lineaments which make up its unmistakable appearance can be ignored or excluded.

"In addition, since the men of our time have not completely carried into effect the conditions of peace, the result has been that God's paths toward peace have no meeting point with those of man. Hence there is the abnormal situation of this postwar period which has created, as it were, two blocs with all their uneasy conditions. There is not a state of war, but neither is there peace, the thing which the nations ardently desire.

"At all times, because true peace is indivisible in its various aspects, it will not succeed in establishing itself on the social and international planes unless it is also, and in the first place, an interior fact. This requires then before all else—it is necessary to repeat—'men of good will.' These are precisely those to whom the angels of Bethlehem announced peace: 'Peace among men of good will.' (Luke 2:14). Indeed they alone can give reality to the conditions contained in the definition of peace given by St. Thomas: The ordered harmony of citizens and therefore order and harmony.

"But how will true peace be able to put forth the two-fold blossom of order and concord if the persons who hold positions of public responsibility, before selecting the advantages and risks of their decisions, fail to recognize themselves as persons subject to the eternal moral laws?

"It will be necessary again and again to remove from the path the obstacles placed by the malice of man. And the presence of these obstacles is noted in the propaganda of immorality, in social injustice, in forced unemployment, in poverty contrasted with the luxury of those who can indulge in dissipation, in the dreadful lack of proportion between the technical and moral progress of nations, and in the unchecked armaments race, where there has yet to be a glimpse of a serious possibility of solving the problem of disarmament."

Make sure your family and friends see this life-saving video

2011-12-14T07:45:00.007-05:00

A doctor friend of mine from Ottawa sent me the link to the video posted with this blog entry. She received it from a relative of hers who lives in the Czech Republic. The video, according to the makers, has saved many lives because it encourages viewers to refrain from drinking and driving. It was actually started in Victoria, Australia by TCA, the Transport Accident Commission. The group's aim is to educate the public about the personal costs of dangerous driving practices. These risky behaviours include speeding and drunk driving.

Christmas is the time when people get together to have parties. It's a time when we all want to enjoy the spirit of friendship, family and love. We celebrate at work with Christmas parties. We get together with our friends and families. We have parties with those in our parish. There will be huge festivities in the City of Toronto, and the world over, for New Year's Eve. There will be parties for Christmas Day and Christmas' Eve. Teenagers too at this time of the year will have many parties and nights out. And we know at many of these festivities alcoholic beverages are served. Sadly, some will drink too much alcohol and then proceed to drive home and some regrettably end up getting into a serious or even deadly accident.

The good doctor urged me in her email to write about this issue. She said every school board should show this video to high school students in an effort to warn them of the terrible dangers in mixing drinking and driving. Parents should watch this video with their teenagers especially if they have a driver's licence. The video is a warning to all of us who want to protect life and avoid the suffering, pain and loss of loved ones from alcohol related deaths on the roads during Christmas, the New Year and everyday of the year. The true spirt of Christmas is not to be found in any bottle or car ride. We can all help to save lives by behaving, driving and drinking responsibly. By showing respect for ourselves and others, whether we are at parties or on the road, we are doing our part in living a good Christian life.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we find this teaching under the heading of Respect for Health: "The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others' safety on the road, at sea, or in the air." (2290)

You cannot legislate love, care and acceptance into existence

2011-12-13T07:47:00.012-05:00

It seems that in the province of Ontario for the last three years the Liberal government, with the help of the other parties, has tried to convince its citizens that love, respect and care of children in schools can be made real with policy/program memoranda such as the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. They are currently trying to do the same thing with Bill 13.

Here's what the government thinks it can legislate into being:

"We envision an inclusive education system in Ontario in which: all students, parents, and other members of the school community are welcomed and respected; every student is supported and inspired to succeed in a culture of high expectations for learning. To achieve an equitable and inclusive school climate, school boards and schools will strive to ensure that all members of the school community feel safe, comfortable, and accepted. We want all staff and students to value diversity and to demonstrate respect for others and a commitment to establishing a just, caring society." (Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy, Page 10)

Everybody knows full well, however, that you cannot legislate into being care, support and acceptance of others. Love of neighbour is a gift. It's gift freely given by people and received from God. What is the government going to do next? Bring out a "Thought Bill" to legislate which thoughts are permissible and which are not? This would be both absurd and evil. And yet the government is attempting to do just that: control people's thinking and feelings with coercive laws. You cannot police how people feel towards each other and what values they hold to be sacred. It's the prevailing illusion these days that kings and queens of old could not, but modern governments can bring goodwill, respect and acceptance among the citizenry and in the schools by fiat alone. That power I'm afraid belongs to God and God alone; the very being these policies and legislation fail to recognize.

When we closely examines Equity and Inclusive Education, we find that it's really not so inclusive and just after all, especially if you happen to be Christian and believe in God. Here's why: It sees no need for God. It rejects Catholic and Christian beliefs about human sexuality, the meaning of marriage and life itself. It excludes Christians and all those who believe in the God of the Old Testament. It rejects anybody who defines a family as a mom and a dad and children; it excludes all those who believe in traditional marriage. The policy instructs teachers to violate parental rights. It's prepared to expel students from school if they don't accept homosexuality and dozens of other manufactured sexual orientations. How can this rejection of others ever create a just, caring and equitable school environment? How will this divisive policy help establish for children a safe and secure learning atmosphere? Laws will never turn lies into truths.

In my blog entry, "The best speech to guide the world for the 21st century" given on September 22, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI addressed Germany's lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag. The speech is titled, "The Listening Heart: Reflections on the Foundations of Law." His conclusion is relevant here: "As he assumed the mantle of office, the young King Solomon was invited to make a request. How would it be if we, the law-makers of today, were invited to make a request? What would we ask for? I think that, even today, there is ultimately nothing else we could wish for but a listening heart – the capacity to discern between good and evil, and thus to establish true law, to serve justice and peace. I thank you for your attention!"

In the recent laws legislated and proposed in education in Ontario that's exactly what's missing: the "listening heart", laws that "serve justice and peace" and that "discern between good and evil." This very heart is absent in the Equity policy, in Bill 157 and in Bill 13. They are laws without a true foundation.

Thank God Andrea Bocelli's mother didn't believe in abortion

2011-12-12T18:36:00.017-05:00

Just days ago, on Dec. 8, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; we marked what is humanities greatest yes to life. It was the supreme yes to life because the Blessed Mother welcomed both human and divine life into our fallen world. She allowed herself to let the Word become flesh. Her will was completely in tune with God's will; she was ready to give birth to the Son of God. The Blessed Virgin gives all of us the perfect example of being the perfect witness to life, to faith and to the Word.

We shudder to think of what would have happened to human history had she said no to the angel Gabriel. Christmas would not just lose its meaning, it wouldn't exit. Easter would not have been be possible. What would have happened to our very redemption? Her eternal yes to the Word of Eternal Life should inspire us to say yes to life because it makes human redemption possible. We owe so much to our Blessed Mother. Here's the ultimate example of service for the love of God. Our Blessed Mother was the first human being to truly build for humanity a culture of life, family and of love.

In this context of being open to life, listen to the moving testimony of the great international tenor, Andrea Bocelli, as he humbly tells us how grateful he is that his mother believed in life and didn't have an abortion. He's with us today because his mother refused to terminate the pregnancy. Yes, Andrea I'm sure we're all happy that your mother didn't listen to the doctors who advised her to kill the child. She said yes to your life and we are all better because she chose life, your life. She too listened to the Holy Spirit. I will let the video featuring Andrea explain all this in his own words.

Now watch and hear Andrea as he sings this beautiful and touching Ave Maria.

Surely the world is a little better because a mother welcomed God's gift of life to the world in the name of Andrea Bocelli. Thank God for God's gift of life and for all those say no to abortion. We pray that one day soon the culture of abortion, the culture of death in Canada will be replaced by a culture of life. May the Blessed Mother's magnificat be our guide in building this culture of light and life. And surely this the true story of Advent and of the coming of Christmas: to say YES to the newborn Baby Jesus.

Tell Premier McGuinty and the Liberals to withdraw Bill 13

2011-12-11T10:00:00.004-05:00

(This is the letter I've sent to our Premier, Dalton McGuinty and to my MPP Laura Albanese.)

Dear Premier,

Bill 13 openly threatens religious freedom and violates parental rights. We don't need another law to combat bullying. I urge you to immediately withdraw or amend this unnecessary Bill. We don't want another piece of misguided legislation. We already have many regulations in place both in Public and Catholic schools to fight bullying. Parents want you to protect their rights in education. Bill 13 will not protect religious rights and so it opens the door to legally teach our children values about sexuality and the family that are at odds with Christian values.

This Bill will not bring harmony or improve safety and security in our schools. The sad irony is that a policy named Equity and inclusive Education has actually brought division and criticism among parents and school officials. Please do the right thing and scrap this proposed law.

Thank you,
Lou Iacobelli

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Here's my argument and that of many other parents in this province as to why Bill 13 is not needed and should be shredded before it becomes law in Ontario.

Some pertinent background information (For the following summary, I'm indebted to Dr. Charles McVety, President of the Institute for Canadian Values. I thank him and his organization for the work they are doing to inform citizens about the serious harm the Equity Policy and Bill 13 will unleash in Ontario education.)

Last week Ontario’s Premier Dalton McGuinty proposed in the legislature Bill 13. This Bill if it becomes law, will see an amendment to the Education Act. The new law is needed, according to the Liberals, to combat bullying in schools by implementing the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. We all agree that bullying is a serious threat to children and must be combated with strong, stiff programs and penalties. Children’s safety and security demands that we do all that we can to end bullying. However, the Premier is merely using Bill 13 to legislate into law the Equity policy. This is the government's way of changing human sexuality by legalizing the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) agenda and the meaning of family.

The anti-bullying Bill 13, if passed, will have the force of law to make teachers in both Public and Catholic schools teach the acceptance and normalization of the LBGT lifestyle. This is part of the curriculum coming from the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy.

In addition, Bill 13 Section 2. (1) Paragraph 29.1 of subsection 8 (1) of the Education Act will be replaced by the Equity and Inclusive Education. This Section 29.1 will require all boards, Public and Catholic, "to develop and implement an Equity and Inclusive Education Policy, and, if required by the Minister, submit the policy to the Minister and implement changes to the policy as directed by the Minister."

All boards must establish gay/straight alliances/clubs in both Public and Catholic schools. Moreover, Bill 13 Section 9, under Board support for certain pupil activities and organizations, we find:

303.1 "Every board shall support pupils who want to establish and lead,
(a) "activities or organizations that promote gender equity;
(b) "activities or organizations that promote anti-racism;
(c) "activities or organizations that promote the awareness and understanding of, and respect for, people with disabilities; or
(d) "activities or organizations that promote the awareness and understanding of, and respect for, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, including organizations with the name gay-straight alliance or another name."

The new legislation will force Christian churches or any other groups renting school property to adhere to the Equity Policy. Bill 13 under Section 7 (2) dealing with agreements with third parties' use of schools states:

(3.1) "If a board enters into an agreement with another person or entity, other than a board, respecting the use of a school operated by the board, the board shall include in the agreement a requirement that the person or entity follow standards that are consistent with the code of conduct."

Bill 13 will only serve to legalize the social engineering experiment on Ontario’s children under the pretence of protecting them from bullying. There is no evidence that forcing all schools, Public and Catholic, to implement and teach the Equity policy such as establishing gay clubs will stop bullying. This approach is not based on sound pedagogical practices, but mere political propaganda. Yes, we are all "equal" with the Equity policy, except that some are more "equal" than others. In fact, it's a clear case of the minority dictating and controlling the majority. Our schools already have rules and procedures in place to combat bullying, racism and discrimination of any kind.

We must not subject children to the agenda of political correctness. Parents need to speak out and let the Premier know that they want Bill 13 cancelled.

Please act to protect children and here are some suggestions:

1. Call Premier McGuinty at 416-325-1941;

2. Send Premier McGuinty an email to amend or better to withdraw Bill 13 by clicking here. Send a copy to your Ontario MPP;

3. Sign the Petition at www.stopcorruptingchildren.com.

Only by working together can we stop this radical social experiment being legislated on innocent children. Please do let the politicians know your concerns about Bill 13 before it's too late. Do spread the word.

Here are two other useful links:

Bill 13 http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=2549

The Resource Guide for the Equity and Inclusive Curriculum for the Toronto District School Board, http://word.ca/TDSB%20Equity%20%20Inclusive%20Curriculum%20-%20See%20page%2010%20!.pdf

St. Marcellin Champagnat: Let the saints guide our Catholic teaching and education

2011-12-09T13:41:00.053-05:00

This morning I was fortunate to have been invited to be part of the Day of Reflection held at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church for teachers from two schools in the Toronto Catholic District Board School Board: St. Charles Garnier and St. Augustine.

The day was given over to thinking about the educational strategies used by St. Marcellin Champagnat. His Feast day is June 6, and he's the Patron of Education and Teachers. In 1955, Marcellin Champagnat was declared Blessed by Pope Pius XII. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on April 18, 1999. What follows is some biographical information about St. Marcellin. After that, I will give my brief summary of the day's thoughts and ideas.

"In 1816, the newly ordained Marcellin Champagnat, consecrated to Mary, felt a personal call by God to found a religious community of Brothers that would bring the message of Jesus' love to neglected young people. Today his passionate spirit, daring vision and persistent work are embodied in the mission of Marist Brothers living on five continents.

"On October 28, 1816, three months after his ordination, Marcellin was called to the Montagne home where 16 year old Jean-Baptiste Montagne was dying. As Marcellin prepared to hear the confession of Jean-Baptiste, he realized that the young man had little religious or academic education. It occurred to Marcellin that Jean-Baptiste was one of many young people victimized by lack of education during and after the French Revolution.

"Six months after his ordination, Marcellin founded the religious community, 'The Marist Brothers of the Schools' (also known as 'The Little Brothers of Mary') to make known, through their lives and service, the love of Jesus and Mary - especially where access to love and support, education and catechism was remote.

"For himself and his Brothers, Marcellin wished 'goods which are more solid and real' than material possessions. He said of his community's mission that they were to 'serve God with fervor, to fulfill faithfully all the duties of our state, to work every day to detach our heart from creatures in order to give it to Jesus and Mary, to open it to all the movements of grace." The Brothers would find their glory, Marcellin said, in their efforts "to imitate and follow Jesus Christ,' guided and strengthened by the Spirit. In all their being and work among the young, they were "to make Jesus Christ known and loved.

"A man of deep prayer, Marcellin was grounded in a loving community. His devotion to the love of God, Mary, and his Brothers inspired him to a universal mission. The Marist Brothers were known for their family spirit and simple Gospel way of being fully present to each other and all people. Their schools multiplied at a fast pace - almost a dozen a year, and by the turn of the century, the Marist Brothers had accepted invitations from many countries around the world."

The pastor, Fr. Daniel Mentesana, began by going through a power-point presentation on the teaching of St. Marcellin Champagnat in order to answer the question of the day: "What does it mean to educate a child?" A central point in everything the saint taught was the idea that teachers are primarily there to help children save their souls by living virtuous lives.

Once you get students used to practising good Christian habits like prayer and participating in the sacraments of confession and communion, living out their confirmation and baptismal call, you will soon have good and holy children of faith. The evangelical mission is to recognize and address in both teachers and students their "need for salvation, death, judgment, heaven, hell, eternity, sin, the commandments of God and of the Church, the life of Jesus Christ, his mysteries, his virtues, his sufferings, what he did for our salvation, the sacraments he instituted, the abundant redemption he acquired for us, what we must do to apply it to ourselves and to bear worthily our identity as God’s children, in order to merit the eternal glory which has been destined for us and which Jesus went on ahead to prepare for us."

I then spoke about my experience in teaching students who didn't attend regular school programs. These were students not living at home, but they were housed in group homes. They had experienced difficult lives of abuse and neglect. Most of them were severely depressed, had spent time in jail and often had engaged in very risky behaviours. I spent over ten years teaching these students who were in the Care and Treatment section run by the Catholic Children's Aid Society and the Toronto Catholic Board. I used this experience to tell the teachers that I learned one main lesson while working with students at risk: in order to really teach any of the curriculum, students needed to know that the teacher cared for them. This is the important lesson of love the students taught me. They were looking to be loved, accepted and respected. The teaching of St. John Bosco, Saint Francis de Sales, St. John Baptist De La salle, St. Thomas Aquinas and all the other great Christian educators made this truth central to their vocation as teachers: love your students to the point where they know that you and God loves them.

The Day of Reflection concluded with the Holy Mass and a meal. Fr. Gustavo Campo gave the teachers a wonderful homily about bringing the love and the truth of Baby Jesus to the classroom. So like The Magi, teachers too need to bring through their vocation gifts to Jesus of sacrifice and love. In turn, God's love and wisdom will inspire and guide their work as educators. Teachers can take the Gospel message of hope and love in working with children. In doing this, they will sanctify their lives as educators and those of their students in this earthly pilgrimage to emulate the saints.

The last thought goes to St. Marcellin: "To raise children, we must love them and love them equally. I cannot see a child without wanting to tell them how much God loves them. Let there be among you just one heart and one mind. Let it always be said of the Little Brothers of Mary as it was of the early Christians: See how they love one another!" Amen to that!

Bill 13: It's bullying against parental rights and religious freedom

2011-12-06T17:26:00.039-05:00

Today I attended a press conference at Queen's Park that the mainstream media will probably report little or nothing about it. Everyday for Life Canada thinks it's important for Christians and all Ontarians to know what happened. Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government continues to stand behind Bill 13, the recently proposed anti-bullying legislation and the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. However, representatives of the Christian, Catholic and Jewish communities made it very clear at the press conference thas Bill 13 is an attack on traditional family values.

All the speakers strongly agreed that school bullies must be stopped, but they can't condone a requirement under the legislation proposed to deal with it that schools promote sexual acceptance through gay/straight clubs. The new law will make it possible for school authorities to expel students who are considered bullies. This is the severest punishment that schools can give a student and in all likelihood it will end a student's education.

Dr. Charles McVety, of the Institute for Canadian Values said, “To force, especially Christian classrooms or schools, to have homosexual clubs would of course be an affront to their family values. And what does this have to do with bullying? Nothing.” The problem of bullying is being used to advance “his (Premier McGuity) radical sex education agenda.” He added, “When you are forcing teachers, Christian teachers, Jewish teachers, Muslim teachers, to teach things that are contrary to the values that they hold, to teach that there are six genders and that you are not attached to the gender of your anatomy, do you not find that may be an offence to a lot of Ontarians?”

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of Chabad Flamingo Synagogue in Toronto said that the anti-bullying bill is to make schools inclusive and tolerant of gay lifestyles and this is offensive to many families. He said, "Let me be clear, we strongly support the need to protect our children from bullies. What we cannot, in good conscience, support is a law that calls on those of us of faith – be it Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu or others to abandon beliefs considered sacred ---- all in the name of political correctness."

Jack Fonseca from Campaign Life Coalition said that government could face a mass exodus of children from public and separate schools. He stated, “There's radical, radical stuff in there, all of this agenda on gender identity and facilitating the questioning of a child's gender and all this other sex-driven stuff that's clearly coming from activists. It's not coming from parents' consultations. It was drafted with consultations by radical activist groups.”

Dr. Rondo Thomas from the Evangelical Association was concerned because many Evangelical Churches rent school auditoriums from school boards for their religious services. The proposed law would require any group entering an agreement to use school facilities to comply with the new code of conduct. So if a pastor is holding a service on school property and preaches on issues of sexuality based on the scriptures he could be in breach of Bill 13 and this restricts religious freedom. He said, "The anti-bullying legislation that Mr. McGuinty is proposing constitutes a violation of our religious freedom that is guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Further, to that it is a violation of the common-law of separation of church and state."

Education Minister Laurel Broten has responded that the comments made by these religious representatives are “homophobic,” and her role is make sure that every school welcomes all students, regardless of their sexual orientation. In her words, “There's absolutely nothing radical about working hard as a community to make sure that every single student in our schools can be safe and accepted and succeed.”

Mr. McGuinty fully supports the idea that Catholic schools will be required to have a gay-straight alliance. The Premier has said, “I fully expect that Catholic kids are going to use the word 'gay'. I fully expect that Catholic teachers are going to use the word gay, and as a Catholic premier of Ontario I'm going to be talking about gay kids.” The New Democrats have said that for anti-bullying legislation to be effective the ruling government must force Catholic schools to use the name gay-straight alliance for clubs that promote sexual tolerance.

Here we go again with more lies and deception. Here you have a government saying it doesn't matter who the press conference speakers represent and what they believe. We the government know better. We will force parents through legislation to accept our views about the very meaning of human sexuality, the family and religious freedom. In other words, there's no choice. There's a dark irony here: this is bullying and discrimination coming from a government that claims to be inclusive and equitable. They are inclusive and diverse, but only if you agree with them. Bill 13 is a rejection of religious freedom and a violation of parental rights. We need to tell Mr. McGuinty that he immediately withdraw Bill 13. We don't want and don't need this misguided legislation. We do want our parental rights in education. We do want to exercise our religious rights and teach our children our values when it comes to sexuality, the family and the church.

Parental rights continue to be violated in Ontario schools

2011-12-03T14:19:00.008-05:00

The media in Ontario was quick to make Bill 13 a main issue in the news for the last few days. You have heard the message before: we need the law to combat bullying in schools. What the news left out is that the government and most of the mainstream media are now aggressively promoting, protecting and supporting laws to advance the homosexual lifestyle. In Ontario, we already have the Safe Schools Act and Bill 157 to fight bullying of any kind. But that isn't enough for this government. So we are told we need the proposed Bill 13 to do even more of the same: make sure the law protects and eventually graphically teaches about, tolerates, accepts, celebrates and promotes about a dozen sexual orientations in all schools. This week the new legislation passed the first reading at Queen's Park. In other words, we are all equal but those with same sex attraction issues are more equal.

In another blog entry titled, "When governments violate parental rights, we need to fight back", I wrote about the importance of using democratic solutions to defend these rights. One of these democratic ways is to use the courts. New evidence has surfaced recently that ought to urge all Christians and people of goodwill to help this initiative become a reality.

