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05/24/2004: "A chill wind from the North"

Father Raymond de Souza writes in Canada's Western Standard about the clampdown on unfashionable opinion that has begun in the Frozen North following the passage of a bill that includes "sexual orientation" as a protected category in the national hate crimes law:

There is already reason to believe that the chill has already begun. The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) has reported that The Telegram, Newfoundland's only province-wide daily newspaper, recently refused to print a letter signed by ten people that objected to a local clergyman's support for homosexual conduct. The letter claimed that the clergyman himself was in contradiction of Church doctrine, and cited relevant texts. The Telegram told the CCRL that it would not print the letter because of legal advice that the letter "might be actionable under Canadian hate literature legislation." One sympathizes with the editors of The Telegram; fighting for principle is costly indeed. Lawyers cost money and proceedings eat up time. And newspapers have some access to the necessary resources. Imagine then the plight of lone individuals. Imagine your priest or your pastor.

Clergymen–televised hucksters notwithstanding–are generally not wealthy. They do not preside over large bureaus of assistants and advisers. Their schedules are usually full with the blessed burdens of ministry. A letter from the local gay activist to the local police or crown prosecutors, suggesting that perhaps Father Leviticus or Pastor Romans needs a little investigating may very well have the intended silencing effect. Why bother to fight when the opportunity cost in time and resources is so high? And–not to put too fine a point on it–when the result seems so little in doubt?

Orthodox believers do not expect that the common culture be welcoming. Christians and Jews have long known what it means to be faithful to God in a hostile culture. Sometimes that demands heroism and by the grace of God, heroes are not lacking. But what does it say about the health of Canadian democracy that such heroism may well be demanded simply to preach the ancient faith?

C-250 ought not to challenge the faith of traditional believers. But it should rattle the faith of all Canadians in the health of our democracy.

Canada: less and less like the US every day. At least for now.

Replies: 2 Comments

on Friday, May 28th, Derrick Bishop said

I would hope that some day the church will come to recognize that the message of Christ was one of love and inclusion rather than hate and exclusion. The church needs to welcome gay & lesbian persons and to treat them with respect. To do otherwise is to diminish the message of Christ - "see that ye love one another". We should look at the spirit of the law not the letter of the law. As followers of Christ we should welcome Bill C-250 and rejoice that hate against our gay & lesbian brothers and sisters will not be tolerated in our country.

on Saturday, May 29th, Joey Williams said

Christ did indeed preach love - but he also preached quite a bit about turning away from sin. The oft-cited incident of the woman accused of adultery makes this quite clear: Jesus declined to condemn her, and then said "Go, and sin no more." Not "Go, what you're doing is OK."

The Church is inclusive - everyone is a sinner, and all are welcome. But we are not called to celebrate our sins; we are called to repentance. That is true of every person and every kind of sin. And that's the point that many people are trying to make - a thief who comes into church isn't told that stealing is OK, but he is welcomed as a sinner in need of redemption. The same is true of homosexuals - their sexual activities are sinful, but they are still welcome, because they are no more or less sinful than anyone else. But it is wrong to say "you are welcome, and go right ahead with your sinning." That was NOT Jesus' message, and to re-interpret His teachings to a different meaning can only result in a faith that is based not on the Gospel, but on revisionist doctrine created by man rather than revealed by God.