Everyday For Life Canada: March 2012

Queen's Park rally: parents say no to Bill 13

The protest rally held at Queen's Park this afternoon by Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario was attended by roughly 2,000 people. They were there to tell the Premier, Dalton McGuinty that they are against Bill 13. Kim Galvao who is the chair of CCPO had this to say, "I am alarmed to see a sexual agenda imposed on our schools by the Liberal government. ... As a mom I do not want my children taught that there are seven different genders. As a mom, I do no want my young children taught the disputed theory that a person's gender is not connected to their physical anatomy. As a Catholic, I strongly object that our religious schools are being forced to permit clubs that contradict its Christian mission. Bill 13 does all these things.

Mar

Protest rally against Bill 13

At a press conference held today at Queen's Park in Toronto, March 28, 2012, Kim Galvao who is a mother and the chair of Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario made this statement to the media:

"Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario is a group of parents and other Catholics who believe that the State is increasingly trespassing on parental rights and pushing programs in our schools which undermine the Christian values parents instill in their kids at home.

Mar

Vatican says yes to new rite to bless the unborn

On the Feast of the Annunciation, March 26, 2012, the Vatican gave its seal of approval to the “Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb." This is welcome news here in Canada and to everybody the world over who is working to build and defend a culture of life. The rite asserts what the Church teaches: life starts at conception.

The Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments supported the idea that had been submitted to them by the American bishops.

Mar

Can religious persecution be far behind?

As pastor of St. Juan Bautista Catholic Church in El Paso Texas, Fr. Michael Rodriguez made a rather courageous presentation before city council. He spoke to defend the Church's views on marriage, human sexuality and the family. Council was debating whether to give same-sex partners the same benefits as all other employees. Fr. Michael clearly defended the Church's position on same-sex attractions, and he also informed his parishioners not to support the city's proposal.

Mar

"An Appeal For Theological Affirmation": a window to our current culture war

Also known as "The Hartford Declaration", "An Appeal For Theological Affirmation" was a statement made in 1975 by Christian leaders who attended a conference at the Hartford Seminary Foundation. The "Appeal" was about the dangers of modernism and "Liberal" theology. This was ten years before the Extraordinary Synod held by Blessed John Paul II to mark the tenth anniversary of Vatican II.

Mar

When killing children is not killing

Recently Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited a centre for victims of family violence Montreal. He wanted to let everyone know that Ottawa would support a program to prevent so-called honour crimes. His comments were in reference to the Shafia killings.

He strongly denounced crimes against women and girls committed in the name of “honour.”

Three members of the Shafia family were convicted earlier this year of killing four others.

Mar

Radio Maria Canada promotes the Rosary in schools

For the past eight years, Radio Maria has been broadcasting first on a closed radio frequency and now on the Internet, students praying the Rosary. It's The Rosary in the Schools program. Every day at 1:00pm listeners can listen to elementary students from schools in the Greater Toronto Area recite the Rosary. Throughout the school year, 2012-13, the station will visit twenty-one schools within the Toronto District School Board and the York District Catholic School Board.

Mar

Corporate responsibility builds the common good

Recently a Tim Hortons located in downtown Saskatoon made the news. The reason: the cars waiting at the drive-thru cause local traffic congestion. Some of the city councillors claim this has been an issue for the past five years. Of course most of us living in major cities have seen those long line-ups of people in cars waiting to get served.

Mar

The cross: a symbol of divine love, truth and redemption

It's very sad news that the British government wishes to argue before the European Court of Human Rights that Christians should not have the freedom to wear crosses at work. Will the same government also ask for a restriction of other religious symbols like the turban and the hijab? Even the Archbishop of Canterbury, surprised most people by saying that today the cross has become mere religious decoration that is worn as jewellery.

Mar

The hijacking of language and moral discourse

Kathleen Sebelius, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, made this ludicrous observation: religious employers can in good conscience pay for abortions and contraceptives because nobody would really be paying for these services. Why? Once you lower birth rates then health care costs drop. This is an argument trying to rationalize the immoral.