Just recently one teacher from a Toronto Catholic school informed us that the staff has been instructed to formally make a report of any incident of bullying based on sexual orientation. Disciplinary action will be taken based on such a report. There are no exceptions to this rule; the Equity Policy and Bill 157 are to be enforced. The report will then be filed in the student's OSR, an official document called the Ontario School Record which follows the student throughout his educational/work life. Here's what the media didn't report anything about. Parental rights in education continue to be violated. The Liberals carry on enacting laws, such as Bill 157, that permit the violation of parental rights, and schools boards are only too eager to do the bidding of a government that pays their wages.

Parents are not to be consulted. This has created a school atmosphere of fear and mistrust because not all teachers are comfortable with this harsh and legalistic approach. Moreover, the law forces Catholic teachers and parents to support a teaching on sexuality that the Church rejects. What has happened to the parental rights in all this? Why are Christians forced to accept a law that openly discriminates against what their faith teaches? Parents are the primary educators of their children, not the government or the school.

In another school, a gay/straight alliance assembly was held to tell all students that if anybody had a problem accepting the homosexual lifestyle they were simply wrong. A guest speaker went on to address the students about how he was assaulted and made fun of when he was in school because he was gay. He then made an argument that what the Bible teaches on many subjects is relative. The speaker used the analogy that in the Old Testament, for not keeping Sunday holy or for drunkenness, the punishment was death. In addition, the students were told that today nobody believes that therefore any Biblical teaching about homosexuality is so outdated and wrong that the time has come to get rid of such obsolete ideas. The clear aim of such a ridiculous analogy was to ridicule and discredit Christian teaching. The implication is that Christian beliefs are archaic and untrue. There are so many distortions in what students were told, but again it's a clear case of the violation of parental rights and the denial of freedom of conscience and religion. How far must this parental injustice go before we are prepared to fight back?

What can we do? Certainly parents must get informed and involved about what is happening in the schools, at the boards and in our government, in order to protect their rights in education. However, we must also push back and exercise our legal rights. If you agree with this, I ask you to support The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund. I do not like to do this, but I feel it's both important and timely in order to protect our Christian and parental rights.

Who we are?

The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund.

What are our goals?

A) to provide financial assistance, on a discretionary basis, to individuals and other organizations who are parties in legal proceedings in which the rights of parents and/or their children in education, including, but not limited to, the right to the freedom of religion, are at issue. Such financial assistance shall be limited to defraying the legal expenses they incur as participants in a legal case;

B) to raise donations from the public and manage the resulting funds for the purpose described above.

Who can get financial/legal help?

The association's purpose is to help parents, students and teachers whose rights have been violated. This of course will be done based on the Fund's financial possibilities.

What are the main issues?

A) Violation of Parental rights
B) Religious Freedom
C) Sanctity of Life
D) Marriage and Family

What can you do to make a difference?

A) Get the word out
B) Get informed
C) Start a campaign to help us
D) Pray
E) Donate/Join Us
F) Any other suggestions/ideas?

Contact information

www.DefendingParents.com

We need to work together and speak to trustees, board/school administrators, bishops, priests, politicians and the media to express our concerns if we hope to change the legislated moral problems in our schools. In addition, if you agree with taking legal action and you have already made a donation, we thank you; if not, please consider supporting the fund so that Christians can exercise their legal and democratic rights.

The Good Samaritan and a culture of life

2011-11-30T18:01:00.036-05:00

In another blog posting, I wrote about A Modern Day Good Samaritan Living in Toronto. The article was about the charity started by Dr. Andrew Simone and his wife Joan to help the hungry and poor children of the world. The organization is called, Canadian Food for Children. Just days ago, I received the summary of the shipments made and the total weight of the food, clothing, tools and other non-perishable items sent to different parts of the world in 2011.

They have sent shipments to the following countries: El Salvador, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, NIcaragua, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia. In total, the charity has sent out 293 containers that weighed 4,117,888 kilograms or 4,540 tons of food and other items. I'm sure that many children and families in the world are a little better off because of this Canadian charity. I hope during Advent, Christmas and throughout the year you're inspired to support and pray for this apostolate. Your donations and prayers will be helping, like the Good Samaritan, build the common good by promoting a culture of life.

Today's secular world can seduce us into the false notion that we can get closer to God by using certain psychological techniques. The individual can do just about everything. But the Holy Spirit, according to St. Francis, comes to us not by any human made methods; it comes through penance, prayer, alms, purity, and charity. Saint Francis himself writes humbly and insightfully on the subject. We can see this from the following quote which comes from a letter by St. Francis of Assisi, (Opuscula, edit. Quaracchi 1949, 87-94). It's part of the Roman Catholic Office of Readings for his the feast day on October 4.

"Furthermore, let us produce worthy fruits of penance. Let us also love our neighbors as ourselves. Let us have charity and humility. Let us give alms because these cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. Men lose all the material things they leave behind them in this world, but they carry with them the reward of their charity and the alms they give. For these they will receive from the Lord the reward and recompense they deserve. We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh. Rather we must be simple, humble and pure. We should never desire to be over others. Instead, we ought to be servants who are submissive to every human being for God’s sake. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on all who live in this way and persevere in it to the end. He will permanently dwell in them. They will be the Father’s children who do his work. They are the spouses, brothers and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Dr. Simone, his wife Joan and supporters of his charity continue to be witnesses to this "permanent" presence of the Holy Spirit. Will the rest of us be "the spouses, brothers, and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ"?

Baby Jesus belongs everywhere and he comes for all of us

2011-11-26T15:23:00.034-05:00

As we begin the Season of Advent to prepare for Christmas, Everyday for Life Canada wishes to share this inspirational video produced by Grassroots Films. The setting is New York City, but it could be Toronto, Rome or any other city. Bethlehem is eternal; it's everywhere and anywhere. The message is universal. The film can be used to propose to us all the simple question: will we recognize Baby Jesus--the Blessed Sacrament-- when he comes? Watch the video and, if you feel inspired to do so, answer the question for yourself.

Here's the summary of the film, "God in the Streets of New York City literally documents the carrying of Jesus through the streets of New York City. The monstrance which is used to carry the Blessed Sacrament is one of six that were blessed by Blessed Pope John II before his death to mark the celebration of the Year of the Eucharist. The film depicts the contrast between the everyday chaos of the busy streets -- complete with traffic, construction and police cars -- and the peaceful presence of Jesus. There is always an opportunity to meet Jesus face to face. It poses the question: will you recognize him?"

We hope you enjoyed watching this spiritual film. May the Season of Advent be filled with blessings, prayers and God's grace for you and your family.

(Part I) University Catholic education course: another name for deceptive Catholicism

2011-11-22T21:20:00.010-05:00

From August to October 2011, Niagara University in Ontario offered, as they have been doing for a number of years, a course to prepare Catholic teachers to teach in the Primary/Junior Division. On the surface the course looks like any other university course of study: it has an outline, student assignments and resources. However, on a closer examination we find that it has little Catholic content and provides new teachers with few pedagogical tools to enable them to carry out their vocation. The instructors in my opinion are not doing their jobs. Why hasn’t the Toronto Catholic School Board made them responsible and accountable for what they are failing to do? Are our Catholic trustees and the Religion Department aware of what’s being taught to prospective Catholic teachers? Let’s take a closer look at some of the course content.

The program

The course is called, “EDU 690: Foundations in Catholic Education.” Here’s the entire course description:

“The course is designed to enhance the professional knowledge, skills and dispositions of candidates preparing to teach in Catholic schools in Ontario. To that end, this course will begin by introducing teacher candidates to the Catholic educational tradition in Ontario, discussing topics such as: the history of Catholic education in Ontario, the philosophical underpinnings of a Catholic school system and the theological background and pedagogical skills necessary for the implementation of the Religious Education and family Life Curriculum. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills to enhance the integration of Gospel values across the curriculum, and promoting an understanding of teaching as a vocation rooted in the ministry of Jesus. Support systems presently available to Ontario Catholic teachers will be made available.”

This outline says what you would expect it to say in order to cover the “foundations in Catholic education”, but as we discover, the actual content completely deviates from this goal. The outline is deceptive.

Teaching methodology

The instructors tell prospective teachers that the method of teaching for the course “will reflect an adult context on the significance of faith and faith growth for themselves and for their students.” Further, “adult models of learning” will allow for “individual reflection” and teachers are “encouraged to reflect on their own faith journey and understanding of the Church, particularly as it relates to their vocation as a Catholic educator.”

So a new Catholic teacher is presented a model of teaching that is based on just reflecting, feeling, personal views and journeying. What has happened to the content of the course? Has teaching methodology been reduced to opinion alone? It’s the content of the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lives of the saints and the history of Catholic education, at least in Ontario, which should shape Catholic teaching.

Course objectives

Prospective teachers will:

-reflect and affirm their personal faith;

-evaluate where they are in relationship to the Catholic community and as teachers;

-learn teaching skills from “the Canadian Catechism Program"- Born in the Spirit, We Are Strong Together and Fully Alive.

This idea of only affirming and believing in the power of one’s personal faith is at odds with the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.” The instructors are provoking God in word and deed. The philosophy of a subjective, personal faith is essentially asking teachers to accept a New Age practice, which is totally against Church teaching and an abuse of their position as Catholic educators.

Required assignments

Here are two assignments that teachers are required to do: (1) write a spiritual autobiography and (2) a reflection paper about a retreat. In the retreat paper, teachers are to list three insights they learned and explain how they will use them to create community in the classroom. The spiritual autobiography needs to contain information about the teacher’s relationship to God from early childhood to life as a teenager and then as a young adult into adulthood. A couple of pages of this requirement must address how the teacher sees suffering, prayer, sin, doubt, justice and peace. The assignment will not be marked on content. The grade will be assigned based on how well the teacher has followed the outline.

With this personalized evaluation scale every teacher will no doubt receive the highest of grades. If all content is equally valid, then why bother to offer a university level course about Catholic education? There is something duplicitous here. How can any teacher be properly evaluated when the content of the assignment is irrelevant? This teaching approach rejects both faith and reason. But another important question is, who has approved this very subjective university course as a valid preparation for future Catholic teachers? Martin Luther in his Ninety-Five Theses was excommunicated for doing much less than this.

(Please read Part II of this article in the next blog entry. Thank you.)

(Part II) University Catholic education course: another name for deceptive Catholicism

2011-11-22T21:07:00.015-05:00

Some course readings

One of the reading assignments given to the teachers is Fr. Raymond Devettere’s “The False Gods We Sometimes Teach.” Teachers are told that Church, prayer, worship and sacraments are “meaningless caricatures” and thus not to be taught. A number of false notions of God are also described. These include, “the God of prize and punishment”, “God the torturer”, “Big daddy God”, “The God of the stare” and “the God of the tease.” These ideas of God are to be thrown out and replaced by a personal “God” of one’s own making. God can be considered female and one instructor tells teachers that he changes Bible language to suit his purposes.

Another reading traces the stages of faith development by James Fowler. According to Fowler there are seven stages: the “intuitive”, the “mythic-literal”, the “synthetic-conventional”, the “individualistic”, the “reflective”, the “conjunctive” and the “universalizing.” In defining the conjunctive stage, teachers are told that “ now one’s faith expression is no longer that of parents, Church or tradition, but one’s own.” This is the highest form of faith because it’s one’s own. And universalizing faith, which is said to be that of a saint, applies to only two percent of the population. This “faith is more than beliefs or even a way of life, but is one of total commitment to the ongoing, guiding presence of God or whatever the person recognizes as the Ultimate authority.”

Why aren’t the teachers also told that Fowler’s stages have no basis in science or mere common sense? He merely attached his ideas to Piaget’s and other theories of cognitive development. Church teaching about faith has nothing to do with making it up on a personal level. Faith is knowledge and trust in God; it’s a gift from God so we can obtain salvation. We choose faith with our own free will and it helps us to love God and our neighbor. We grow in faith through prayer. The course makes no mention of any of this, and so we can only assume that the instructors don’t believe it themselves. They make no room in the course for the Apostles’ Creed and the belief in a Triune God. If this is the case, why are they pretending to teach a course on the foundations of Catholic education? This is sheer incompetency, willful or otherwise, and a complete disservice to new teachers.

“It’s all about you”

The last part of the course description is a section called, “It’s all about you.” The following headings are used: “language”, “touch”, “body image/awareness”, “puberty and sexual information” and “values.” This entire section, which is not even mentioned in the course summary, is all about exploring teachers’ views about sexuality as well as considering how their own family life shaped them. Topics such as masturbation, menstruation, same-sex attractions and sexual intercourse are included. Why was all this talk about sex not mentioned in the course description?

When dealing with the subject of “touch” teachers are to think about the kind of touching that took places in their homes. Here are two questions from the body/awareness and image section: “How was nudity dealt with in your home as you were growing up?” and “How do you feel about nudity in your own home now?” About puberty they are asked: “Do you remember the experience of your first wet dream or first period?” and on the topic of values there’s this question: “What did your parents think about sex outside of marriage?” and also about “children having sexual feelings” and “birth control.” The section concludes by asking teachers to list five qualities that would make them good sexual educators. What happened to the course’s stated goal about Catholic education?

Conclusion

The content of this entire course is misleading and disturbing. The instructors write a course description for would-be Catholic educators, but then do not follow it. It is similar to reading tempting descriptions on a restaurant menu, ordering and then receiving substandard and even totally different food.

Instead they include material on human sexuality not mentioned in their outline, and go on to promote a view of the human person that contradicts the teaching of the Catholic Church. The instructors should be held accountable by explaining how all this explicit talk about a teacher’s personal view on human sexuality fits in with preparing teachers to be effective Catholic teachers in the Primary and Junior grades. It’s clear that in this part of the course the instructors have another goal: to indoctrinate and prepare Catholic teachers to teach, not the Gospel values, but values according to the misguided and immoral agenda of the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy.

This preparatory course has no intentions whatsoever to help new teachers teach the Catholic faith and prepare them to work in Catholic schools. The instructors have a personal agenda about their views of God, of human sexuality and of Catholic education. Sadly, they want new Catholic teachers to accept these liberal views about sexuality and the Church. In essence, the course subverts Catholic teaching. The instructors are not teaching the Catholic faith but are advancing their own propaganda. The moral problem with the whole course is founded on a lie: it doesn’t honestly cover the topics it describes in its outline. Those who have approved this as a Catholic course for future teachers should have a lot of explaining to do. If you or any teacher that you know has taken this course, at the very least you should ask for a complete refund.

"Virtuous Leadership" not just Occupy Wall Street is what the West really needs

2011-11-18T21:19:00.011-05:00

Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence; Publisher: Scepter Publishers, Inc.; Date: 2007

Allan Bloom makes this comment in The Closing of the America Mind: “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely sure of; almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative. If this belief is put to the test, one can count on the students’ reaction: they will be uncomprehending. . . The relativity of truth is not a theoretical insight but a moral postulate, the condition of a free society, or so [the students] see it. They have all been equipped with this framework early on, and it is the modern replacement for the inalienable natural rights that used to be the traditional American grounds for a free society.”

In Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence, the author Alexandre Havard outlines a plan for those who want to pursue excellence in leadership. In terms of good leadership, Havard takes Bloom’s observation about university students’ view of truth in the post-modern world and turns it on its head: there is a prescriptive truth about great leadership; it’s never relative. Good and true leaders are not free to do what they want when they want. In fact, leadership is a principled discipline shaped by exercising moral and theological virtues. A good leader begins with a plan to live a more virtuous life; this always includes being ready to serve others and help them improve along the way to excellence. True leadership is virtue in action.

Havard says that his ideas have been inspired by Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago and by Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. In the Russian writer, he sees a witness to truth and one who fought valiantly against the evils of Communism. In the Catholic priest and saint, he admires the challenge proposed with the words from St. Matthew, “be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect.” The theme that animates much of the book is that through virtuous leadership human beings can accomplish great things with their lives, but true excellence in that role is achieved only by humbling asking for God’s grace.

The book is divided into five sections. The first two parts deal with the essential virtues needed for virtuous leadership: prudence, courage, self-control, justice, humility and magnanimity. This is followed by sections which look at leadership as self-fulfillment; nobody is innately a leader. Leadership develops from virtuous character training skills which need to be learned and applied to life. The final section addresses how Christian leaders, as well as those who are not Christian, can further infuse their actions with the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Christian leadership must by definition connect to the transcendent if its actions are to be sanctioned and blessed with sanctifying grace. At this level, the virtuous leader wants to lead by the willingness to help others in order to better mankind while trying to do the will of God. Leadership, viewed this way, becomes a vocation to a higher calling.

The essential point is that there is nothing relative or selfish in living out virtuous leadership. Leaders need to make sacrifices in order to change their lives and become virtuous. This takes place when leaders use their free will to make determined choices. Havard stresses this point in Chapter three, titled “Just Say No.” He says the first step in becoming an excellent leader is to have the strength of character to know oneself and understand the world around us. The good leader must learn to say no to egoism, to cynicism, to materialism, to individualism (“doing your own thing”) and no to political correctness. Here’s how the author puts it: “Human freedom is not liberation from external influences, which is impossible in any case. Rather, it is a question of ‘freely’ choosing the influences you ‘freely’ choose to submit to. One who chooses wisely has a chance of becoming a magnificent human being.” (Page. 49)

A leader must strive to build an objective truth. A good leader cannot let whims and preferences get in the way of living and creating an environment where virtuous living is promoted and lived. Letting people be lead by their egos and greed will eventually result in some individuals taking advantage of others. According to Havard, when virtues are lived, they shape character and provide the formation for good leaders. The only power that a true leader has is through a preparedness to serve others and God.

This service relationship will give rise to a sense of trust. It’s an approach which aims to do away with the usual conflict that one finds between leaders and those that are lead. Its goal is to foster greater co-operation because the authentic leader cares for others, has their welfare at heart and wants everyone to become better persons by striving to live virtuously. Good leaders will use the economy and the financial system to build the common good, not exploit it for greed and self-interested. Just think how fruitful this leadership model would be both in our personal lives and as we try to resolve the current global financial crisis.

Since 2008, the media has been telling us that the world has been trying to deal with a financial crisis. The real problem is a spiritual and moral crisis. Politics has come unhinged from ethics and faith. There has been no shortage of opinions from leaders, in both business and government, trying to explain and correct the huge mess. Virtuous Leadership is a much needed and refreshing antidote to the bromides being offered. As it maps out and defines the essence of leadership, this book proves all too well that a Christian approach, in dealing with the tough issues of the day, can offer very practical and valuable solutions. Ironically, Havard’s book is the ultimate self-help book on leadership even though its transcendent message is a call to serve others, if we want to truly help build the common good. Verbally massaging ourselves with self-help leadership books, even those found on the bestseller list, that indulge in self-referential rhetoric will not produce great leaders.

Virtuous Leadership should be mandatory reading at all the international business schools. The book’s contents are healthy food to nurture student souls and minds as they prepare for the world of work. I humbly urge The Schulich and Rotman School of business here in Toronto include this book as part of their curriculum. This is important because students who are now taking courses in the MBA programs will need the required skills and ethics to become excellent future leaders.

Lastly, leadership, for Havard, ought to be seen not as something deserved, but as a gift like divine grace. The award winning Canadian author, Margaret Visser, in her latest book The Gift of Thanks makes a number of observations about grace which aptly help to describe virtuous leadership. In her words: “Grace includes acts of ‘ordinary’ kindness such as forbearance, disinterested encouragement of others, taking someone else’s part and not because it is in one’s own interest to do so, making decisions out of confidence in another’s worth, opening oneself to somebody not ‘one of us’. These and thousands like them are daily acts that call forth gratitude, the reflection of grace received. They go to create the ‘fabric’ of decent social relations, helping to ‘knit’ societies together.” (Page 379) This mindfulness is an example of leadership in action and in service of neighbour. We could rightly call it Christian leadership.

In the end, it’s also realizing that everything, including self-fulfillment and superior leadership, is a gift from God. Those who are part of the Occupy Wall Street protest I'm sure could find the real reason for what they are doing in this book. If you’re a parent, a community leader, a business or government leader or anyone who is remotely thinking or now execising a leadership role, I highly recommend Virtuous Leadership as required reading.

Love and Responsibility: a book ahead of its times

2011-11-12T19:03:00.025-05:00

Title: Love and Responsibility, Author: Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II), Publisher: Ignatius Press, 1981 English Translation: H. T. Willetts

How many countless times have you heard and used the word “love”? It’s so commonly used when talking about human relationships and in just about every other aspect of our lives. We readily attach “love” to people but also to food, to animals, to objects, to activities, to landscapes… in short, to just about anything including the Creator. But what is real and true love when we apply the word to another person, to marriage, to family, to a vocation and to God. In Love and Responsibility, John Paul II, using evidence from the scriptures and science, offers a comprehensive view of the meaning of authentic human love and the human person. I’ll say this at the start of my review: if you truly want a definitive guide to a better understanding of human love, divine love and the essence of being human, read this book.

The author begins his main analysis by making an important distinction between two major principles which define love and the human person: the utilitarian and the “personalistic norm”. The utilitarian principle is essentially the idea that human beings seek pleasure as the highest value and this pursuit essentially governs human relationships. The “utility” notion sees people as a means to an end; persons can be used as objects to maximize pleasure and self-gratification.

Instead, the commandment to love God and our neighbor is the basis for what John Paul II refers to as the personalistic norm: “Man’s capacity to love depends on his willingness consciously to seek a good together with others, and to subordinate himself to that good for the sake of others.” (Page 29) This is in complete contrast to the utilitarian view which turns human beings into things because it doesn’t take into account the commandment of love; it fails to see the whole person. Human beings cannot be reduced to a physical activity or to a human feeling because they resemble their Creator. God alone has the unique copyright for every person; each human being is endowed with “supernatural” or spiritual attributes. Human beings, then, to be properly understood, one must take into account this part of their nature. Moreover, the love of God and of neighbor is in total opposition to the utilitarian principle, which merely seeks to satisfy the self through pleasure; it’s purely egotistical while the personalistic is essentially altruistic.

Since human beings are endowed with an innate higher value beyond the physical, persons cannot be loved fully if they are considered objects to be used and to be consumed. For John Paul II, the authentic guide to human behavior and relations is “love, which is the content of the commandment of the Gospels, can be combined only with the personalistic and not the utilitarian norm.” (Page 41)

In the meaning of personalistic norm rests the author’s central idea: human beings, if they truly love, are to behave ethically and morally in relations with others, including the sexual, because as persons we are made in the image and love of God. This simple but profound statement embraces the whole person and best reflects the modern understanding of the human person in terms of biology, sociology, psychology and anthropology. John Paul II’s definition of authentic human love fully integrates faith and modern science.

True human love is always more than a human sexual urge; it’s neither just a feeling nor a mere physical attraction. It’s a love, a relationship with another person prepared to build the common good; it’s a love that is unselfish and ready to sacrifice for the other; a love that willingly renounces sex in pursuit of chastity; a love which makes virtuous living meaningful and a love that is fully realized in a marriage, a vocation and fidelity to the Word. It’s a love centered on the sacrifice of the Cross.

Love and Responsibility began as a series of lectures, given at the Catholic University of Lublin, in 1958-59. They were the work of a pastor, long before he became pope, who tried to honestly address the pastoral experiences and concerns of his flock. It took another 22 years before the present book was published. Its popularity over the years has made way for many editions and it has been translated from Polish into numerous languages.

This is a work that was and continues to be ahead of its times. Before the sexual revolution (a revolution which wrongly stressed the utilitarian approach to life and sexuality) was about to explode, John Paul II was arguing strongly that truthful answers to human sexuality must be based on a complete view of the human person. We need to consider the human person as a being with physical, spiritual, social, intellectual and emotional needs. This is why we will fail to understand human relations, especially when considering love and sexuality, if we separate them from an affirmation of the value and dignity of the person. Love and Responsibility reveals a profound, authentic truth about love and the human person.

John Paul II has written many articles on family ethics and the philosophy and theology of the body. So the subject matter of Love and Responsibility, the nature of responsible love is, also, the fruit of writing, thinking, loving and living the topic himself. The author convincingly argues that each person becomes a subject and an object of responsible love through his actions and the actions of and others. Each person is free to choose the good. And so every life, if all human choices and actions are grounded on virtuous living, in its truest sense ought to be an unfolding story of love: the love of God, the love of spouse, the love of family and the love of vocation. This is the reason why God created human beings: to love each other the way God loves us. This is the perfect love and the perfect plan for every human being. Can there be a more wonderful and inspirational invitation in terms of living one’s life? John Paul II, like a loving parent, is never afraid to both instruct and to challenge his reader.

The book is divided into five chapters titled: “The Person and the Sexual Urge”, “The Person and Love”, “The Person and Chastity”, “Justice towards the Creator” and “Sexology and Ethics”. There’s a thoughtful introduction which provides a lot of useful background information by the translator, H. T. Willets. Readers and researchers will find the index and the detailed notes valuable.

As well, there’s the author’s introduction which contains this insightful summary: “The present book was born principally of the need to put the norms of Catholic sexual morality on a firm basis, a basis as definitive as possible, relying on the most elementary and incontrovertible moral truths and the most fundamental values or goods. Such a good is the person, and the moral truth most closely bound up with the world of persons is ‘the commandment to love’- for love is a good peculiar to the world of persons. And therefore the most fundamental way of looking at sexual morality is in the context of “love and responsibility”.

Are you interested in knowing more about what authentic Christian love is? Read the book. Do you want to strengthen your marriage, your family life and your view of love? Read the book. Do you know of a couple getting married and you want to give them the perfect gift of love? Buy them the book. Do you know some young people in your family or circle of friends dating, exploring what it means to be in love and may soon be considering marriage? Buy them the book. I wish this book were part of every marriage course in every parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto. It would help couples discover how to truly love each other in order to find happiness and fulfillment. John Paul II with this book argues not only why religion belongs in the public square, but why the public square needs faith to get the important life questions right.

By now you know that I highly recommend this book. And if you are an admirer of John Paul II, you will love him even more after reading this book. Love and Responsibility is proof that he is truly one of the great and original independent minds in human history. He’s God’s gift to us, and one more reason to love God.

Student mental health often forgotten with so much attention to bullying

2011-11-05T08:13:00.046-04:00

With all the current attention being paid to bullying in schools you would think it was the number one safety and heath problem. It's not. It's mental health problems that put at risk the well being of many students and their academic work. More resources should be allocated to address this serious health issue. In my last eleven years as a teacher in an alternative class for students in the care and treatment program with the TCDSB, I enrolled in my class hundreds of students. I can attest to the fact that every student in the program was in one way or another suffering from depression. Of course, you would expect this from a student population in crisis, but mental health is also a widespread health problem in the regular schools as well. Let's look at some of the information available on the subject. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reports the following statistics:

Prevalence and incidence

* 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. The remaining 4 will have a friend, family member or colleague who will.
* Mental illness affects thinking, mood or behaviour and can be associated with distress and/or impairment of functioning, with symptoms that vary from mild to severe.
* About 20% of people with a mental disorder have a co-occurring substance use problem.
* Schizophrenia affects 1%, major depression impacts 8% and anxiety disorder 12% of people.

Who is affected

* 70% of mental health problems and illnesses have their onset during childhood or adolescence.
* Young people age 15-24 are more likely to report mental illness and/or substance use disorders than other age groups.
* Women were 1.5 times more likely to meet the criteria for a mood or anxiety disorder than men.
* Canadians in the lowest income group were 3-4 times more likely than those in the highest income group to report fair to poor mental health.

Access

* Only one-third of those who need mental health services in Canada actually receive them.
* 71% of family physicians ranked access to psychiatrists in Ontario as fair to poor.
* While mental illnesses constitute more than 15% of the burden of disease in Canada, these illnesses receive only 5.5% of health care dollars.

Stigma

* Just 50% of Canadians would tell friends or coworkers that they have a family member with a mental illness, compared to 72% who would discuss diagnoses of cancer or 68% diabetes in the family.
* Only 12% of Canadians said they would hire a lawyer who has a mental illness, and only 49% said they would socialize with a friend who had a serious mental illness.
* 46% of Canadians think people use the term mental illness as an excuse for bad behaviour; and 27% are fearful of being around people who suffer from serious mental illness.

Cost to society of mental illness and addictions

* In Canada mental illness is the second leading cause of human disability and premature death
* Every day, 500,000 Canadians are absent from work due to psychiatric problems.
* Mental Health is the number one cause of disability in Canada, accounting for nearly 30% of disability claims and 70% of the total costs.
* $51 billion is the estimated cost of mental illness to the Canadian economy in terms of health care and lost productivity.xxi
* $34 billion is the cost of mental illness and addictions to the Ontario economy.

So one in five people will suffer from mental illness, and 70% of the problems begin with young children and adolescents. There's an enormous cost for this both financially and emotionally. Nevertheless, in the face of these facts, our Ontario provincial government will spend billions on all-day kindergarten and has spent millions more in implementing the misguided Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. The claim is that this all necessary to combat bullying against students with different sexual orientations or with same-sex attractions. This is nothing but deceptive talk promoting a political agenda.

Certainly all that money going into questionable early childhood education and the resources would be better spent on helping students in our schools deal with their mental health. According to the World Health Organization, depression will be the single biggest medical burden on health by 2020. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "Life and physical health are precious gifts entrusted to us by God. We must take reasonable care of them, taking into account the needs of others and the common good." (2288)

An open letter to the newly elected president of the CCCB

2011-11-03T17:09:00.037-04:00

Our prayers and best wishes are with Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, the newly elected president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. As baptized Christians, as parents and united in the spirit of Christ, we write this open letter. (In the photo, from left to right, are Mgr. Patrick Powers, P.H., Secretary general, Mgr. Pierre Morissette, Archbishop of Toulouse Mgr. Robert Le Gall and Archbishop Richard Smith)

To: Archbishop Richard Smith, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Dear Archbishop Richard Smith:

To begin with we congratulate you as the newly elected President of the Bishops of Canada. It’s reassuring to know that at the last Plenary Assembly, held in Cornwall 17-21 October, 2011 the Bishops of Canada "reviewed activities from the past year, shared their pastoral experiences and discussed the life of the Church as well as the major events that shape society." We’re certain that of central importance to Catholics is the workings of committee to promote a culture of life and family in Canada. This is an important initiative, but respectfully the bishops could do more, and here’s why.

We’re writing as concerned Catholic parents and Canadian citizens who continue to see the moral decay that our society is experiencing with the serious issues of abortion, contraception and the negative changes to marriage and family life. It was forty-three years ago that the encyclical Humanae Vitae was published. The evil results of not following its teachings have transformed our views, but sadly and more importantly our actions. Here in Canada, and elsewhere in the world, we have come to accept more and more a culture of death, a culture that continues to devalue life at all stages. We see it in the number of abortions done every year. We see it in the current efforts to legalize euthanasia. We see it in the law which has redefined traditional marriage and in the widespread acceptance and the use of contraceptives.

It’s now forty-three years since the Canadian bishops made some controversial statements in reference to Humanae Vitae. One was with respect to contraception that there were three situations in which “whoever chooses that course which seems right to him does so in good conscience.” (Paragraph 26) This statement, now generally known as "The Winnipeg Statement" certainly does not honestly reflect the wisdom of the encyclical, and it has been misleading in terms of theology. If we let individuals or governments choose what’s right and wrong, we then permit actions which may be carried out in “good conscience” but may in fact be immoral. We “render unto Caesar the things...that are God’s.” (Matthew: 22:21) A good example of this is today’s widespread use of contraceptives among Catholic families. In turn, this facilitates the notion for husband and wife to regard each other as objects of sexual pleasure. As well, it has reduced our reproductive rate in Canada to well below the replacement level. This is the real moral and economic crisis of our times. The West is in denial as it experiences a demographic winter.

While it’s no doubt commendable for the bishops to have a committee examine how we can promote life and family, would it not be more effective to say to Canadian Catholics to simply and to completely follow the teachings of Humanae Vitae? Language is very important in shaping thought. Words affect our thinking and this in turn shapes our actions. When we subvert the true meaning of words like “conscience” we distort the very language that guides our thinking and living. The misuse of words can easily lead to dishonest talk and unjust laws. It was in September 22-26, 2008, that the Canadian Bishops met and issued a pastoral letter titled, “Liberating Potential.” It calls on all Catholics to once again examine the value of the encyclical Humanae Vitae and to start rebuilding a culture of life in Canada.

This was a good start to erase the error of "The Winnipeg Statement." However, the Canadian Bishops should have gone further then and now. As you know, we’re celebrating in 2012-2013 the "Year of Faith". We pray for all our bishops and urge them to correct the past mistake and now proclaim the Truth. It would be a wonderful way to mark the "Year of Faith." A huge moral wound which has detrimentally hurt many programs, institutions and Catholic publications would to be healed. As Shepherds, the "Year of Faith" is an opportune time to give the flock the perfect example of admitting to having made an error and now wanting to correct it. Canadian Catholics deserve more than a committee in an effort to build a culture of life in Canada. In Jesus we find mercy with no end, but we need to acknowledge our failures.

We sincerely hope and pray that you our Catholics leaders, our Bishops have the courage and humility to do this. It could serve as a culminating moment in Canadian Catholic history when the Shepherds paved the way for the rebirth of the Church and a culture of life and family in Canada. No ad hoc committee alone can accomplish this.

Thank you for time and attention to this very important matter. Best wishes to you in your new position. Our prayers are with you all.

Yours respectfully,
Lou and Michelle Iacobelli

"180" movie: the evil of abortion can never be rationalized

2011-10-31T20:57:00.006-04:00

Are you willing to give thirty-three minutes of your life to see a film that confronts the deception, held by many Christians and non-Christians alike, that abortion can be easily rationalized away or rhetorically masked? Words around this issue, such as "reproductive rights" and "the freedom to choose", have served to anaesthetize our thinking. This 33-minute documentary film titled "180" forces the viewer to really think about abortion as evil. The writer and film producer Ray Comfort, a pastor, uses very simple and truthful questions to challenge the responses he gets from those he interviews.

The title was chosen to reflect that individuals completely changed their thinking about abortion. The film shows eight college students who are “pro-choice", but end up changing their views when the important question is placed in a larger social and moral context. Originally Comfort never intended to make "180". He was doing interviews for a DVD to be part of a book on Hitler and the holocaust. However, while doing the interviews he ended up asking those who accept abortion to defend their positions.

In an article published in the The Christian Post, Comfort said this about the film:

“It began with two male university students completely changing their minds about abortion when we asked them this one question. We realized it wouldn’t be convincing to have only males speaking on the subject, so we took to the streets, asking that one particular question, and found that six women changed their minds from pro-abortion to pro-life in a matter of seconds. It was amazing.

“I have held up pro-life signs. I have printed pro-life literature and spoken against abortion in pulpits and in my books, but I have felt that all my efforts were almost futile — that is, up until now. In '180' we have a nation changer.

“Most of us know that we should be doing something to stop this horror, but the thought of protesting is a little unnerving, especially with the demonization of those who do so. But here is something each of us can easily do — we can give this DVD out. We can pass them out on the streets, leave copies on park benches or on seats in malls or give it to the checkout lady at the supermarket. This isn’t hard to do, and it will save lives — perhaps millions of lives.”

The documentary has now been seen by over one million viewers. You will see how Comfort is able to make people see that killing is always killing. You cannot, when you're honest, change the Fifth Commandment with deceptive thinking or rhetorical gymnastics. I hope you do watch this insightful film that exposes the shallowness of trying to rationalize the current war against the unborn. It confronts the issue for what it truly is: evil.

Here's the rest of what Comfort said in his interview, “It’s the Church that will turn the tide against abortion. ... Kay Arthur, Randy Alcorn and I worked on a '180' Course to help equip Christians to learn the principles used in the film. It’s a two-part, training course for all churches, groups, and individuals, so they can not only save temporal lives, but reach the lost. It will turn a church '180' degrees toward the least and the lost.

“I am more than delighted that so many see that they can make a difference when it comes to the horror of abortion. No doubt many good Germans gave their lives simply by asking what was going on behind the walls of concentration camps or by protesting when it came to cruelty to Jews.

“We need not pay such a great price, because ‘180’ can speak up for us. All we need do for that to happen is for us to put our fingers to a keyboard see minds and lives changed, or to put it another way, we can use a mouse to move a mountain.

“We want every Christian who has access to a computer to realize that they literally have the world at their fingertips, and by promoting 180Movie.com they can not only see hearts changed about the horror of abortion, but people can hear the words of everlasting life through the Gospel."

Any constructive strategy, film or otherwise, that can help us see the evil of abortion is something we should all welcome and encourage. It's films such as "180" that can pave the way for Canada and the world to come to its senses and return to a culture of life and love. This is a goal we must put in our prayers. If you do watch the entire documentary and find it useful, then please do tell your friends and family about it.

Pope Benedict XVI tells Assisi pilgrims and the world how to achieve peace

2011-10-28T14:22:00.022-04:00

In Assisi, Italy, on October 27, 2011 Pope Benedict XVI addressed those present during the "Day of Reflection, Dialogue and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World." His speech is titled, "We May Distinguish Two Types of the New Forms of Violence." The Holy Father makes a number of insightful observations about the root of violence and how it can be overcome. Here's part of what he had to say:

"Let us try to identify the new faces of violence and discord more closely. It seems to me that, in broad strokes, we may distinguish two types of the new forms of violence, which are the very antithesis of each other in terms of their motivation and manifest a number of differences in detail. Firstly there is terrorism, for which in place of a great war there are targeted attacks intended to strike the opponent destructively at key points, with no regard for the lives of innocent human beings, who are cruelly killed or wounded in the process. In the eyes of the perpetrators, the overriding goal of damage to the enemy justifies any form of cruelty. Everything that had been commonly recognized and sanctioned in international law as the limit of violence is overruled. We know that terrorism is often religiously motivated and that the specifically religious character of the attacks is proposed as a justification for the reckless cruelty that considers itself entitled to discard the rules of morality for the sake of the intended "good". In this case, religion does not serve peace, but is used as justification for violence.

"The post-Enlightenment critique of religion has repeatedly maintained that religion is a cause of violence and in this way it has fuelled hostility towards religions. The fact that, in the case we are considering here, religion really does motivate violence should be profoundly disturbing to us as religious persons. In a way that is more subtle but no less cruel, we also see religion as the cause of violence when force is used by the defenders of one religion against others. The religious delegates who were assembled in Assisi in 1986 wanted to say, and we now repeat it emphatically and firmly: this is not the true nature of religion. It is the antithesis of religion and contributes to its destruction. In response, an objection is raised: how do you know what the true nature of religion is? Does your assertion not derive from the fact that your religion has become a spent force? Others in their turn will object: is there such a thing as a common nature of religion that finds expression in all religions and is therefore applicable to them all? We must ask ourselves these questions, if we wish to argue realistically and credibly against religiously motivated violence.

"Herein lies a fundamental task for interreligious dialogue -- an exercise which is to receive renewed emphasis through this meeting. As a Christian I want to say at this point: yes, it is true, in the course of history, force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith. We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently contradicts its true nature. The God in whom we Christians believe is the Creator and Father of all, and from him all people are brothers and sisters and form one single family. For us the Cross of Christ is the sign of the God who put "suffering-with" (compassion) and "loving-with" in place of force. His name is "God of love and peace" (2 Cor 13:11). It is the task of all who bear responsibility for the Christian faith to purify the religion of Christians again and again from its very heart, so that it truly serves as an instrument of God's peace in the world, despite the fallibility of humans.

"If one basic type of violence today is religiously motivated and thus confronts religions with the question as to their true nature and obliges all of us to undergo purification, a second complex type of violence is motivated in precisely the opposite way: as a result of God's absence, his denial and the loss of humanity which goes hand in hand with it. The enemies of religion -- as we said earlier -- see in religion one of the principal sources of violence in the history of humanity and thus they demand that it disappear. But the denial of God has led to much cruelty and to a degree of violence that knows no bounds, which only becomes possible when man no longer recognizes any criterion or any judge above himself, now having only himself to take as a criterion. The horrors of the concentration camps reveal with utter clarity the consequences of God's absence.

"Yet I do not intend to speak further here about state-imposed atheism, but rather about the decline of man, which is accompanied by a change in the spiritual climate that occurs imperceptibly and hence is all the more dangerous. The worship of mammon, possessions and power is proving to be a counter-religion, in which it is no longer man who counts but only personal advantage. The desire for happiness degenerates, for example, into an unbridled, inhuman craving, such as appears in the different forms of drug dependency. There are the powerful who trade in drugs and then the many who are seduced and destroyed by them, physically and spiritually. Force comes to be taken for granted and in parts of the world it threatens to destroy our young people. Because force is taken for granted, peace is destroyed and man destroys himself in this peace vacuum.

"The absence of God leads to the decline of man and of humanity. But where is God? Do we know him, and can we show him anew to humanity, in order to build true peace? Let us first briefly summarize our considerations thus far. I said that there is a way of understanding and using religion so that it becomes a source of violence, while the rightly lived relationship of man to God is a force for peace. In this context I referred to the need for dialogue and I spoke of the constant need for purification of lived religion. On the other hand I said that the denial of God corrupts man, robs him of his criteria and leads him to violence."

Pope Benedict reminded all those in the audience and the rest of the world that true religion can never be the cause of violence. It's human beings who distort and misuse religion to do evil. This has lead to both old and modern evils: terrorism, wars, genocide, concentration camps, holy conflicts and even violence in the womb. The absence of God has falsely, even if "legal", permitted the killing of millions of unborn children. Only by putting God at the heart of the human condition and by praying can we ever hope to achieve true peace.

Why is our tax money funding abortions?

2011-10-25T07:04:00.016-04:00

On Saturday, October 19, 2011 close to 2,300 Ontario taxpayers gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto to demand that the Ontario Legislature delist elective abortion as a service covered by taxpayer dollars.

In the flyer publicizing the Defund Abortion Rally, we find this sobering observation: "Campaign Life Coalition Youth holds the position that government-funded abortions are a blatant abuse of tax dollars, are severely unjust, and that these funds can and MUST be directed away from the killing of our preborn children. This is an issue that should be held close to the hearts of young people in particular. We did not have a choice to stand-up against the Morgentaler decision, but we have a choice now. Let’s use it. We are the survivors and it’s our job to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Join us."

The Canada Health Act (CHA) states that provinces must pay for medically needed services. Abortion, however, is elective surgery and thus not medically required. If the issue were not so politicized, as it is in the rest of Canada, Ontario MPPs should on moral grounds alone stop the pubic funding of abortion. So it's up to citizens to remind the politicians of the truth. Currently there is a lack of moral courage to do what is right. We know that for most abortions neither the life of the baby nor the mother is in any health danger. The baby is killed because it's unwanted or it merely becomes the casualty of a contraceptive mentality. Our medical system should not be funding this evil activity. These innocent deaths serve only to immorally infect the common good.

The CLC Youth initiative headed by Alissa Golb has released the following video to help get the information out to tax payers.

In Ontario alone, we spend as tax payers between $30 to $50 million dollars on killing healthy babies. This doesn't cover all the other costs associated with abortions such as suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, uterine hemorrhage, infertility and breast cancer. Think of all the others ways that our health care could spend the millions of dollars if they weren't being used to slaughter innocent lives.

What can we do?

We can pray, but we can also let our politicians know that we don't want our tax money to fund abortions. We can complete the following petition, and if you are inspired to do so, get others to sign it. You can easily make a copy of the petition and spread the word to your family, friends, pastor and parish community.

To: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario/your own MPP

Whereas in Ontario, abortion is a service covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), paying for more than 32,000 abortions at hospitals and private abortion facilities, at a cost to taxpayers of at least 30 million dollars per year:

And whereas pregnancy is not a disease, injury or illness; an abortion is not a medical necessity and therefore should not be covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.

I/We the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

To cease providing taxpayers' dollars for the performance of abortions by passing legislation to remove abortion as a service by OHIP.

Sign the petition and include your signature, printed name and address; if you got others to sign it, make sure they provide the same information. Send the completed form to your MPP or you can mail it to: Campaign Life Coalition: 300-104 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1X9. CLC will then pass it on to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Working and praying together as Christians we can build in Canada a culture of love and life.

Year of Faith: let's build the common good

2011-10-22T10:42:00.019-04:00

On October 9, 2011, during the celebration of Holy Mass and praying Angelus, just before he was taken by helicopter to visit Serra San Bruno, in Calabria, Pope Benedict told the faithful, "I know that there are various Marian shrines here in Calabria and that popular piety is very vibrant," and he invited those present to continue to practice that piety "in the light of the teaching of Vatican Council II, of the Apostolic See and of your pastors."

The Pope went on to say, "Let us also invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin for the most serious social problems of this area and of all Calabria, especially those affecting the world of work, of the young and of people with disabilities. They require greater attention from everyone, particularly the institutions. In communion with your bishops I invite you, the lay faithful, not to fail to use your skills and responsibilities to contribute to the construction of the common good."

A few days later on October 17, Pope Benedict XVI released his apostolic letter "Porta Fidei," announcing to the world the Year of Faith, which began on Oct. 11, 2012, and will conclude Nov. 24, 2013. The Pope says in the letter, "Having reached the end of his life, Saint Paul asks his disciple Timothy to 'aim at faith' (2 Tim 2:22) with the same constancy as when he was a boy. We hear this invitation directed to each of us, that none of us grow lazy in the faith.

"It is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history, faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world. What the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life without end.

"'That the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph' (2 Th 3:1): may this Year of Faith make our relationship with Christ the Lord increasingly firm, since only in him is there the certitude for looking to the future and the guarantee of an authentic and lasting love. The words of Saint Peter shed one final ray of light on faith: 'In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls' (1 Pet 1:6-9).

"The life of Christians knows the experience of joy as well as the experience of suffering. How many of the saints have lived in solitude! How many believers, even in our own day, are tested by God’s silence when they would rather hear his consoling voice! The trials of life, while helping us to understand the mystery of the Cross and to participate in the sufferings of Christ, are a prelude to the joy and hope to which faith leads: 'when I am weak, then I am strong' (2 Cor 12:10).

"We believe with firm certitude that the Lord Jesus has conquered evil and death. With this sure confidence we entrust ourselves to him: he, present in our midst, overcomes the power of the evil one (cf. Lk 11:20); and the Church, the visible community of his mercy, abides in him as a sign of definitive reconciliation with the Father."

Following the Holy Father's sound spiritual advise, I think a good question, after praying about it, to humbly ask ourselves and for our families as we prepare for the Year of Faith is this: how can we better become "a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world"? Our answer will surely help us build both our prayer life and work for a culture of life which is the first common good.

New Canadian Office of Religious Freedom: signs of hope or political appeasement?

2011-10-21T10:57:00.010-04:00

Did you that “Freedom of conscience and religion” is the first of the fundamental freedoms spelled out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? It can be argued religious freedom, at least in the Charter document, takes precedence over freedom of opinion, assembly and association. Now the Harper government has set up an Office whose very mandate will probably be the promotion of religious freedom on an international level.

The Conservative government is working on what the Office of Religious Freedom will actually do. The office will be part of the Department of Foreign Affairs. This was one of the election promises that Harper made. The office has been given $5 million budget. If your patient enough to read on, I will give some of my ideas regarding its mandate if its to effectively spend its budget.

The United States has an Office of International Religious Freedom and the U.S. Commission on International Freedom. Americans take their religious freedom seriously. They have an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom whose job is to report to Congress and defend religious freedom both at home and abroad. The Office was opened in 1998 by the Clinton administration. It has tried to bring to the world's attention to some cases of religious persecution of minorities in different parts of the world. It's not known if Harper wants the Canadian Office to copy what the American on does.

If the Canadian Office emulates the American one, here's what they will more than likely do: hand out some money to defend human rights, democracy and point our where in the world people are discriminated and oppressed because of religion. Let's hope the Harper government doesn't use the Office merely to appease, for political gain, certain groups in Canada because of their allegiance to those suffering religious persecution elsewhere in the world.

In what country can this new Office do the most good? I think it should focus on Canada first. The new Office of Religious freedom should make good use of he $5 million yearly budget and begin to advance religious freedom right here in Canada. In Quebec, for example, they could speak up in favour of parents who want their children exempted from the mandatory ethics course. They could argue that parents have a right to have their children taught Judeo-Chrisrtian truths and morality.

In Ontario, this New Office could tell the Liberal government to stop the implementation of the Equity policy in the schools. Parents have the right to Catholic schools and a right to remove children from instruction which is against their beliefs. The Office could also defend all those across Canada who are discriminated against because they cannot in good conscience support abortion, same-sex marriages and a lifestyle that runs contrary to their faith.

On the issue of religious freedom, both the new Office and Canadians can use the wisdom in these words: "Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the standard you use will be the standard used for you. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never the great splinter in your own eye and never notice the great log in your own? And how dare you say to your brother, 'Let me take the splinter out of your eye,' when look there's a great log in your own. Hypocrite! Take the log out of your eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter's our of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7: 1-5)

Every Day for Life Canada believes the Office of Religious Freedom must first protect and promote religious liberty here in Canada before it can have any moral authority to speak on behalf of Christians in Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia or anywhere else in the world where there's faith based persecution. Charity must always begin at home.

The best speech to guide the world for the 21st century

2011-10-20T07:20:00.014-04:00

On September 22, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI addressed Germany's lower house of Parliament, the Bundestag. The speech was called, "The Listening Heart: Reflections on the Foundations of Law." Some members of parliament decided to boycott the talk. We can only assume that there were a number of reasons for doing so. But certainly one of them we suspect is the notion that the Pope today has little to say to a modern member of a secular government. In short, religious arguments no longer have a place in the contemporary political world.

The German parliamentarians, and all those in the rest of the world, who embrace this kind of myopic thinking and refused to listen to the Pope missed, in my humble opinion the best speech of the 21st century. Yes, I'm well aware we are only in 2011. However, let me explain my reasoning.

Pope Benedict makes it clear at the outset that religion plays an important part in the lives of people. A good and just government will not merely recognize this, but will protect this truth. He begins by stating the importance of law in a free and democratic state. He refers to the First Book of the Kings that recounts how God invited the young King Solomon to make a request. Solomon does not ask for success, wealth, a long life or even the destruction of his enemies. Instead, what he wants from God is a "listening heart so that he may govern God’s people, and discern between good and evil."

A politician should be driven by a willingness to serve and a striving for justice. The Pope reminded his audience of the horrors of the Nazi regime when power, murder, torture and corruption ruled the day. Solomon's wish should ultimately matter to modern politicians. The central political questions today are the same: How do we recognize what is right? How can we discern between good and evil, between what is truly right and what may just appear to be right?

The Pope proceeds to argue that just laws must be anchored on both reason and nature. He quotes from Saint Paul in the Letter to the Romans: "When Gentiles who have not the Law [the Torah of Israel] do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves ... they show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness ..." (Rom 2:14f.). Good laws must come from nature and conscience: "Conscience is nothing other than Solomon’s listening heart, reason that is open to the language of being." This approach was the pillar on which laws rested for centuries, but after the Second World War there has been a profound shift in human thought.

Natural law in our modern times has come to be associated with Catholic doctrine. As a a result, we have come to believe it has no place in the public square. The Pope explains how this happened. He states that there's an irreconcilable difference between what "is" and "ought". As a logical consequence, we should never "will" into being what "is". A good example of this is the contemporary ideology that human beings have many sexual orientations. This is what we will into being, but it doesn't make the numerous orientations exist in the real word.

Modern science sees nature and here the Pope quotes the legal and philosophical scholar Hans Kelsen, as "an aggregate of objective data linked together in terms of cause and effect." Nature becomes merely utilitarian and only what is measurable is important. Natural law or the law of the heart, when viewed from a scientific perspective must be rejected because it's not quantifiable. As a result, anything to do with ethics, religion will be overlooked by a positivistic approach.

Law, from a scientific view, no longer needs to be informed by nature, by what is naturally written in the human heart, but is solely based on what is functional or what people want. Without faith, what's important is what science can quantify and research. So ethics and religion today are viewed as subjective and thus have become divorced from reason and science. Pope Benedict XVI briefly outlines the path of modern thinking on the relationship between religion and science, ethics and law. Ethics and law are falling off the margins of the modern world. The Pope invites and urges those present to rediscover the importance of law and ethics in human life. In fact, he invites the modern world to debate this central issue.

The knowledge from science with its selective objective view is incomplete because "the positivist reason which recognizes nothing beyond mere functionality resembles a concrete bunker with no windows, in which we ourselves provide lighting and atmospheric conditions, being no longer willing to obtain either from God’s wide world. And yet we cannot hide from ourselves the fact that even in this artificial world, we are still covertly drawing upon God’s raw materials, which we refashion into our own products. The windows must be flung open again, we must see the wide world, the sky and the earth once more and learn to make proper use of all this."

In the final section of the speech, the Pope offers ways to bridge the gap between reason and faith, nature and law, and religion and science. Here he draws his audience to think of the environmental concerns that began in Germany in the 1970s. This was the recognition that human beings could no longer treat nature as a mere resource to be exploited. Nature has laws of its own that must be obeyed for our own sake. The earth is more than raw materials to be extracted, bought and sold for profits. Human activities will dramatically affect the air, water and soil. If our mistreatment of nature begins to threaten our very existence and quality of life, it's only natural to start asking questions about our societal assumptions and the very culture on which they rest.

We must listen to the "language of nature" the Pope tells us. If we do not respect the laws of nature, we do so at our own peril. At this point Pope Benedict XVI adds, "there is also an ecology of man. Man too has a nature that he must respect and that he cannot manipulate at will. Man is not merely self-creating freedom. Man does not create himself. He is intellect and will, but he is also nature, and his will is rightly ordered if he respects his nature, listens to it and accepts himself for who he is, as one who did not create himself. In this way, and in no other, is true human freedom fulfilled."

The Pope once more looks at why nature and reason cannot be detached from one another. He returns to the thinker Kelsen to tells us that at the age of 84 he rejected the dualism of "is" and "ought". The holy father finds this reassuring that this kind of sober thinking is still possible at such an age. He's of course is referring to the fact that he too is of that age and let's everyone know that he has a sense of humour.

Kelsen had believed all his life that "norms from the will. Nature therefore could only contain norms, he adds, if a will had put them there. But this, he says, would presuppose a Creator God, whose will had entered into nature. Any attempt to discuss the truth of this belief is utterly futile." The Pope responds with these questions: "Is it really? – I find myself asking. Is it really pointless to wonder whether the objective reason that manifests itself in nature does not presuppose a creative reason, a Creator Spiritus?"

Pope benedict XVI next offers us a sober reminder: "At this point Europe’s cultural heritage ought to come to our assistance. The conviction that there is a Creator God is what gave rise to the idea of human rights, the idea of the equality of all people before the law, the recognition of the inviolability of human dignity in every single person and the awareness of people’s responsibility for their actions. Our cultural memory is shaped by these rational insights. To ignore it or dismiss it as a thing of the past would be to dismember our culture totally and to rob it of its completeness.

"The culture of Europe arose from the encounter between Jerusalem, Athens and Rome – from the encounter between Israel’s monotheism, the philosophical reason of the Greeks and Roman law. This three-way encounter has shaped the inner identity of Europe. In the awareness of man’s responsibility before God and in the acknowledgment of the inviolable dignity of every single human person, it has established criteria of law: it is these criteria that we are called to defend at this moment in our history."

He then returns to the beginning of his address with, "As he assumed the mantle of office, the young King Solomon was invited to make a request. How would it be if we, the law-makers of today, were invited to make a request? What would we ask for? I think that, even today, there is ultimately nothing else we could wish for but a listening heart – the capacity to discern between good and evil, and thus to establish true law, to serve justice and peace. I thank you for your attention!"

All this wisdom from a small, old man dressed in his white cassock. The Pope, however, had been to Bethlehem and humbly came to address the Bundestag as the Fourth Wise man. With a discerning heart, he gave in my opinion, the parliamentarians present and the rest world the best speech of the century. The world needs to heed his profound message of putting Christ at the centre of faith and reason.

Canadian heroes of faith: Saints Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf and companions

2011-10-19T00:03:00.008-04:00

The Canadian Martyrs were eight Jesuit missionaries from France who came as missionaries to Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. They were martyred in the mid-17th century in what we now as southern Ontario and upstate New York. Here are the names of the companions: St. Noël Chabanel, St. Antoine Daniel, St. Charles Garnier, St. René Goupil, St. Jean de Lalande and St. Gabriel Lalemant. It was between 1642 and 1649, that these eight Jesuit priests were killed by members of the Huron and Iroquois tribes. Even in the face of great suffering and hardships, these dedicated men of God worked hard to bring the true faith to the natives of parts of Canada and the United States.

The martyrs were canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930. Both The Martyrs' Shrine church in Midland, Ontario, the site of their missionary work among the Huron, and The National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, along the Mohawk River, are dedicated to them. Without these Jesuit martyrs these two religious historical sites and churches would not exist today. Together they are the patron saints of Canada. The Canadian national church in Rome is in part dedicated to them.

On this memorial day that celebrates their valiant efforts to spread the faith, we share with our readers a reflection about the sacrificial reality of missionary work at the time. We have not removed the words infidel and savage from the reading because the writers were using those words to merely refer to people who had not converted to Christianity. The following quote is from, The Jesuit Relations and Allied Accounts, Volume X.

"We have learned that the salvation of so many innocent souls, washed and made white in the Blood of the Son of God, is stirring very deeply the hearts of many, and is exciting new desires in them to leave old France that they may come to the New. God be forever blessed that he, as this shows us, has at last opened to these Tribes the bowels of his infinite pity. I wish not to chill the ardor of this generous resolution. Alas! it is those hearts after God's own heart whom we are expecting; but I only wish to give one word of advice.

"It is true that fortis ut mors dilectio, (that love is as strong as death) the love of God has power to do what death does,—that is to say, to detach us entirely from creatures and from ourselves; nevertheless, these desires that we feel of working for the safety of Infidels are not always sure signs of that pure love. There may be sometimes a little self-love and regard for ourselves, if we look only at the blessing and satisfaction of putting souls in Heaven without considering fully the pains, the labors and the difficulties which are inseparable from these Evangelical functions.

"On this account, in order that no one may be deceived in regard to this, ostendam illi quanta hîc oporteat pro nomine jesu pati (here I will show him how much he must suffer for the name of Jesus). True, the two who came last, Fathers Mercier and Pijart, had no such trouble in their journey as those of us who came here the year before. They did not paddle, their men were not sick, as ours were; they had not to bear the heavy loads. Yet notwithstanding this, easy as may be a trip with the Savages, there is always enough to greatly cast down a heart not well under subjection. The readiness of the Savages does not shorten the road, does not smooth down the rocks, does not remove the dangers. Be with whom you like, you must expect to be, at least, three or four weeks on the way, to have as companions persons you have never seen before; to be cramped in a bark Canoe in an uncomfortable position, not being free to turn yourself to one side or the other; in danger fifty times a day of being upset or of being dashed upon the rocks.

"During the day, the Sun burns you; during the night, you run the risk of being a prey to Mosquitoes. You sometimes ascend five or six rapids in a day; and, in the evening, the only refreshment is a little corn crushed between two stones and cooked in fine clear water; the only bed is the earth, sometimes only the rough, uneven rocks, and usually no roof but the stars; and all this in perpetual silence. If you are accidentally hurt, if you fall sick, do not expect from these Barbarians any assistance, for whence could they obtain it? And if the sickness is dangerous, and if you are remote from the villages, which are here very scattered, I would not like to guarantee that they would not abandon you, if you could not make shift to follow them."

Don't you think Canada would be closer today to embracing a culture of life and love if our children and school students knew more about the Canadian martyrs and had the opportunity to study the history of these heroes of the faith?

Saints Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf and companions pray that one day soon Canada will be a place where both the true faith and a culture of life can reign supreme.

Why are Canadian tax dollars supporting a publication similar to Playboy?

2011-10-16T12:28:00.048-04:00

Everyday for Life Canada has written to the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto trying to find out why they advertise in the Now magazine. The magazine is distributed free in the Greater Toronto Area. There are also a number of companies that support this publication by placing ads in its pages. Some of the latest companies to do so are the following: Air Canada, Bay Bloor Radio, Bell Canada, Rogers, Leon's, American Apparel, Acanac, Alexander Keith's, Ford Canada, Fido, Seneca College, Humber College, AGO and Harbourfront.

Here's the serious concern: a magazine that reduces human beings to commodities, sexual objects and mere utility should not be backed by responsible governments and companies. And why is it available in public libraries to possibly corrupt even our children? Parents must inform themselves and speak out by calling and writing to elected officials and company marketing representatives and express their disgust at this form of human exploitation. In order to build the common good, citizens must work together to do so. Here's our letter to the Canadian government. We will keep you posted on any further developments.

Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,

I'm writing again about the advertisements by the Government of Canada that are placed and continue to appear in the Now magazine here in Toronto. (I refer to the issue dated Sept. 29-Oct.5, 2011.) Why would the Government of Canada want to associate itself with a porn publication? I must assume somebody made a mistake in giving this paper advertising tax payer dollars. This decision undermines the role of responsible government towards its citizenry. I have written to your office once before about this matter.

The issue in question has ten pages of adult classified ads with graphic pictures promoting sex and other adult fantasies. Sadly, this publication is even made available in our public libraries. It's as if the federal government is helping to pay with tax dollars the free distribution of copies of Playboy. Good governments and corporations ought to building and guarding the common good, not helping to dismantle it.

Does the Canadian government support the explicit sex column by Dan Savage? I really want to believe that your government does not or am I wrong in assuming this? Has your marketing department that decided to advertise in this deceitful magazine read any of it? I could quote from the questions and answers in Savage's column, but I will spare you the embarrassment and besides the lurid photos speak for themselves.

I hope you look into this sad situation of what must be a total failure of corporate governance. I hope to hear from you and please not merely that prepared response that everyone receives.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely,

Halloween unmasked: a great parental letter defending the Word

2011-10-15T23:35:00.009-04:00

Dear Reader,

Everyday for Life Canada has received a wonderful letter from a mother. With her consent, we want to share it with everyone because we believe this is what is so badly needed today to reclaim the faith and Catholic education. Parents must not be afraid to speak up and get involved. The only editing we did was to remove the names of the teachers it was addressed to and the writer's home address. Mrs. de Alavarez's example of courage and action in being a witness for the Word is something that we can all learn from. We applaud her initiative and invite others to do the same.

Thank you,
Lou

"Dear (Teachers):

"I've wondered for years about the many problems with disobedient children and empowered teens who no longer respect adults and adults who are too busy with themselves and too frustrated to do anything about this. I've also been writing to teachers about my concern with Halloween for many years and how much time and money is spent on it during October in our Catholic schools, all in the name of “fun”. So far, I have yet to see All Saints day fully celebrated in our Catholic schools or given as much honor and respect as is afforded to Halloween. My experience with this runs over the course of fifteen years, six kids in five different schools. I went to public school myself, when the Our Father was still allowed there. I enjoyed getting dressed up and getting candy, but that was an after school affair my parents allowed me.

"I do know a handful of teachers that spend time teaching kids about the best role models and holy heroes all kids should be imitating. However, most find the so called fun of Halloween more appealing and of greater importance, than ensuring we evangelize* students through the saints. One year I also did run into the idea that we should not even evangelize. One high school principal let the religion teacher know that we do not use the word evangelize, nor do we do that in Catholic schools. I was at a loss for words upon learning about this and four years later, it still bothers me. All this time, I had been foolishly thinking all Catholic school staff knew their Faith though many do not practice it. After all, the opposite of believing is disobedience, so in this fallen world we get all kinds. But never, did it occur to me the extent of disbelief and disobedience to which those in authority had fallen into.

"So this is my complaint, please accept my apologies in advance for singling you out, it is not personal against you two great teachers whom I do know from previous years, but I am really fed up with complacency of all Catholics who seem to think we are all OK, everyone is OK and nothing needs to be done. It is not business as usual in the Catholic Church and from the way parental rights are being violated in this province by a Stalinist type of government, I do not want my children spending any time on anything Halloween at school, other than the dance that has already been planned to raise funds for the school. I do get them out to get candy because that is fun, and my decision. However, if the plan is to spend the rest of this month doing Halloween crafts, spelling Halloween words, reading Halloween books and ensuring Halloween is “respected” this way, while the saints are ignored, please let me know what permission forms I need to sign to keep my kids away from this "fun" stuff at school. I will make sure, with your instructions, my kids learn the arts, math and science curriculum at home, until the fun stuff is over. If I need to go to Mr. McGuinty for permission, do let me know. I believe he stated he was the authority on education in this province and many have bowed down to his hidden agendas.

"October is rosary month in the Catholic Church as you all know. All of our Catholic saints had a deep devotion to Mother Mary and All Saints Day comes at the end of this month, so it would not only be appropriate to celebrate October the "Catholic way" in "Catholic schools", but the need for prayers for so many dire necessities in our world would be another good and valid reason to celebrate the saints and pray the rosary. Sorry if I offend anyone reading this by telling you what to do, but I am very disgusted with this whole Halloween business among the other things that go on in our Catholic schools which have nothing to do with our Christian Faith. I do hope to put my kids in private school next year, unless I manage to move to a place where parents still have rights.

Thank you for all you do for the glory of God in Catholic education."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Jackeline de Alvarez
(the address has been removed)

Bill 157: further proof of the hidden "Equity" agenda

2011-10-14T07:56:00.037-04:00

How many parents know that the Liberal government in their Safe Schools initiative passed Bill 157 "Keeping our Kids Safe at School" last February 1, 2010? Why was this piece of school legislation, which could see students or teachers suspended for questioning any of the new sexual orientations, kept hidden from public attention and debate during the elections? This is more of the politics of deception.

The stated purpose of Bill 157 is make schools safer by instructing principals when they can suspend or expel a student. A principal can suspend a student if there's reasonable grounds to believe they have engaged in any of following activities while at school:

-uttering a threat to inflict serious bodily harm on another person;
-possessing alcohol or illegal drugs;
-being under the influence of alcohol;
-swearing at a teacher or at another person in a position of authority;
-committing an act of vandalism that causes extensive damage to school property at the pupil's school;
-bullying;

Most parents will not be aware that in the latest regulations and the types of incidents for which a student can be suspended, there's an added ONE, at the end, bullying. Now there's nothing wrong with protecting students from bullying. However, what should concern parents is that this subjective term bullying was also used as part of the rationale by the government to implement the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. Bill 157 now legally authorizes principals and board officials to suspend students who question or say anything that may contradict the Equity policy. Alarm bells should go off here.

School staff must complete a copy of a new form, called the "Safe Schools Incident Reporting Form", every time a report is made to the Principal about student misconduct that can lead to suspension or expulsion. Teachers too could potentially face disciplinary action for failure to comply with these new rules. The form, in some instances, can be placed in the student's Ontario Student Record, OSR. The information could potentially be used against the student since the record is kept on file for future reference.

Furthermore, teachers are obligated to respond when they observe a pupil “behaving in a way that is likely to have a negative impact on the school climate”. This NOW includes any criticism of the long list of sexual orientations or any aspect of the curriculum dealing with LGBTQ issues. As a result of Bill 157, students and teachers can end up facing serious consequences.

The Ministry of Education requires all school boards to develop appropriate policies and training for all school staff in this area. Here again the language is general enough for inserting the Equity policy into the old regulations, and adds new reasons for a student to be disciplined, suspended or even expelled. Bill 157 forces all Ontario schools to address issues of homophobia, gender based violence, sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual behaviour. Perhaps this was the real and only reason for passing Bill-157, since all the other safety school rules and regulations were already in place.

Students can now be "legally" charged for inappropriate behaviour or speech, read here "homophobic", and then be punished for breaking the Equity policy. Here are some justified parental concerns: who will be the judge and jury when action is to taken? What qualifications does a principal have, after all he or she is just a teacher with another title, to discern how best to proceed when a complaint has been made?

Let's connect some dots here. First, the government comes out with an Equity policies that violates religious freedom, freedom of conscience and parental rights. Then, it passes Bill 157 under the misleading title, "Keeping our Kids Safe at School" to make it "illegal" for school students and staff to, for example, question any of the ten sexual orientations, to doubt the revised definition of marriage and the socially constructed meaning of the human person and sexuality. This is the work of a government that has come morally unhinged. It's a deceptive policy that parents should question and reject. Why didn't the Liberals tell the voters this during the elections? They had and have no intentions of telling parents period.

Please take the time to watch this revealing video as Liz Sandals, MPP from Guelph talks about, "Safety Schools for Whom?"

She is speaking at a conference held on April 1, 2011, by the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity. Sandals also participated in a panel discussion called "School Safety for Whom: The Reality of Homophobic and Transphobic Violence in Canadian Schools." The conference was organized in response to Egale Canada's first, "National Climate Survey on Homophobia and Transphobia in Canadian Schools." Egale Canada is an activist organization that promotes "Equality For Gays and Lesbians Everywhere". Liz Sandals was re-elected on Oct. 7. The agenda is clear: sexual diversity must be normalized using the law.

Bill 157 and the Equity policy will not make schools safer. Instead, they will create an atmosphere of legalism and fear. It will cast a pall on the learning environment. The government must realize that parents will not stand by and watch the government play politics with their children. Nobody, including the Liberals can will into existence what is a lie in reality. Bill 157, when it applies to the Equity policy should NOT be obeyed. Parents arm yourselves with the truth.

Parents be "Equity" ready: know the BIG lie you're up against

2011-10-13T00:13:00.015-04:00

The social engineering propaganda of the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy has already made its way into the curriculum of your local school for 2011-12. If parents want to defend their children against this moral danger and exercise their parental rights in education, they must get informed. You can no longer trust either the school or our new Liberal government to do what's right and good for students. The government has not been transparent on this question. The provincial election itself was proof of this because the Equity issue was never really discussed.

Let me give you a heads-up on a text few parents will know about. A new teacher guide, that was published way before people went to the polls to elect a new provincial government in Ontario, is proof that parents will not be informed about the manner and the contents of the Equity policy implementation process. If parents want to be heard, they must be pro-active. This teacher resource published by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, OSSTF, is called, Creating Spaces: Embedding Equity in Education. This document is proof that the Liberals assumed they would return to power. It shows just how arrogant and presumptuous government and schools board officials can be.

Here's how the federation's marketing team sells this resource to other teachers:

The guide tells teachers the Equity policy, "has been developed to promote the values of inclusion and cultural proficiency in today’s classroom settings. Created by and written for OSSTF members, this evidence-based resource has grown out of the firm conviction that every educational worker and every student has something worthwhile to contribute and equally significant to share – something that will make our secondary school system a better place for all our students. Creating Spaces: Embedding Equity in Education explores the roots of injustice and discrimination in our society, challenges our belief systems, and offers fresh insights into building learning environments that are more equitable, more tolerant and more caring."

As you read this next paragraph, I'm not sure "who understands that", because I can only agree with the first sentence, but nevertheless, here's what classroom teachers are told,

"We understand that, as classroom teachers and educational workers, we have an awesome responsibility to fulfill. We recognize that the time has come for us to overtly challenge intolerance in our classrooms, to address inequity in our school systems, and to overcome cultural barriers that have, for too many years, kept our marginalized students from reaching their full potential. It is time to embed equity in education. Creating Spaces: Embedding Equity in Education is designed to provide educators with practical strategies to do just that. The progressive instructional materials, innovative ideas and experiential learning activities included in this user-friendly resource are sure to facilitate our becoming a more inclusive society – one that regards diversity as its greatest asset."

The resource text is divided into seven sections:

• sexual orientation and homo-negativity;
• socio-economic status and academic achievement;
• sexual harassment, gender identity and gender violence;
• physical, emotional and intellectual disabilities;
• aboriginal communities and respect for indigenous ways of knowing;
• visible minorities and racism;
• minority stereotyping.

Teachers are reassured they need not worry about being overwhelmed with the curriculum changes because this new Equity policy resource guide makes it easy to infuse the topic into most subjects like,  Family Studies, Civics, English, Physical Education, Native Studies, History, and Social Sciences. This guide can potentially reach, if one includes the French membership of OSSTF, over 60,000 public school teachers. The fact that it costs $40 is its best feature in that a good number of teachers will not get a copy because they have to spend their own money.

Parents need to know about these kinds of resources since they are being used to completely reshape children's moral and sex education. To fight back, parents must learn what they are up against. It's really a support document to the Equity policy: it's ideologically/politically driven. Parents should see it as an experiment to socially engineer our entire school system using students as guinea pigs. The guide claims that it's an "evidence-based resource", but by their own admission how can it also be coming from a "firm conviction"? What's the truth here? Sounds like a lie to me. One lie to support another lie does not make it true.

The authors of the document have decided, with the permission of the "Equity" policy, "that the time has come for us to overtly challenge intolerance in our classrooms, to address inequity in our school systems." So, one ideology is used to spin another one in trying to make parents believe that today's schools are in need of "Embedding Equity in Education." What schools really need is to become Equity free zones. Parents must realize the fact that they're on their own: the government, board leaders and most trustees have all worked to undermine parental rights and shut them out from any real involvement.

Parents need to tell teachers and resource guide writers of text's such as Creating Spaces that they want the truth. They are tired of the language of deception. The guide hides its real agenda with "Equity" phrases like "sexual orientation and homo-negativity", "sexual harassment" and "gender identity and gender violence minority stereotyping." These are all code words for promoting the normalization and the societal acceptance of the ten or more socially constructed sexual orientations. This is not education, but the politics of education; it has nothing to do with "evidence-based" learning. The emperor's new equity clothes are morally dangerous to children, even a child knows that truth. Parents arm yourselves with the truth and begin to assert your parental rights by rejecting these lies. Do it for the moral and physical well-being of your sons and daughters.

A true Advent: celebrating the birth of Christ

2011-10-12T00:06:00.010-04:00

“It is only the Child lying in the manger who possesses the true secret of life. For this reason he asks us to welcome him, to make room within us, in our hearts, in our homes, in our cities, and in our societies.” With these inviting words from Pope Benedict’s Christmas homily for 2007, Everyday for Life is pleased to inform our visitors of the great news that Friends of the Crèche will hold their International Convention from November 10-12th, 2011 in Toronto. It’s a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves and our families about the eternal importance of the birth of Jesus. Mark this event on your calendar, even better buy tickets as soon as you can and make it a special family celebration.

La Universalis Foederatio Praesepistica, (The Universal Crèche Federation) started in Spain as an ecumenical association in 1952, known in Canada and the United States as Friends of the Crèche, will come to Toronto for the first time. Nancy Mallett, the Convention chair and head of The Cathedral Church of St. James' museum expects to draw over three hundred registered participants to the convention and many thousands more who will visit to see the numerous crèches on display. It will take place at the Royal York Hotel. For more program information, visit the Friends of the Crèche web site, or you may wish to contact Nancy Mallett, Convention Chair at 416-364-7865, Ex. 233 or email her at, archives@stjamescathedral.on.ca.

The Convention will open with an ecumenical event. At the opening prayer service representatives will be there from the United Church, Orthodox Copts, Roman Catholics and Anglicans. We know that many Catholic parishes in Toronto and the world adorn their churches with nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus, but did you know that St. James has had a crèche exhibit since 1976? According to Nancy Mallett, the fact that Protestants have embraced the crèche in just a generation is somewhat of a revolution. Let's just say it’s the workings of God’s grace.

I have visited the crèche display at St. James in the past and there are so some wonderful crèches from all over the world. Visitors, believers and unbelievers alike, find it spiritually humbling and mysterious to be reminded through the beautiful art work of the crèche the significance of Jesus’ birth; after all, it’s the event that forever changed the meaning of human history and the world.

On November the 11th Canada marks Remembrance Day. What surprises Mallett is that even during the harsh realities of war people continued to make the crèche part of Christmas. Canadians should not forget that there were photos found on the HMCS Magnificent as Canadian soldiers headed to Korea in 1952. After all, Christ was born in a nation under military occupation. And Herod who feared Christ, the Good News, ordered the senseless slaughter of innocents.

The logo for this year is Inuit inspired. On a feather we see a young child with a halo and a cross on his chest with the words above him: “A Northern Nativity.” Designed by Canadian artist Maurice Snelgrove, the logo was inspired from the words in the Huron Carol “Jesous Ahatonia”, Jesus is born. The Jesuit priest, St. Jean de Brebeuf was the one who wrote it and introduced the crèche to Canada in the early 17th century. As well, it was the message of God’s love, of goodness and of mercy communicated through the crèche that became the identity of New France. For many Canadians, their response to the crèche has helped to shape our history.

For Catholics it all began one Christmas Eve, in 1223, in the village Greccio, when St. Francis constructed a Christmas scene to help people understand the incredible mystery of Christ’s birth. He used a live ox and a donkey. Real people played the parts of Mary, Joseph, the Magi and the shepherds. In the manger a real baby was placed in it. Many people came from villages to see this wonderful Nativity. The rest is history.

Today, after close to 900 years, this religious tradition continues. St. Francis Assisi and St. Charles Borromeo are just two on the many parishes in Toronto that have beautiful crèche displays. It makes for the perfect Christmas outing with friends and family during Advent. There’s also a crèche exhibit open all year round at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.

We wish the organizers of Friends of the Crèche every success. Let’s hope and pray that this ecumenical event to embrace divine and human life brings us closer together as children of God. Together we can resolve our differences, end wars, change history and even find true peace if we make room in our hearts for Baby Jesus, “O Come, O come, Emmanuel.” Herod falsely believed like many do today that in slaughtering the innocent we can find the answers to life’s deepest questions. The Holy Family, instead, by embracing and submitting to the newborn Baby Jesus who is both human and divine gives us the ultimate witness that every human question is to be found in life. May you and your family have a holy Advent and Christmas. Perhaps we will see you at the convention.

October: Our Lady of the Rosary

2011-10-11T06:55:00.005-04:00

In this month's issue of the Magnificat, the front cover features a painting by Gerard David (c.1450/1460-1523). It was painted around the year 1500 for a Rosary Confraternity. It depicts the Blessed Mother with the Child Jesus and a Rosary. The painting is in the Prado Museum, in Madrid, Spain. I thought this work would be a wonderful visual way of focussing our attention during this month on the Rosary, reminding us about the importance of the Rosary in our religious history and more importantly to help us pray it.

Here's the commentary from the Magnificat (Page 424) explaining the work:

"In the foreground of the window, the artist has placed an admirable still life composed of the book of the Gospels and of a bouquet symbolizing the joys and sorrows of Mary’s heart. Resting in the hands of Mary as in a jewel-box, the Child Jesus bears a coral rosary draped around his neck and shoulder. He looks at us while holding a golden Our Father bead between his thumb and index finger, as if responding to our question: 'Lord, teach us how to pray.'

"With his left hand, he counts out four Hail Mary beads, a number that signifies the mystery of the redemption announced to the four corners of the earth by the four Evangelists. The vertical axis of the 4 symbolizes the axis of the world, and the triangle of the 4 indicates “the narrow door” (Lk 13: 24). This is the door that in our churches opens westward upon the setting sun. It is toward this door that, now and at the hour of our death, the Virgin and Child leads humanity, from earth to heaven, from this world through the Son to the Father.

"Art critics admire in the faces of Gerard David a profound melancholy, which they qualify as “modern.” Here, Mary’s face certainly bears witness to an admirable depth of expression, but it is not so much that of melancholy as of contemplation."

I will conclude with Pope Leo XIII insightful reminder to all of us that the Rosary is closely connected to angels: "In reciting the Rosary, we mediate on the mysteries of our Redemption... (and) in a manner emulate the sacred duties once committed to the angelic hosts. The angels revealed each of these mysteries in its due time; they played a great part in them; they were constantly present at them...What more divine, what more delightful, than to meditate and pray with the angels?...Praying the Rosary devoutly can actually connect us to holy angels." (Magnificat, October 2011, Page 13) Do take another good look at that beautiful painting.

It was the archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation who taught us the words of the hail Mary, a verse that makes up most of the Rosary. Let's pray that we will all have a blessed month of the Holy Rosary.

The truth can set even politicians free

2011-10-10T15:36:00.006-04:00

Even though there will be some changes because of recounts, the Liberals have won a minority government, with 53 seats, the PCs have 37 and the NDP have 17. Dalton McGuinty is set to rule Ontario with only 37.5% of those who voted. If we add up the NDP, PC, Green and those who voted for other candidates we have a total of 61.4% of the popular vote. The remaining small percentage is from the spoiled ballots. So the majority of the voters did not support the Liberal Party.

These totals mean that McGuinty has won the election on numbers, but the Liberal Party has been morally defeated. We hope McGuinty will listen to the majority of the electorate that didn't vote for the status-quo. This is an important democratic principle: the Liberals need to remember and represent, not just those who voted for them, but also those who didn't as they begin to govern by making alliances with the other parties. They have won by the letter of the law, but not the spirit. The Liberal lost seats in the election and this in spite of the fact that the Equity policy was kept from public debate throughout the entire process. At best, it's a bittersweet victory.

The real winners of the election were candidates like Vince Agovino in Willowdale. There was happiness among his supporters even as the disappointing results came in. I'm sure the joy in the room in the face of defeat was more then you could find in some Liberal celebrations for winning candidates. Mr. Agovino and his people fought a clean, hard working campaign for the truth. This is rare commodity in election battles. With this transparent approach, there's consolation in knowing that this is the only way to run because even in defeat, you really win. Yes, Vince lost by the numbers, but the moral victory is his and for all those who walked the streets, handed out flyers, answered phones and did all those other things necessary to try to win. Cogratulations Vince on a great campaign for the truth. Only it can set our politicians, province and nation free.

I was very proud election night to have been with you, your family and the hard working volunteers who helped run the campaign. One day soon in our land the truth will come rushing through this country like a spiritual tsunami. Then all the deceptions will be swallowed up and the only thing that will save the nation will be the Word of truth.

We pray that Mr. Mc Guinty through God's grace will come to see the moral error of the Equity policy. The best solution, would be for him to entirely scrap the Equity policy and tell Ontarians it was a mistake. The Liberals and all those who agree with them must confess the evil truth about the policy. Only by doing this, can they hope to rebuild the integrity of the party and the morality of the province. The culture of death is on a short leash. Only by embracing a culture of life can any party or person have hope for the future.

Part II: Arming our families with a culture of life

2011-10-08T15:03:00.006-04:00

I hope you agree that probably the best strategy to counter the anti-life, anti-child messages is to pray and often receive the sacraments. Most prayers are made of words and if we say and mean those words we are, without often realizing it, absorbing the powerful language of life. For every prayer is pro-life, just think of the Hail Mary. Prayer converts the heart and soul. Our children need to be exposed to a language which immerses them in ideas that sustain life. Prayers do just that and more. Prayers connect us to God. And what connects us to God is always about defending, defining and promoting life. Through prayer we and our children will strengthen our relationship to our Creator whose life, death, passion and resurrection offers the ultimate response to the anti-life message.

God is a God of life and love. Let’s tell our children that. Spoil them with words of love and prayer. In order to do this, parents need to make sure that there’s family time in the home for sharing, praying, talking, laughing and just being together. Family rules need to restrict the amount of time spent using a computer, watching television, listening to music, talking on cell phone , going to the movies and any other media distraction. Only by reclaiming family time together can a family set its own agenda and priorities.

You may be asking what prayers are best for this spiritual battle against death. What follows are merely my suggestion. There is nothing exhaustive about the list. All prayers humbly said and meditated on can be used. Of course, after the Mass, one of the best prayers to defend life and family is the Rosary. Sincerely praying the Rosary, according to St. Louis De Montfort, will give members of our families the perfect knowledge of Christ: you cannot be anti-life and profess to believe in Jesus. As well, the Apostles’ Creed is an excellent prayer for families to memorize because it summarizes our main beliefs.

Our children need to be instructed in the Catechism; their spiritual repertoire would grow beyond measure if they learn about the lives of the saints. Holy men and women are our spiritual lighthouses to guide us from sinking into sin and death. Devotions to the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin and to the saints are also good ways of ensuring that virtuous ideas enter our minds and our homes. In addition, we can make regular reading of the Bible a family activity. And as parents we should approach the sacrament of confession so that our children will see our example and do likewise. The main idea is to set the pro-life, pro-Church, pro-family example with lots of words and plenty of deeds.

What we are trying to do is to make sure that in our families reign an atmosphere of prayer, of words which help to link us and to praise God. When we do this, we naturally acquire a language of life; a life thesaurus which at all times will serve to encourage and remind us to embrace life and to do it virtuously. This is what our Blessed Mother did so perfectly. We and our children will act in ways which sustain and promote life if we first equip ourselves with life-nourishing thoughts; prayer permits us to ask God for the grace we need to repel the anti-life culture. Remember you cannot take money which you never deposited from your bank account. This is why it’s so important to make spiritual deposits in our mind and soul in order to make spiritual withdrawals of grace to help us live the Gospel of life and battle the anti-life culture.

Finally, after arming ourselves spiritually and verbally to counter and provide an alternative to the anti-life forces, we also need to do all we can to put our faith into practice. It’s St. James who pulls no punches by saying: “Faith without good works is dead.” We ought to make an effort to integrate our faith in our family life as well as our place of work, our social activities and even our politics. Faith and good deeds ought to be the spiritual currency which fills our wallets. So as Christians we should not hide our faith neither under a bushel, nor in our private lives or leave it at home. We must speak up and get involved in building the common good: a culture respectful of life. We cannot do this on our own or in the privacy of family life.

To fight the anti-life messages we need to speak up everywhere and by doing this our children and our society will see and hear that the pro-life voices are there in large numbers. Do you hear your own pro-life voice? Do you hear the voices of your children? When we say yes to these questions, there will be a certain hope that our prayers are being answered as more and more people will choose life and not death. For the truth will be clearly seen and heard in our society. This surely will arm our families to battle and to eventually, with God’s help, defeat the anti-life forces. We will have done our small part. Saving the entire world and the conversion of all hearts we must leave to God’s mercy and love.

Part I: Arming our families with a culture of life

2011-10-07T13:33:00.039-04:00

In a past blog entry titled, "Anti-life forces promote a deadly-message", I explored some of the strategies adopted by anti-life groups to spread their propaganda, in particular the tactic urging couples to be “child-free”. According to this dead-end philosophy of life, having no children is being environmentally friendly. What difference does it make if we refer to all the slaughtered innocent babies as "green killings"? I think as responsible Christians we need to respond to this death knell with a contrary world view that promotes and defends life.

The pro-death view of life is so distorted that we need to stop it from being more widely adopted by society; it sees life as mere utility and can influence more married couples from having children. Here are some simple suggestions to combat this anti-life lie. Of course, I invite the reader to think of your own.

To begin with, our best offence is to heed the warning in these Biblical words: "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! (Deut. 30:19). These are the kind of words, the kind of prayer, that are fruitful and encourage life. They are the building blocks of a vocabulary of life.

Just like we cannot say something for what we don't know the words for, we also ought to know that it's next to impossible to live in way that is not compatible with what and how think. In Canada, we allow abortions because many have come to accept both the language of abortion, think of the socially constructed notion of "reproductive rights", and then this follows the "lawful" action of killing the child. Action is always coupled with thought: hence, the importance of pro-life thinking.

So, if we truly believe in defending and promoting life, we will arm ourselves with a rich, pro-life vocabulary, a dictionary of prayer and share it with our children. If we fill our minds and hearts with words of truth and life, then there's a greater likelihood to think that way and to act accordingly. We can only promote family life if we believe and respectfully discuss this kind of thinking and behaving with friends and family. God commands us to do so. He doesn't merely suggest we learn the Ten Commandments, but that we live that sacred language. "You shall not kill", has never been revised.

Here’s an example of what I mean. The French psychiatrist Corrine Maier published not too long ago a book titled, No Kid: Forty Reasons for not having Children. She claims in the book that the feminism of the 70s cannot be realized with words alone. She writes about regreting having become a mother because motherhood has taught her a tough lesson: children bring problems; parents no longer can have a complete and free sex life; one cannot spend as much and there are too many frustrations attached to family life. Her advice to young women is to not let societal expectations influence their decision to become mothers but to make the choice on their own. In other words, she is telling her readers learn the words that let you think and truly decide for yourself. Isn't this the subtle language of deception by offering a false freedom?

How should we respond to this anti-life view? One way to counter is to immediately realize that this sort of thinking represents a biased argument; it's words of advertising; it’s a mere point of view that can and must be challenged. Don't let the idea cloud your thoughts. We should not let this dead-end language overwhelm and anesthetize our families and friends. We ought to overcome it with many positive pro-life message. This is what a group of Italian mothers did. They are called, “Quimamme” which translated means, “Mothers Here”. Their answer was to print and widely distribute a poster with a pro-family message: “Si, kid” which means, “Yes, to kids”. Another good response came from the international Catholic paper, Avvenire, that was quick to counter with an article called, “40 Reasons for Having Children.” Here the language of life had a least, because it was presented, a chance to compete in the public square. We applaud those Italian mothers.

When others are prepared to infect our society with the sounds of death, with words that are life destructive, we must in turn to sow words of life, words of truth and hope; words that make sounds of life and love. So choose words that allow life to flourish. But our family members can only do this if we have over time introduced and nourished a home environment that speaks about a dictionary of life, if we have thought and prayed about pro-life ideas and are trying to live that life-sustaining message.

Finally, we can better equip ourselves for this task if make an effort to read and share the rich resources of the Church that promote life. In my next installment, I will examine some more strategies that families can use to defend the gift of life. One excellent resource to help families learn the vocabulary of life is: Evangelium vitae. The quote from Deuteronomy suggests we surround ourselves with words, films, magazines, books, Internet sites, music, art and all we do with materials that promote life. For in thinking of life, we are he helping ourselves to choose life.

(PS. Part 2 of this article will be published within a few days. Thank you for visiting this site.)

Words of consolation and hope from St. Francis

2011-10-06T04:58:00.009-04:00

Dear Readers,

Many of us have worked hard and prayed during this provincial election. Whatever the results are on Thursday, Oct. 6, we need to keep in mind that we all live together in Ontario. In the end, everything, including the election results, is in His hands, yesterday, today and tomorrow. We need to humbly continue to work on defending the truth, the culture of life, the sacred dignity of the human person and praying for the conversion of hearts. With this spiritual goal, I post this reflection from St. Francis whose memorial feast we celebrated this past Tuesday in order to focus on what's important in our pilgrim life. Let's also keep in mind the words of St. Peter in his First Letter: "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence" (I Pet 3:15) The following meditation is taken from, The Saint Vol. 1 of Francis of Assisi Early Documents and we share it with "gentleness and reverence."

Chapter II: Those Who Do Not Do Penance (Second Letter of St. Francis to the Faithful)

"To all those men and women who are not living in penance and do not receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; who practice vice and sin and follow wicked concupiscence (Col 3:5) and the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16); who do not observe what you have promised to the Lord, and bodily serve the world by the desires of the flesh (1 Pet 2:11), the anxieties of the world and the cares of this life; you who are held fast by the devil, whose children you are and whose works you perform (cf Jn 8:41): You are blind, since you do not see the true light, Our Lord Jesus Christ. You do not have spiritual wisdom, since you do not possess the Son of God, Who is the true wisdom of the Father. It is said of such people: Their wisdom has been swallowed up (Ps 106:27), and: Cursed are those who turn away from Your commands (Ps 118:21). You see, acknowledge, know and do evil deeds, and knowingly, you lose your souls.

"See, you blind ones, you who are deceived by your enemies: by the flesh, the world, and the devil; because it is sweet to the body to commit sin and it is bitter for it to serve God; and because all vices and sins come forth and proceed from the heart of a man, as the Lord says in the Gospel (cf. Mk 7:21). And you have nothing in this world or in the one to come. And you think you posses the vanities of this world for a while, but you are deceived, since the day and the hour will come to which you give no thought, of which you have no knowledge, and of which you are ignorant (cf. Mt 25:13). The body becomes sick, death approaches, and this man dies a bitter death. And no matter where or when or how a man dies in the guilt of sin without doing penance and satisfaction, if he is able to perform some act of satisfaction and does not, the devil snatches up his soul from his body with so much anguish and tribulation that no one can know it unless he has experienced it.

"And every talent and power and knowledge and wisdom (2 Chron. 1:12) which they think they posses will be taken away from them (cf Lk 8:18; Mk 4:25). And they leave their substance to their relatives and friends, and these have taken and divided the inheritance among themselves and afterwards they have said: "May his soul be cursed since he could have acquired more and given more to us than he did!" Worms eat the body. And so they have lost body and soul in this passing world, and both will go down to hell where they will be tormented without end. In the love which is God (cf. Jn 4:16), we beg all those whom these letters reach to accept with kindness and a divine love the fragrant words of our Lord Jesus Christ which are written above. And those who do not know how to read should have them read to them frequently. And, since they are spirit and life (Jn 6:64), they should preserve them together with a holy manner of working even to the end.

"And whoever shall not have done these things will be held accountable on the day of judgment before the tribunal of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

St. Francis, pray for us.

The National Post apology is nothing but censorship

2011-10-03T14:46:00.084-04:00

Canada’s National Post newspaper on Friday, September 30, 2011, issued a public apology for publishing an offensive, "transphobic" advertisement just days before. The ad was purchased by the Institute for Canadian Values (ICV), a conservative Christian organization founded by Charles McVety.

The ad featured a photo of a little girl with these statements: "Please don't confuse me. I'm a girl. Don't teach me to question if I'm a boy, transexual, transgendered, intersexed or two spirited." The ad simply asked the major three provincial party leaders, during an election, to “stop teachers from confusing” children on issues of gender identity and expression. Surely the majority of Canadians have no objections to this kind of discourse. But obviously the Post does.

By their own admission, they have procedures in place for evaluating the content of ads, especially advocacy advertising. The rules are intended to ensure that such ads meet a standard of tone and respect that is consistent with furthering constructive dialogue about important public policy issues. In this case, those procedures apparently were not followed. And so the ad should not have been published.

We now understand fully. The journalistic standards are so high at the Post that it was forced to censor the ad, limit freedom of speech and help mask this important issue: the violation of parental rights in education as school boards across Ontario implement the agenda-driven "Equity" policy ushered in by the Liberals, in 2009. And why in the interest of "constructive dialogue about important public issues" has the Post not done feature articles to uncover for its readers the ideology behind the "Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy"?

Apparently this ad will not run in the National Post again. The paper will not publish the ad again because they now realize that publishing it was a mistake. If as a nation, we value freedom of speech then the retraction was the mistake. The National Post apologized unreservedly to anyone who was offended by it. The article assures readers that steps will be taken to ensure that in future procedures regarding the content of advertising will be enforced. Please tell me why this reassurance doesn't make me feel any better about freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Canada.

The Post will also be donating the proceeds from the advertisement to an organization that promotes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Will the Post give funds to the Institute of Christian Values when a gay activist group "manipulates" the majority community in advertising?

Here's a part of the editors' apology: "The ad in question was attempting to make the case that the Ontario curriculum was teaching very young children about issues that, at that age, should be the domain of parents. In addition, it made the case that even when parents or teachers may object to the material being taught, they did not have the right, in the case of parents, to remove their children from the class, or in the case of teachers, to decline to teach the material on the grounds that they objected to it.

"In an open society, these positions are worthy of being part of a debate on this issue. They are also legitimate arguments to make in a paid advertisement in a media outlet. Where the ad exceeded the bounds of civil discourse was in its tone and manipulative use of a picture of a young girl; in the suggestion that such teaching “corrupts” children, with everything that such a charge implies; and in its singling out of groups of people with whose sexuality the group disagrees."

So debate and differences of opinion are fine up until they conflict or fail to conform with the status-quo. If you get information and news fom the Post or mainstream media, this biased apology is frightening: it's a blatant case of censorship. What is happening to the Fourth Estate in Canada, especially given the fact that in Ontario there's a provincial election?

This incident brings to the forefront the central issue confronting Canadian society, as well as the entire Western world, and which the apology tries to mask: the modern view of the human person, of how we understand and view the world and our very destiny is presently in a culture war with the Christian world view. The Post apology, when you take out all the editorial rhetoric, rejects the Christian position. That plain and simple is the real issue and we all know it.

Who in the media decides what "exceed(s) the bounds of civil discourse"? The Post editors have made the decision that the picture of a little girl is "manipulative". The ad didn't really "corrupt" or "manipulate" any group. Words and images alone can never do that. The Post editors know we are talking about a paid ad, and so they are well aware of the rules of engagement.

The apology pretends to be an exercise in freedom of speech. Instead, their reaction is a plain case of censorship. Had they written an editorial in defence of the ad and given equal print space for "civil discourse" to the other side, then they would be engaging in responsible and open journalism. Instead, they chose to censor the ad and publish an explanation to defend the side that was being accused of "corruption". The whole event is odious and casts a pall on freedom of speech in Canada. Is the Post preparing to be the government's new Ministry of Doublespeak?

The hypocrisy of secularism: an important lesson for parents

2011-10-02T03:47:00.055-04:00

For over a generation now the media have covered countless stories about a very small number of priests abusing children and their involvement with and consumption of pornography. The last forty years have seen a steady stream of articles in the media reporting these priestly scandals. That priests were convicted of physical and sexual abuse of young boys at the former Mount Cashel Orphanage in St. John's in Newfoundland has been front page news many times.

In the United States, in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, who had been the Archbishop of Boston for almost 20 years, was forced to resign over his handling of the abuse allegations in 2002. This story too was front page news for years.

The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales faced its own clergy sex abuse crisis in the late 1990s. The number of active priests were 5,600. Of those, 25 were convicted of abuse. In Ireland, a number of priests were convicted between 1992 and 2002. Cardinal Connell, who headed Ireland's Roman Catholic Church at the time, talked about his profound regret and the inadequacies in the way the Church handled allegations of child sex abuse. And the list goes on, but you get the idea. The constructed message: the Church is a bad place to be.

It's only logical that, if readers the world over are fed a steady diet of these stories, they can easily come to the conclusion that a lot of priests are abusers and the Catholic Church is the problem. In England and Wales the rate of abuse there stands at .004%, much lower than in most other professions or groups. But this crucial fact, not the created media perception, that the rate of abuse in the Church is not higher than in any other group, is seldom communicated. If a doctor abuses a patient or a professor a student, if a youth worker abuses a client or a manger an employee, this is generally not the day's news.

However, if a priest does it, it's always news which includes a negative spin about the Church. Everyone knows the argument by now. We have all been well trained by mainstream reporting. Priests should get married, the Church is archaic and so why not do away with it altogether. Our national broadcaster would certainly not miss this. One CBC journalist once referred to the Church as being run like the mob. Now there's objective journalism for you.

Now a reasonable person might ask, why the double standard? Let's make this clear. Nobody is condoning the idea that because priestly abuse is roughly the same as that of any other group, this makes the crime any less tolerable or harmful. One sexual abuse case anywhere is one too many, especially when you happen to be that child. It should not exist among the clergy or the laity, period. My point, however, is that society has developed two ways of judging: one standard is for the priests and another for the laity or those who have embraced the belief in secularism, the Hugh Hefner Playboy philosophy, the post-sexual revolution and the mainstream media.

If we examine this argument in a larger context, we will soon see that hyprocisy is merely another name for secularism. In Ontario, we currently have a provincial government that pushed an "Equity" policy into every school board. This policy wants all students to learn and accept all sorts of new manufactured sexual orientations; it teaches that all sexual relationships are equal; all family arrangements are the same and that schools should teach about masturbation, sodomy, genital mutilation, advocate for better working conditions and wages for prostitutes, as well as encourage classroom celebrations of parades during Pride week.

How can any government-with the mainstream media as cheerleaders-promoting this bizarre, immoral curriculum in schools be the one to morally police the clergy or any other abuse? In forcing school boards to implement the "Equity" policy, many parents have come to realize that this is the government's way of declaring war on the physical, moral and psychological well-being of children.

The hypocrisy gets worse. In many major street intersections of Toronto, as you are probably aware, there are copies of the Now magazine. They are available in newspaper-like stands and given out free. What you may not know is that the back 10 pages of the publication are adult classifieds. Many of the pictures are sexually graphic. It depicts a world of consumer sex, gratification and the human person as mere utility. It's the unlimited world of Hugh Hefner. The photos are like those you would find in a pornographic magazine. This publication has openly been distributed in our city and available even in local public libraries for years. And now, government policy allows that graphic curriculum to enter our schools. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, why have we allowed it to happen?

That's bad enough, but do you know that our government, yes the same government issuing the "Equity" policy, places advertisements in this magazine. This is madness and bizarre. So, taxpayer money is being used to support a publication whose back pages support the "Equity" policy. A policy that threatens to over-sexualize children and expose them to lifestyles that are unhealthy and dangerous. DO they want to make our children future consumers of the back 10 pages? Other advertisers in Now are: the Government of Canada, the Provincial Government, Seneca College, Humber College, Ford Canada, The AGO (The Art Gallery of Ontario), Harbourfront, Leon's, Bell Canada, American Apparel, Bay Bloor Radio, Air Canada and others. You can see that major advertisers are helping to promote the grave moral and health dangers children now face in schools.

There's a profound life lesson that parents and families must learn from this if they want to protect their children from these moral and health dangers. It's time parents reclaim and assert their rights. Democracy works only when citizens get involved. The "Equity" policy is an example of how a presumptuous, utilitarian, callous government can take over the moral and sexual education of school children. And they do it while violating parental rights and supporting an activist magazine, with the cooperation of the City of Toronto. Parents can no longer trust the government, the schools and the media. Parents need to wake up and make their voices heard. It's time to truly get involved in this culture war: a war between life and death, good and evil, spirit and flesh.

Pedophilia as just another sexual orientation: a grim warning to parents

2011-09-30T08:21:00.097-04:00

On August 17, 2011, the B4U-ACT, "Living in Truth and Dignity" symposium was held Baltimore. A disturbing topic presented was the idea to eliminate the "stigma" against pedophiles. Members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) wanted to redefine pedophilia as a just one more sexual orientation and rename it, "Minor-Attracted Persons." Yes, it's very disturbing, but you read that right. This is a perverse language game: change the disorder by simply renaming it. In simple words, this is a lie, even when psychiatrist say so. You can remove all the mountains your will desires from a map, but nothing has been altered in the real world. So, if you're a pilot flying a plane check to make sure the map accurately matches the territory.

Take these other scary examples. The German government’s Ministry for Family Affairs in 2007 tells parents to sexually massage their children as young as 1 to 3 years of age. This comes from a 40-page booklets entitled "Love, Body and Playing Doctor" by the German Federal Health Education Center (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung - BZgA) and mainly written for parents.

Be warned this quotation should shock you: "Fathers do not devote enough attention to the clitoris and vagina of their daughters. Their caresses too seldom pertain to these regions, while this is the only way the girls can develop a sense of pride in their sex," states the guide for 1-3 year olds. Here's how they condone it: "The child touches all parts of their father’s body, sometimes arousing him. The father should do the same."   This is sickening stuff, not sexual education. When human sexuality has been reduced to this level of immorality by a modern government, parents or any other citizens can no longer trusted it. This kind of sexual talk is never about education of any kind: it's child abuse.

It gets more bizarre. A German mother in refusing to let three of her children attend this type of explicit sexual education was arrested and jailed for six weeks. She was breaking the law. You read that correctly. Canada is not immune to these unjust laws. We send demonstrators in jail for standing in front of an abortuary and showing graphic pictures of slaughtered babies, while our legal and judicial systems protect the killers inside and pays them. Canada too has legalized an anti-life culture. For this crime against God's creation, we have absolutely no right to try and export our morality anywhere in the world. And yet, we call ourselves developed countries, don't we? Yes, we are all honourable men and women.

In May 2010, at the United Nations an explicit sex guide was released, titled in part, "Healthy, Happy and Hot." It was developed by the International Planned Parenthood Federation and released to the public by adolescent girls at a Girl Scout panel. How could this happen? The UN allows it. Here's the kind of dangerous and unhealthy information young girls find in the booklet: “Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse… But, there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!”

The UN guide goes on to say, “Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice.” This immoral counselling inflicted on young people is coming from the United Nations. It was confirmed a few days ago, a branch of this organization, the International Planned Parenthood Federation will receive six million dollars from the Canadian Government over the next three years. This arm of the UN is the biggest exporter of abortion. When will Canadian foreign policy end this form of sanitized killing?

The Canadian writer Michael O’Brien believes that our culture is in a state of moral crisis when "State-encouraged incest, which in most civilized societies is a crime," is presented as educational and legal. He thinks this an attack on the Judeo-Christian moral order.  "The imposed social revolution that has swept the western world is moving to a new stage as it works out the logical consequences of its view of man’s value," said O’Brien on a LIfeSiteNews interview. His explanation: "It is merely obeying its strictly materialist philosophy of man. If man is no more than a creature created for pleasure or power. If he is no more than a cell in the social organism, then no moral standards, no psychological truths, no spiritual truths can refute the ‘will to power’ and the ‘will to pleasure’."  

The German ministry pamphlet tells children that "unlimited masturbation" is acceptable as long as there's no bodily injury. Children should never be ashamed of their bodies. Children ages 4-6 are encouraged to move as if they were copulating.   The teacher is given songs as a resource and here's the words from one of them: "When I touch my body, I discover what I have. I have a vagina, because I am a girl. Vagina is not only for peeing. When I touch it, I feel a pleasant tingle."  This is what O'Brien is talking about when he observes that the West has adopted a materialistic view of the person. When you take God out of the picture, then human beings are mere utility to be exploited for pleasure and profit. Even the innocence of childhood is sacrificed at the ungodly altar of carnal satisfaction. This is a society moving to annihilation.

Unless Canada exits from this road called the culture of sexual gratification and death, can we be far from undoing the very pillars that hold our society together: love of God and love of neighbour? Parents beware.

(Note: The Italian writer, Marco Respinti, has done excellent work as a journalist in his unrelenting coverage of this issue for La Bussola Quotidiana. Deception, sexual or otherwise, can only be exposed if we have witnesses to it. I'm extremely grateful for his work.)

  

The McGuinty Liberals have violated parental rights

2011-09-30T03:26:00.035-04:00

Have Ontario parents given their children up for adoption to the Liberal provincial government? You would think so if you examine the Toronto District School Board's teacher resource: Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism: A K-12 Curriculum Resource Guide, published in 2011. The publication falls under the theme of "Equitable and Inclusive Schools." This guide tells teachers what to teach, where to get materials and gives them ideas on how to implement class instruction. Both the government and the schools board seem to think they have total control over what children are taught about sexuality and morality. I'm certain parents what to know what's happened.

To best see the very sad situation in our schools, let's cite some information from the resource guide. Here's shocking material directly from pages 9-10:

Question: "Should Schools Send Notes Or Permission Slips Home Before Starting Any Classroom Work About Curricular Issues That May Involve Discussions About Discrimination and Harassment?" (I have left the capitalization of each word because it's how it appears in the publication.)

Answer: "No. The TDSB Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy Implementation states that each school has a responsibly to education that reflects the diversity of its students and their life experiences. Singling out one group or topic area as too controversial, and depending upon parent/guardian/caregiver discretion, shifts this responsibility from the school to the parents/guardians/caregivers and fosters a poisoned environment contrary to the TDSB Human Rights Policy. Sending a school newsletter home at the beginning of each term is a best practice for keeping parents/guardians/caregivers informed of all upcoming equity topics in the classroom without having to single out one topic over the other."

In this answer, note how a teacher who wants to exploit this directive can very well teach a class on homosexuality and promote it as a normal way of living. The rationale for this instruction could easily fall under discrimination of a minority or teaching to reflect all students. Here's the problem: parents have a right know what's really happening in the classroom with their children. Deception by any other name is still deception.

Question: "Should Schools Send Notes Or Permission Slips Home Before Starting any Classroom Work On LGBTQ Issues?"

Answer: "No. If a school treats the topic of sexual orientation or anti-homophobia work differently from the range of other curriculum topics, this could be construed as discriminatory practice. Anti-homophobia education is mandated in all our schools through the Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy Implementation, the Human Rights Policy, and the Gender-Based Violence Prevention Policy."

Question: "Can A Parent Have Their Child Accommodated Out Of Human Rights Education Based On Religious Grounds?"

Answer: "No. "Religious accommodation" in the TDSB is carried out in the larger context of the secular education system. While the TDSB works to create a school system free from religious discrimination, this freedom is not absolute. The TDSB will limit practices or conduct in its schools that may put public safety, health, or the human rights and freedoms of others at risk. As well, the TDSB will limit practices or conducts in its schools that are in violation of its other policies. For example, if a parent asks for his or her child to be exempted for any discussions of LGBTQ family issues as a religious accommodation, this request cannot be made because it violates the Human Rights Policy. Furthermore, this is consistent with the ideal that human rights education is an essential strategy for preventing human rights abuses."

Question: "Can Teachers Seek Accommodation From Teaching Materials That May Contradict Their Religious Beliefs?"

Answer:"No. The TDSB is part of the secular public education system. Teachers are equally responsible for delivering curriculum created by the provincial Ministry of Education and to supporting the TDSB policies, which more accurately reflect the educational needs of our student population. The delivery of curriculum related to human rights issues must be consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the TDSB Human Rights Policy, and the Equity Foundation Statement and Commitments to Equity Policy Implementation. Failure to do so is contrary to the obligations outlined for teachers on page 4 of the TDSB Human Rights Policy. Teachers refusing to create an inclusive classroom that is safe and supportive for all students would create a poisoned learning environment."

If any parent has even an inkling of doubt that the Liberals have trampled on parental rights, the language of this document makes absolutely clear. In fact, it boldly tells teachers to openly defy parental concerns and tramples on their rights as first educators of their children. How else can you possibly explain that even if a teacher wants to inform parents about LBGTQ lessons they are told to mask the activity under a wording that hides the truth: they are coached to refer, for example, to a lesson on sexual orientation with the positive sounding expression "equity education". This is indoctrination. A lie is a lie is a lie.

Mr. McGuinty this deceptive educational methodology "fosters a poisoned environment" which may not be "contrary to the TDSB Human Rights", but it's a complete violation of parental rights. The TDSB Human Rights Policy doesn't trump those parental rights, not even the Equity and Inclusive policy can undo those innate rights. Ontario moms and dads love their children. You have badly broken that sacred family trust. For this reason, you and your party cannot be trusted. And so, Mr. Premier, you do not deserve our support in this election.

Multi-faith, multi-ethnic press urges voters to protect parents’ rights.

2011-09-29T15:23:00.045-04:00

On Thursday, September 29, 2011 a multi-faith, multi-ethnic group held a press conference in Markham. All the participants were given two minutes to speak on the all important issue of protecting parental rights in this provincial election.

Peter Chen, of the Toronto Chinese Catholic Task Force, moderated the meeting, with excellent work from Edwin Lok as MC. The panelist were as follows: Raphael Wu from the Toronto Chinese Catholic Taskforce, Gwen Landolt from Real Women of Canada, Mobeet Khan and Qamrul Khanson from the United Front Canada, Rev. Dominic Tse from the Chinese Christians and Teresa Pierre from the Ontario Catholic Parents Asssociation.

Also present were Sue Suh from the Korean Christians, Jeff Gunnarson from Campaign Life Coalition, Dr. Theresa Hum from the Toronto Chinese for Chinese Education and David Kong from the Toronto Chinese Catholic Taskforce. Reporting on the event were LifeSiteNews, Omni television, Chinese programming representatives from Salt and Light Television and Fairchild Television. Noticeably absent were representatives from the mainstream media.

Mr. Chan made very clear in his opening remarks that the press conference was about informing parents/voters about their rights. It was not about backing any particular party or candidate. He stressed that parents are primarily concerned with supporting their family and children.

Each speaker, some even spoke in Chinese and Korean, made a strong appeal reminding the politicians and the electorate that parental rights in education are fundamental. The Liberal Equity policy threatens parental rights, freedom of religion and freedom of conscience. The panel expressed serious concern that their communities were worried that voters had no say in a policy that can reshape our society and our very culture. Some also stated that they objected to the over-sexualized curriculum with an emphasis on promoting a number of sexual orientations. Others noted that a problem has been that these drastic changes in education have neither been voted by nor communicated to parents. In short: the Liberals have been lees than transparent with their Equity policy.

An example of the Liberal failure to tell the whole truth about the policy can be found in a recent email by Ontario English Catholic Teachers' association, (OECTA) sent to its members. Consider this observation, "To date the Liberals have shown the most interest in talking about its education record (in a television commercial Premier McGuinty touts its changes including smaller class sizes and full-day Kindergarten) and in proposing new policies, including expanding teacher education to two years (a proposal which OECTA lauded in a news release), expanding summer educational programs for students, supporting more after school programs for children and reducing post-secondary education tuition fees by 30% for families with an income less than $160,000."

The above distortion of the truth is why the press conference was so important for parents who want the facts, not political spin. The Liberals are not being honest with parents and voters. Otherwise they would have to tell the truth about the erosion of parental rights in the Equity policy. Smaller class size are an illusion if you look at the grades above grade 2, after September 30, when the class sizes can be stretched to whatever size the principal decides.The Liberals would tell you that most children are not ready to leave home for the stress of all-day kindergarten.

Teacher education, as all teachers who have been through it know, is generally wholly inadequate so expanding it to two years just increases its ineffectiveness, if student teachers get more of the same. Summer education for students has always been available but has also become a way for students to fast track instead of its real purpose, to remediate. If the Liberals were honest, they would tell you that after school programs are not the answer to a tired and stressed child's life but perhaps suggesting more flexible work hours for parents so they can be home for their children after school. They would tell about the billions it's going to cost in early education, an idea which has no conclusive research saying that it's beneficial to learning or to the health of children.

Voters and parents should be thankful to those who organized this press conference. The event demonstrated that the Liberals are not really interested in the truth of their record on education. Voters, on election day, have a clear decision to make in order to protect parental rights and their children's education: Vote the Liberals out. And thank God for a unified statement on the Equity policy from this multi-faith and multi-ethnic press conference. This is the REAL meaning of equity and inclusive education.

Have you heard of "The Little Me and The Great Me"?

2011-09-28T15:47:00.031-04:00

Recently a retired doctor who still belongs to Canadian Physicians for Life asked me if I had heard of a small book titled, The Little Me and THE GREAT ME? I said I hadn't and she gave me her copy while telling me it was one of the best books she had used to teach her patients and her own children about making good choices in life. Have you read or heard of it? It was published in 1957 and written by Lou Austin.

I took the book home and had almost forgotten about it until I found it in a pile of other books. I thought back to the advice from the doctor and decided to read it. The soft cover text is wonderfully illustrated by F. O. Alexander's endearing cartoons. The back cover claims that over 100,000 copies, in several languages, were sold by the year 2,000 without any mass promotion.

After reading this delightful book, I think its appeal to children and parents is the same. The story deals with a human truth that never changes. In every human being there are two forces within: the human and the divine. One is connected to the self and the other to the transcendent. In every person there's the lifetime struggle between these two powerful forces. It's the all important battle between good and evil, between the human will and the divine will. But the book never slips into some complicated philosophy. We get the story from a cartoon character and very simple dialogue.

Who is the charming cartoon character? It's every child and every mom and dad who reads the story. The book's first page asks the child to draw or paste a picture of himself. The next page says, "This book is about me," and the reader/parent is asked to fill in his name and how old. "I have a great secret. Only a few people know this secret. Would you like to know my secret? I will tell you." Every child young and old wants to know the "secret".

The child tells the reader "the secret"........ that there's more to him than what people see. Others see only The Little Me, but there's also THE GREAT ME (capitalized in the book), The book goes on to tell the story how the Little Me too often makes mistakes by being selfish, by not always being kind and loving as he ought to be. Instead THE GREAT ME is considerate, loving and shares with others. What's the "secret"? You can choose which Me you want to be. It's as easy as blowing out a candle on a birthday cake; you can blow out The Little Me to make room for THE GREAT ME. On one page you see the child blowing out the candle and the Little Me face moves away from the child's mouth. The drawings show sad faces exiting from him. Just like no one can see the air coming in, THE GREAT ME comes back into the body. It's THE GREAT ME that makes the child happy and loving. So every time the Little Me wants to come back, the child knows it can blow it away as easy as a candle on a cake.

What do you think is the next "secret"? It caught me by surprise. THE GREAT ME is God's partner. "When I blow out the Little Me, God's Spirit comes in and I breathe in God's air. That's right. God's Spirit comes in like God's air comes in." (page 29) This is such a wonderful revelation. God is like the air because He's invisible; He's your partner; He loves you and wants you to make good choices in life. When your will works in harmony with God, you will be happy and will be the person you're meant to be.

Yes, there's another "secret". How does the child know that God is a partner and friend? Well, when he pinches his nose and closes his mouth, he soon realizes he has to let go. He needs the air, THE GREAT ME "Because God's Spirit has to come in like His air. That shows I can't do without God."(page 37) God too wants me to be THE GREAT ME. And when he hears someone say that he's acting like The Little Me, he now knows that with a deep breath he can make room for THE GREAT ME.

One last "secret" is the realization that in life we have always had countless choices between The Little Me and The GREAT ME. For adult and child alike the message is the same: "When I'm THE GREAT ME, I am helping God. That is why God made me. God wants me to work with him. God wants me to be His Partner and Friend." In the end, there are seven "secrets". The last one is to remind the reader that God is always with us as our "Partner".

There's more. I will end this review with the first verse and chorus of the song (the musical notes are there too), written by the author. They're in the last page:

I'll be happy all day long,
When the GREAT ME sings my song,
God's my Partner helping Me,
I'll blow out the Little me. (child blows)

Chorus
Yes, God is with me,
Yes, God is with me,
Yes, God is with me,
The GREAT ME proves it so.

What a beautiful book! We see in the simple cartoon story a profound truth. This book needs to be reprinted. Anyone out there willing to accept this wonderful mission to evangelize?

Toronto Catholic trustees of York South-Weston are playing politics

2011-09-27T08:28:00.072-04:00

We now know the truth. Read this: “Public and Catholic school board trustees for Your South-Weston agree when it comes to YOUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION the choice is clear: We endorse Laura Albanese” (Liberal candidate). This quote is from a letter delivered to voters in our ward. The three trustees in question, with photos included, are: Sal Piccininni, Ward 3, and Frank D'Amico, Ward 6, Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), and Chris Tonks, Ward 6, Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

Last year and part of this year hundreds of parents organized themselves and attended board meetings at the TCDSB, in an honest and concerned effort to make changes to the Equity policy. This is a Liberal government policy that allows schools to undermine parental rights, to promote homosexuality as a normal activity, to over-sexualize the curriculum and to change the very meaning of family and marriage. Parents soon realized the Policy was also against Church teaching, an attack on the dignity of the human person made in the image of GOD and an abuse of children’s morality and emotional development. They mobilized to defend their children and Catholic teaching.

McGuinty’s Liberal government has ushered these oppressive educational changes. The Catholic trustees named in the letter have now come out in support of the Liberal candidate whose party brought out the Equity policy. So, according to Sal Piccininni and Frank D’Amico, “On October 6th, re-elect Laura Albanese in York South-Weston. Voting NDP or PC is not worth the risk to your children.”

Here's what the letter doesn't tell you. Mr. Piccininni voted against the changes which parents wanted to make to the Equity policy. These changes would have put sensible limits to what their children would be exposed. They are Liberal cheer leaders and agents in the dismantling of Catholic education. And that’s because we live in a democracy. But both of them are also Catholic trustees, entrusted with the defense of Catholic education, parents and children...supposedly without any political affiliations. Furthermore, they were also elected in a municipal election where there are no party politics.

D’Amico and Piccininni are playing politics with children, with parents and with their elected positions as trustees. In the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association’s mission and vision statement, we find that trustees ought to be “Advocates for government recognition of the distinctive nature of Catholic education.” However, their voting record on the Equity policy and now their public endorsement of the Liberals, clearly shows they want Catholic voters to elect the very party that threatens to alter Catholic moral education and possibly destroy the Catholic schools completely. Voters should reject their biased Liberal support.

It’s a very sad situation, in our province and even in our nation, when elected officials with a fiduciary responsibility sell out to the highest bidder. Otherwise how as trustees can they honestly say, “Laura and the Ontario Liberals clearly have the best interest of our children and the future of education of our province at the top of their agenda.” Tell the truth: It's in your political best interest and the Liberal candidate, not children's health, morality and life. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

The incompetent Liberals will spend billions on all-day kindergarten when teachers know this is not a head start but regressive thinking. Young children are not ready or happy to leave the home all day and 16 and 17 year olds are not ready to go to post secondary school where they spend a year in preparatory remedial work. Instead, parents were telling all the trustees for months: our children’s morality comes first, our rights as primary educators is absolute and Catholic education must be protected. You said NO to parents. You said NO to Catholic teaching. You refused to listen to the parents and chose to support the sexualized Liberal agenda for children. It's your voting record that may help to destroy Catholic education completely.

Trustees must stop playing politics with our children’s morality and their future. Your support of the Liberal candidate reveals your political bias and lets parents know why you shouldn't be trusted as elected officials any more. The honourable action here would be to resign, and for both of you NOT to vote Liberal, like we urge all Ontarians to do. On voting day, say NO to the Liberals and the trustees that back them.

(PS. Read also why lawyer, Geoffrey Cauchi, has asked all the Catholic trustees in Halton to resign, "Why six Halton trustees should resign."

An open letter to the mainstream media, Ontarians and the rest of Canada

2011-09-25T17:41:00.050-04:00

Dear Editor/Ontarian,

On Tuesday night, September 27, there will be the leaders' debate as we enter the last week of the election. McGuinty has tried to present an image of himself as a leader with experience whose party has achieved results in the economy, education and heath care. No doubt during the debate his advisors will stress that he must "look" to be a leader with commitment, stability and confidence. So let's not be fooled; we know a televised debate is mostly about image and feelings and much meaningless chatter.

The television debating game will be scored with all the journalistic hype describing who won and who lost, but in the end it all amounts to using the same subjective criteria that any teacher would use to evaluate a school debate: the debaters, the party leaders, don't have to believe the resolution, they just have to be convincing and connect with the audience. It's not about the truth and what you necessarily believe; it's all about a fleeting unreal electronic image with substance taking a back seat.

However, unlike the classroom in the real world of politics there are real consequences that affect real families as a result of what the electorate decides. A vote should be based on facts and not merely manufactured spin and image.

The leaders' debate should tackle head on the Equity policy that the mainstream media have avoided. A policy, ushered in by the Liberals, that radically sexualizes the school curriculum across Ontario; a policy that changes the definition of family and marriage; a policy that has declared war on religious freedom in this nation; an oppressive policy that undermines parental rights, and a policy that threatens to reshape our culture and society. Mr. McGuinty should be asked to defend his government's Equity policy, and the other leaders be directly asked to state clearly where they stand on the issue. Voters are tired of image management and political spin-doctors.

The time has come to publicly address the truth about the Equity strategy and for McGuinty to stop playing politics with the morality of children and the future generation that will lead this province. Does the media have the courage to report this fact and will this important question be put to the party leaders on Tuesday night? Please explain to me why I have strong doubts about it?

Yours truly,
Me and You

(PS. Dear reader, It's time to storm Queen's Park and to flood our mainstream media with letters, questions and concerns. Politicians must answer some important questions and be accountable for the Equity scandal; they have a responsibility to the truth and to help build the common good. I urge you for children's sake to use this letter as a template and write, phone or speak to politicians, bishops, teachers, priests and the media outlets to tell them that you are tired of the lies and the silence. On voting day, vote responsibly.)

Part 1: The foundations of the Equity policy are built on sand

2011-09-24T09:26:00.037-04:00

The document that is sexually revolutionizing the face of education in this province is called the "Ontario's Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy." It was issued by the Ministry of Education in 2009. School boards know it as Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119, “Development and Implementation of School Board Policies on Antiracism and Ethnocultural Equity”, July 13, 1993. School boards are already implementing this new Equity policy that is supposed to improve student achievement and school climate, but it also attempts to normalize at least ten sexual orientations.

The policy redefines the traditional family and ushers in a curriculum to reshape the dignity and meaning of the human person. Yet, few parents know that this radical ideology was never voted on at Queen's Park. The Liberals have misappropriated their power in a disrespectfully bold move to change the morality of children, to sexualize the school curriculum and to abuse parental rights.

Why the silence in the public square?

This next two paragraphs are not easy to write.The question every Ontarian should be asking during this election is, why isn't this misuse of power an election issue? Why have the mainstream media been relatively silent about all of this? I must also ask and I do so respectfully: why for the most part the all the silent voices of our bishops and priests across this whole province? Is Frances Jacques, principal of St. Joseph's Catholic Secondary School, the only Catholic leader that will say no to gay-straight alliance because responsible educators should realize that teenagers are too young to identify their sexuality?

Parents, in spite of the propaganda that comes from our federal and provincial governments, have never given up their right to educate their children on sexuality and morals. Gay student clubs promoting and normalizing homsexuality is against the teaching of the Catechism. So why are many in the Christian community so afraid to speak up? The only bishop from whom parents heard as they fought to change the Equity policy at the Toronto Catholic District School Board is retired.

Manufacture a false agenda

McGuinty's Liberal government has ushered this homosexual curriculum on children because they must feel they can get away with it. And so far, the strategy is working and innocent children will pay a high emotional, moral, psychological price for our approval through acquiescence. The Equity policy quotes from the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops as if they have their support. Pay particular attention to the part of this quotation and remember this is part of the document's argument for why we need this policy in schools:

"Homophobia has risen to the forefront of discussion. Cyberbullying and hate propaganda on the Internet were not issues ten years ago but now are major concerns for parents and students. In recent years, there has been a documented increase in reported incidents of anti-Black racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia in Canada. Racism, religious intolerance, homophobia, and gender-based violence are still evident in our communities and – unfortunately – in our schools."

The quote goes on to say, "In 2007, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops noted that suicide rates among homosexual students are higher than among their heterosexual peers and called for positive action, reinforcing its earlier statement that 'the right of each student to be free of harassment, violence or malice in speech or action is unequivocal and schools carry the clear obligation to provide a positive school environment for all students and staff' ” (Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2004, Page 7).

The bishops' position differs from what the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) Support Document on the Equity policy says. Here the board reports that there has been no increase in bullying in Catholic schools based on sexual orientation, let alone suicides. Also, carefully observe the language used and you discover that homophobia "has risen to the forefront", but isn't this because the government through the Equity policy and interested groups have made it appear so? Is there any other explanation?

Write a document and suddenly it all sounds and feels so official and right. Wrong. It's just an opinion. Insert in the document a quote from the bishops' statement to make it seem like the Catholic Church agrees. Wrong again. It's just government bureaucrats using deceptive words to try to persuade the rest of us. Even the very word "homophobia" was coined by the psychologist, George Weinberg, to explain the fear heterosexual men felt if others thought they were gay. Isn't that a natural fear? Not after the America Psychiatric Association decided it was no longer a disorder. The word has now been politically hijacked by gay activists and used to intimidate the rest of society. And if this conformity trend continues you can soon be charged with a crime for being homophobic in schools and the rest of our society. I'm serious: it's in Bill 157 and it was passed by the McGuinty Liberals on February 10, 2010.

Spinning ideology into fact by citing UN sources

The Equity Strategy claims there's a need for action because “Inclusive education is central to the achievement of high-quality education for all learners and the development of more inclusive societies. Inclusion is still thought of in some countries as an approach to serving children with disabilities within general educational settings. Internationally, however, it is increasingly seen more broadly as a reform that supports and welcomes diversity amongst all learners.”(UNESCO, Page 6)

UNESCO, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, as an agency of the United Nations has nothing to teach parents about children's morality and human sexuality. The UN is the world's biggest exporter of abortion and sexual immorality. They have managed to brainwash most of the world, with taxpayer money, that reproductive rights, that killing babies in the womb, is a human right. By referring to UNESCO, the Ministry tries to hoodwink parents by altering the truth.

Some have said that to talk this way is a form of Taliban Christianity. But by avoiding the truth and embracing a kind of pablum Christianity are we not turning our backs on all the martyrs that paid the ultimate price for our faith with their blood? Does the sacred vision of creation we find in Genesis then become just another story? Do we not see that churches in Canada are being turned into condominiums and art studios? Too often we treat the Catechism as if we were in a cafeteria and somebody else pays for our meal. As a result, we merely select what we want to eat. The Canadian Martyrs didn't live this vision of optional Christianity, and the question to ask is would they recognize the faith in our Catholic schools and our society if they were alive today?

The saints built their spiritual lives on the rock. The Equity policy is another secular strategy to demolish our Christian foundations and re-build them on shifting windblown ideological sand.

(PS. I hope you do read the second part of this article, and I thank you for visiting this site.)

Part 2: The foundations of the Equity policy are built on sand

2011-09-23T17:55:00.023-04:00

The process used to pass and implement the Equity policy is not democratic, to let the sexual interests of the few control the morality of the majority cannot be called democracy. Make no mistake, this is an attack on religious freedom, parental rights and the sanctity of life. How else does one explain the fact that Equity education rejects Catholic teaching on morality and human sexuality; the policy makes no room for Catholic accommodation as it redefines marriage and family life. No government or any religion should be developing or supporting a public policy that does not build the common good. The Equity policy is neither democratic nor morally sound. The only truly inclusive part of the policy when it comes to Catholic teaching is the nice sounding words, everything else is meaningless and spiritually harmful to children.

Hire an equity officer to sell the lie

How did we let a government Equity officer speak to all boards in Ontario about the importance of implementing the Equity policy and at every speech highlight the societal need to eradicate the prejudice of heterosexism? So this means that all living human beings suffer from this prejudice. Sorry, nearly all human life is alive because of heterosexism. Even a procreative truth is turned into a prejudice. That Equity officer should be working for the Ministry of Doublespeak. This is why we must get involved in this election and make our politicians accountable to parents and children so that we can find our way back to the truth. Anything less, God help us.

Words of truth and hope

I want to conclude this rather long posting with some insightful words from Pope Benedict XVI's recent address to the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of Parliament: "Through this story, (First Book of Kings referring to King Solomon), the Bible wants to tell us what should ultimately matter for a politician. His fundamental criterion and the motivation for his work as a politician must not be success, and certainly not material gain.

"Politics must be a striving for justice, and hence it has to establish the fundamental preconditions for peace. Naturally a politician will seek success, without which he would have no opportunity for effective political action at all. Yet success is subordinated to the criterion of justice, to the will to do what is right, and to the understanding of what is right. Success can also be seductive and thus can open up the path towards the falsification of what is right, towards the destruction of justice."

The Pope is not afraid to confront the evil truth in German history when he goes on to say, "'Without justice – what else is the State but a great band of robbers?', as Saint Augustine once said. We Germans know from our own experience that these words are no empty spectre. We have seen how power became divorced from right, how power opposed right and crushed it, so that the State became an instrument for destroying right – a highly organized band of robbers, capable of threatening the whole world and driving it to the edge of the abyss.

"To serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong is and remains the fundamental task of the politician. At a moment in history when man has acquired previously inconceivable power, this task takes on a particular urgency. Man can destroy the world. He can manipulate himself. He can, so to speak, make human beings and he can deny them their humanity. How do we recognize what is right? How can we discern between good and evil, between what is truly right and what may appear right? Even now, Solomon’s request, for remains the decisive issue facing politicians and politics today."

Society needs both faith and reason

The Pope truly challenges all modern politicians and the rest of us that the highest human calling is the realization that like King Solomon, "there is ultimately nothing else we could wish for, but a listening heart - the capacity to discern between good and evil, and thus establish true law, to serve justice and peace." After this, he thanked everyone for their attention. We should thank him for his courage as the Vicar of Christ to share his gift of knowledge and above all to thank God for this wise leader.

This profound speech, a speech that I believe no modern Western world political leader today is capable of writing, warns us all that in forgetting our religious roots and letting reason run unchecked, society risks serious moral and legal consequences. Even to this day it's incredibly difficult to confront the fact that the horrors perpetrated by the Nazi regime, where reason went mad, everything done was all legal. This just might be the best speech of the century. I would urge everyone, in particular our politicians, to read the Pope's entire speech. We certainly can renovate our spiritual life, but only by applying sound reason together with faith will our foundations be on solid rock and not the dangers of shifting sand.

I firmly believe our Pope is right and Premier McGuinty is completely wrong on this truth. The Equity policy house will in time come tumbling down because it's built on lies. Christians should read the Pope's reflections and humbly be proud to be Christians; we need not be ashamed for keeping religion and our moral freedom in our schools and in the public square. Thank God for the Fourth Wise Man from Rome: Pope Benedict XVI.

Has public education become just another word for sexual propaganda?

2011-09-21T06:52:00.108-04:00

What is happening to public education is truly frightening. If you visit any school board web site in Ontario you may be surprised to find that the major educational problems in the province and the rest of Canada are homophobia and bullying based on sexual orientation. In Ontario alone, millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent to develop and to implement the Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. However, as a parent, when I attended consultations meeting on the Equity policy for Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) we were told something entirely different.

Let me quote directly from the Support Document prepared by the TCDSB and handed out to participants at one meeting. Question: "Is there an increase in harassment (bullying based on sexual orientation) of this type in Catholic schools?" Answer: "We are not aware of an increase in harassment of this type, but any type of bullying or harassment will not be tolerated." Had the government focused, as it should have, on the second part of this response, the taxpayers would now be saving millions of dollars. As a result, the bullying problem could have been addressed in a more comprehensive manner than by singling out sexual orientation.

I can only conclude that educational decisions have been made for political and ideological reasons. Either the board or the Liberal government has not been telling the truth. Why pass a policy for a social problem the board reports doesn't exist?

So, one must convince parents and board administrators through legislation, policies, web sites conferences and advertising campaigns that homophobia is now the nation's number one issue. Result: it has soon become the number one school issue. Advertise an idea long enough and it becomes real. Facts at this point become irrelevant. Should the truth get in the way of deceptions about human sexuality and morality, there's no need to worry, the educational system with its well paid board bureaucrats is there to manufacture consent among themselves and then spread the sexual propaganda to teachers, students and parents.

If you read so far, you may think, he must exaggerating to make a point. Read on and you'll wish that we were spinning hyperbole. If this sounds alarmist, it's because the mainstream media have anaesthetized parents by refusing to fully cover this issue, even as we head into the final two weeks of a provincial election. This election could, if honestly debated, stop the madness.

Don't expect that Peter Mansbridge will be addressing this anytime soon on the CBC, the station taxpayers own, or on the front pages of The Globe and Mail or The Toronto Star or the Now magazine. The real news that is radically changing public education in Ontario with its homosexual agenda can only be found by going to board websites, parental involvement and alternative news sources. And this is something that most citizens don't do because this research takes time and effort.

In the past, the average parent has trusted the educational system, but things have dramatically changed to the point that boards will blatantly defy parental rights and abuse children's innocence. Parents have intentionally been uninformed. Let me go on to demonstrate the liberties the Toronto public board has taken in developing curriculum topics. Presently you find, in the TDSB website the yearly planner. It lists all the pro-homosexual days like Pride Week, planned for June 22, 2012. I would encourage parents to visit the site to see what is now considered education this coming school year. Can the TCDSB be far behind?

The site also displays information about an up-coming conference called, "Celebrating the Spectrum." This Unity Conference 2011, "is a one-day gathering of young people from Toronto and the surrounding areas belonging to or interested in creating and/or joining gay-straight alliances and other related groups. Its goal is to support the creation of safe spaces for queer and trans youth in secondary schools through education, advocacy and community-building."

In addition to this, they are promoting the "National GSA Summit 2013--Let's make history together!" Again quoting from their own posting:

"The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and Egale Canada have announced a partnering commitment to host a National Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Summit for secondary school students in May 2013. We're inviting GSAs from across the country to come and make homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia history by taking part in Canada's largest GSA Summit.

"Sound cool? Let us know how we can make it even cooler by filling out the survey below and telling us what you'd like to see at the summit," As well, they are planning a survey named the, "National GSA Summit Planning Survey--Have your say and shape your summit!"

Here's information displayed on that link: "MyGSA.ca is dreaming of a National Canadian Summit for Gay-Straight Alliances/Queer-Straight Alliances, LGBTTTIQ Positive Spaces, and all other anti-homophobia, anti-biphobia, and anti-transphobia secondary school student groups from across the country. This dream will become a reality in the spring of 2013 when we're inviting all of you to gather in Toronto to work together towards making schools safer and more inclusive for everyone, but we need your help in making this important event happen! Let us know what you need and want by filling out the following questionnaire. Please don't forget to PUSH THE "SUBMIT" BUTTON found at the bottom of the survey when you are finished. Thanks from the MyGSA Team!"

It doesn't end there. The site, features a video with Liz Sandals, titled "Safety Schools for Whom." Sandals is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Guelph for the Ontario Liberal Party. In her video presentation, she argues that bullying and harassment against students who claim to be homosexuals hurts their student performance and their well-being. The problem is homophobia and sexual discrimination. Teachers and schools have not done enough and so the government through legislation will protect students from this kind of discrimination. It's all promoting the Ministry of Education's "Safe School Action Team Report on Gender Based Violence and Homophobia."

Sandals was part a panel discussion, co-sponsored by the Bonham Centre, called "School Safety for Whom: The Reality of Homophobic and Transphobic Violence in Canadian Schools." The conference was organized in response to Egale Canadas first, "National Climate Survey on Homophobia and Transphobia in Canadian Schools." Egale Canada is a Canadian organization who claim to stand for "Equality For Gays and Lesbians Everywhere".

The Liberal government has already passed a Safe Schools initiative with Bill 157 "Keeping our Kids Safe at School". It came into effect on February 1, 2010.

The purpose of the new legislation is to officially make schools safer by:

1) "requiring all school staff to report to principals when they become aware that students may have engaged in incidents for which they could be suspended or expelled;
2) "requiring the principal to inform the parents of students harmed as a result of an incident for which a student could be suspended or expelled; and
3) "requiring that school staff respond if they observe student behaviour likely to have a negative impact on the school climate. This response is to be carried out in accordance with Ministry and school board policy."

I hope this article helps parents see the pro-homosexual avalanche that has hit school boards and will soon be heading into our schools. The time has come to take action and get involved in the political process. Contact your trustee, speak to candidates running in your area, vote responsibly, let the bishop know how you feel and ask the media why this issue has not been responsibly covered. Make a donation to the Parental Rights Defense Fund. This will not end because with Bill 157 you may now be charged for making any remark that doesn't please someone's sexual orientation. What's next, thought censorship?

Remember that Bill 157 was made law even before the Equity policy was totally approved by all school boards. So there's a clear government agenda to mislead parents to justify what we now see in board planners: an explicit sexual attack on children, moral values and parental rights. If parents believed they could trust the school boards and the government that pays them to do what's right for their children, the implementation of the Equity policy should now have shattered that myth. The policy's very name hides the sexual propaganda about homosexuality, the desecration of the dignity of the human person and the right parents have to be the primary educators of their children's morality. The future state of public education will determined by the decisions parents and citizens make in this election.

The truth about the Equity Inclusive Education has finally surfaced

2011-09-20T09:21:00.041-04:00

I’m sure you read the story about a Toronto parent who had to explain to his first-grade son about transgender people, prostitutes, AIDS and female genital mutilation. Those parents who didn't believe how sexually radical the new Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy is, please think again and get informed. We now have proof for all to see.

Just think of the shock for a parent to find this graphic sex material in his son’s Toronto District School Board (TDSB) 2011-12 daily planner. These are deceptively called “special days” or “days of significance.” It's the kind of curriculum we can expect as the “equitable and inclusive,” education is implemented across the province. Based on the planner, on Nov. 19, public schools in the GTA(Greater Toronto Authority) will celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance. It doesn’t end there. On Dec. 1, we find World AIDS Day, followed by Dec. 17’s International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. And the madness goes on. Feb. 7 is International Day of Zero-Tolerance on Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation and Feb. 12 is International Sexual and Reproductive Health Day.

Is this the kind curriculum material for a child in grade school? As a parent and teacher, I don't think it is appropriate, period. It's not education, but clearly indoctrination. It’s tantamount to child abuse. Why did this explicit sex talk make its way into a child’s school planner? It’s because the provincial government has managed to hoodwink and intimidate all school boards to pass a homosexual policy under the deceptive name of “Equity and Inclusivity.”

All the while the mainstream media like the CBC and The Toronto Star have been on the sidelines allowing it to happen. Not only allowing it, but hiding the reality. For example, on the all-news radio stations, the initial parental objections and outrage about these calendar notices on children's planners were reported as "International Celebration Days"! Don't you think that responsible media should cover this issue truthfully and make it an election topic? If we didn't know the truth about this, it can now be found in children’s school planners. Here is a child who can’t even read and adults, so-called educators, who take the liberty to insert all this sexual information in the school's agenda for classroom lessons.

The school board, especially since we are in the midst of a provincial election, has quickly moved into media damage control. Shari Schwartz-Maltz, speaking for the board, said that the planner is “not consistent” with what the board is doing in all its schools. This is a lie. According to her, the board wants to find out why the principal of the school allowed this to happen. What the boards really wants to do is to use that principal as a scapegoat. The planner was not a mistake. This material can easily be found in the board's resource guide, Challenging Homophobia and Heterosexism: A K-12 Curriculum Resource Guide. Please take a look at their homosexual master plan to indoctrinate children and teachers. The explicit homosexual content of the planner is a deliberate attack on parental rights and children’s sexuality. Brave New World is tame in comparison.

The Days of Significance calendar are listed on the board website. Parents should call Chris Bolton, the board chair, and ask who developed the pro-homosexual planner for their children and who determined what constitutes “Days of Significance”? But the information which has now (temporarily) been removed will no doubt come back along with the (temporarily) withdrawn Physical Education curriculum which the Liberals were forced to withdraw last year in the face parental outrage. Parents must make politicians of every stripe accountable or this out-of-control sexual madness will continue.

The special days of celebration have been created to deceive parents into accepting a very sexualized and biased curriculum to promote homosexuality, This is not education. You can call all the deceptive words found in a dictionary whatever you want, but it’s still indoctrination and social engineering whose goal is to get everyone to accept the normalization of homosexuality. If somebody in their right mind tells you that the curriculum is not homosexually biased, consider this: the board displayed the rainbow colours on the calendar page of the website with the headline “TDSB Celebrates LGBTQ Pride.” The link tells visitors about “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer Pride Week, June 24–July 3, 2011.” International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia May 17, Day of Pink April 13, and Days of Silence April 15 are also included.

Mr. Bolton, the Chair of the Toronto District School Board, has stated that he’s sorry that the planner went public. Say that again. He should be sorry for what they are doing to children and the blatant violation of parental rights. He’s just doing damage control for a board which is no longer able to protect children. Bolton should apologize and resign for doing what should be challenged on legal grounds, but most definitely for violating the moral rights that all children have against psychological sexual abuse. He should get back to reality and read, instead of board propaganda, Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that explicitly supports parental rights in education.

Parents need to realize and get informed because this is only the beginning of the moral and legal harm being done as Dalton McGuinty's Liberal Party Equity policy unleashes its sexual poison in all schools across Ontario. Now, during this election, it is time to speak up and stop the madness. Vote for the party or candidate who will stop abusing children and parental rights.

When governments violate parental rights, we need to fight back

2011-09-19T13:52:00.037-04:00

Dear Readers,

As chairman of The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund it is not easy for me to write this, but the sad state of education in the province urges me to do so. Together, both morally and legally, we must defend religious freedom and the sanctity of life. For the sake of the children in our schools, I make this appeal. As you know, in Ontario, and most of Canada, the ruling provincial government has imposed an over-sexualized curriculum called the "Equity and Inclusive Strategy." It's sounds appealing, but it rejects the Christian moral view about life, family and sexuality.

Our entire school system has been forced through policies to promote homosexuality, establish gay/straight alliances in Catholic and public schools and redefine traditional marriage and the family. Parents are told the policy is to prevent bullying and discrimination. However, local communities and parents are sadly learning that the government's true agenda is to normalize and promote homosexuality. This is misguided social engineering and indoctrination. As a result, communities are starting to push back, but as you know it's difficult for the average citizen to be heard in the public square against a government and boards of education that have millions of dollars to publicize their ideology and have the power to pass policies that make it all legal.

In our efforts to fight back, we recently established a new association called, The Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund. This approach is going to be a learning experience for us in Ontario. The association is registered and has five directors. Lawyers are prepared to file at least two lawsuits where they feel they have good cases in which parental rights were violated, but as you can understand, the potential plaintiffs need to know that there is some financial backing from our fund. If we could get some of that support from concerned people like us, especially in an election time, the court case could make front page news here in Canada. This could help put parental rights and sexual morality in school curriculum back on the minds of Ontarians. But only if we act quickly and with financial resources. One court case alone could easily costs tens of thousands of dollars.

A legal proceeding could also compel Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government to think twice about the harm they have legislated for our schools. Let us turn this issue of the violation of parental rights into an election issue. If the present government is re-elected, it will be very difficult to undo the pro-homosexual agenda unleashed on our innocent children. I really hope we take action. I believe it is also an opportunity for all Canadians to know that governments must make it a priority both during and after an election to protect our freedom of religion, marriage, children and family. Yes, first of all, we must pray, but we also need to act on our beliefs. I will conclude with more information about the association.

Who We Are?

We are The Parental Rights In Education Fund.

What are our goals?

The objects of the Association is:

A) to provide financial assistance, on a discretionary basis, to individuals and other organizations who are parties in legal proceedings in which the rights of parents and/or their children in education, including, but not limited to, the right to the freedom of religion are at issue. Such financial assistance shall be limited to defraying the legal expenses they incur as participants in a legal case;

B) to raise donations from the public and manage the resulting funds for the purpose described above.

Who can get financial/legal help?

The association's purpose is to help parents, students and teachers whose rights have been violated. This of course will de done based on the Fund's financial possibilities.

What are the main issues?

A) Violation of Parental rights
B) Religious Freedom
C) Sanctity of Life
D) Marriage and Family

What can you do to make a difference?

A) Get the word out
B) Get informed
C) Start a campaign to help us
D) Pray
E) Donate/Join Us
F) Any other suggestions/ideas?

Contact Information

www.DefendingParents.com
www.facebook.com/defendingparents

Parental Rights in Education Defense Fund
31 Adelaide Street E., P.O. Box 1108
Toronto, ON
M5C 2K6
Phone 647.258.4845 / Toll Free: 877.811.2713

Only if we get together and speak to trustees, board/school administrators, bishops, priests, politicians and the media to express our views, can we hope to change the legislated immorality in our schools.

Blessed John Paul II: A Man for All Seasons

2011-09-18T07:40:00.015-04:00

Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II; Author: George Weigel; Publisher: Harper Collins, 1999

Try to remember an experience that either did or had the potential to dramatically change your life for the better: a person one meets, a place one visits, a pilgrimage to a holy site, a special piece of music, a profound work art or the incredible wonder and mystery in the birth of a child. As I finished reading Witness to Hope: The Biography of John Paul II, I realized that this book is filled with potentially so many life changing moments. If one is open to the Holy Spirit, one's life will never be quite the same after an honest encounter with this profound work.

I'm so grateful I took the Pope’s advice and took a break for the month of August from writing blog entries to try to refresh the spirit and nourish the soul. As I just mentioned, I took time to read what’s really a spiritual earthquake, George Weigel’s Witness to Hope. I could hardly believe my feelings of joy once I had finished. It’s not just book; it's a biography of a giant saint in the making; it's a tsunami of faith, of prayer and of the abundant mystery of God’s love.

The text is nearly 1000 pages and well over half a million words. The long and richly detailed book challenges the reader, but I soon realized I had embarked on a reading experience that I wished would never end. What a wonderful encounter with a man of faith and such a pleasure to follow the life of the first twenty years of the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II. The biography is truly a breathtaking ride on the roller-coaster of evangelization with a pope who was tireless in his efforts to build God's culture of life and love.

Witness to Hope makes you laugh, think, cry and gives you such joy as you spend time with Karol Wojtyla. He was man not afraid to be driven to take the Gospel, the message of conversion and true transformation, to the entire world. You will be humbled by a man of strong faith who made every possible effort to live his priesthood to the fullest, both before and after he was elected pope in 1978. In my view, he’s the greatest religious leader, no the greatest leader of the 20th century.

Weigel makes it clear at the start that if we are to understand John Paul II, we must try to see him through the eyes of faith, prayer and the priesthood that is the ultimate witness to service and to Christ. We will never meet the true person if we judge him through the modern lens of secularism or how progressive he was. John Paul II was above all a man of God. His character was shaped by much suffering, hard work, but mostly by his vocation to respond to God's call.

In Weigel’s words, “To understand Pope John Paul II 'from the inside' is to understand that, for him, hope for the human prospect is rooted in faith. And that is not the assertion of one religious option in a supermarket of possible truths. It is, to his mind, the truth of the world.” (Page 13) This truth “is the conviction that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that is every human life. To put it in a single word: to understand Karol Wojtyla ‘from the inside’ is to understand him as a disciple.” (Page 10)

There’s no way to do justice to this biography in a short blog posting. So I hope to write a number of entries on this book, but for now I want to end by quoting Weigel’s words that best sum up the mission of the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II: “The antidote to despair amid the sundry madness of late modernity, the Pope had long proposed, was the community of self-giving love in which we learn the destiny that awaits us on the far side of loneliness—life within the community of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Page 863)

"He was the prayer of a joyful man and a witness to hope, who believed and wanted to affirm to the world 'the value of existence, the value of creation and of hope in the future life.' He was utterly convinced that 'evil ... is neither fundamental nor definitive,' but he had also learned the joy of Christian experience from knowing Christ's ultimate victory over evil intensifies one's awareness of evil's enduring power in the world. Life, and the daily papal duty of bringing the world's suffering before the Lord in prayer, had deepened his Carmelite intuition that all roads to the truth eventually wind their way to Calvary, to the cross." (Page 862)

I think this is the kind of activity Pope Benedict had in mind when he suggested we use some of our holiday time this summer to re-connect with God and refresh our hearts, minds and souls. Blessed John Paul II was God's gift of love to the Church and all of humanity. If you have read so far, you know that I highly recommend putting Witness to Hope on your must read list. When you do read it, your soul will be so happy you did.

Where has OECTA been during the Equity Strategy battle?

2011-09-16T16:12:00.038-04:00

The president, Kevin O'Dwyer, of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, OECTA, has sent a letter to all members urging them to get involved in the election process. This advise is commendable and needed in a democratic society.

However, O'Dwyer does more than just tell the rank and file to get involved politically and vote on Oct. 6. He reminds them of the 90s and "the turmoil and uncertainty that permeated life in the classroom during that period, starting with the 'social contract' and Rae days, then moving on to the 'common sense revolution'. English translation: don't vote for either the NDP or the PCs. This leaves one other real option. Vote Liberal because they've raised teachers' salaries, have spent taxpayer dollars as if there's no tomorrow and have asked for little of substance in return for Ontario's children and parents.

The letter does say to support a candidate of your choice, put a sign "on your lawn or apartment balcony", make phone calls and "canvass door-to-door". The president tells teachers to talk about education and help to shape it in Ontario. Politics has taught us one big lesson: get involved in the election process. So, OECTA has the "Speak for Children" advertising campaign on posters, billboards and shopping mall banners telling the public about "the exceptional effort and outcomes of an educational system that works with teachers for students, families and communities."

There's something true in the statement, and it's found in the fact that the whole effort is an advertisement. Teachers beware and pay attention. Advertisements, especially those brought to you by your union dues, don't lie. Why? Because, according to O'Dwyer, teachers are professionals and their advice cannot be ignored as "just another interest group."

O'Dwyer, however, chooses not to mention how OECTA has fully supported the Liberal Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy. This policy has been so divisive at the Toronto Catholic District Schools Board, TCDSB, since it undermines Catholic teaching, parental rights and freedom of speech. Nevertheless, this didn't stop an OECTA delegate from addressing the trustees and telling them not only that the Catholic union fully backed the policy, but that gay/straight alliances were needed in Catholic schools, and that he was proud to be advocating for them.

So, where has OECTA been during the Equity battle at the TCDSB? Why have they given money to Egale Canada an organization that promotes the LGTBQ agenda? One can only assume OECTA must have been working hard to convince the board and the trustees to pass it. Keep the Liberal government happy and the union will get what it wants like all-day kindergarten and salary increases for the teachers. It's a win-win situation for both sides.

OECTA leadership should ask themselves some questions: why did they back and continue to fully support a policy that redefines the family, exposes children to an over-sexualized curriculum and erodes parental rights? Why were they so ready to say yes for the provincial government to spend billions of public dollars for all-day kindergarten without any concerns about what this would do to the well-being of children and the added state control over those innocent minds? A responsible union would be asking: does educational research support all-day kindergarten? OECTA's position makes perfect political sense: if a party keeps teachers and their unions' wallets full, then one must give something back by voting for the party that pays you. We all know that elementary lesson.

The current educational system works better for the unions, teachers, principals and board administrators. (By the way, Mr. O'Dwyer why were principals never brought back, after the defeat of the Harris government, into the union? Is it because they can get union wages without paying the dues?) It's working less and less for students, parents and families. The letter makes this clear when it lets members know that they can go to the OECTA website to "Vote for Your Future". Does the title of this link suggest to you that there will anything there about the concerns of parents, student achievement or what families need.

We all know we have reasons for doing what we do, but it's not too much to expect that those, in the separate or the public system, who represent the public interest like teachers, unions, government officials and board administrators should be transparent with important educational issues and policies. Accountability is what was missing as the entire Equity strategy process undemocratically entered the schools through the side-door. When unions are ready to support the government and its policy because it rewards them financially or otherwise, this is not in the best interests of a public educational system and for the well-being of children. Education should never be reduced to politics, ideology and interest groups, even when they call themselves professionals.

Sadly, the union and the government have damaged Ontario's educational system beyond anything Bob Ray days and Mike Harris' "common sense" revolution did. Just like O'Dwyer I too was teaching in a high school in the 90s, but I disagree with his dire assessment of those days. The electorate never gave the Liberals a mandate to overhaul Ontario's entire school system through a policy, not based on sound educational research, but an ideology heavy on social engineering propaganda. Parents didn't vote for their children to be introduced to an over-sexualized/homosexual curriculum, for a change in the traditional meaning of family and to be denied their rights of freedom of religion and speech.

Two final thoughts: yes, do vote on Oct. 6, but where will we find a party that is pro-life, pro-family, pro-Christ, pro-students and pro-parents? Do you even remotely think our major media sources like the CBC and The Toronto Star will even detect this issue on their radar screens during this election?