...P-203, which was passed by well over 90% of the delegates, is a resolution to remove authority from the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal to regulate, receive, investigate or adjudicate complaints related to Section 13 (hate messages) of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Critics of this section of the Act have long said that the clause creates the precise equivalent of a "thought crime." Under this section of the Act, Christian ministers have been prosecuted simply for defending traditional Christian teaching on marriage.
Prominent Human Rights Commission critic Ezra Levant said he was “delighted” with the vote. The message is clear, said Levant: “the party's grass-tops activists … support freedom of speech and thought, and now see the Canadian Human Rights Commission for what it is: a violator of rights, not a protector of them.”
Resolution P-207 is similar to former Conservative MP Ken Epp’s Unborn Victims of Crime Bill in that it seeks additional charges for anyone who harms or kills an unborn baby while attacking a pregnant mother. While P-207 is not binding, it is now official Conservative Party policy to recognize the rights of pregnant women by bringing to justice those who harm an unborn baby against their mother's will.
According to Canada.com, a delegate from the riding in Saskatchewan that proposed the resolution said, "Families who have lost their daughters, wives, sisters ... know there are two victims. They want the law to recognize that."....
I guess we'll all be impressed when Harper actually DOES something. Right.
Meanwhile, in Toronto ....Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Predergast spoke at the Humanae Vitae Conference, commemorating 40 years since the prophetic encyclical 'On Human Life', which reaffirmed Church teaching against contraception in the wake of the advent of the birth control pill:
...."We need to go back and embrace or re-embrace the prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae given through the Theology of the Body," he said. "There is no doubt that we need to do more to promote the teaching of Humanae Vitae," he added. "Many in our time do not understand the evil of the contraceptive act."
The Archbishop urged the faithful "to read the encyclical, to study it and embrace it." He noted that the "prophetic" encyclical which "time has shown … to be a gift from Christ to men and women everywhere," is "just as important today as it was in 1968." Prendergast quoted Cardinal Edward Gagnon as saying that Humanae Vitae is "one of the most important documents in the history of the church." He also prayed "for the conversion of those who are still resisting" the teaching of the encyclical.
The archbishop of Canada’s national capital stressed the importance of a new document from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, released this year. That document, called "Liberating Potential," was released in September and contained nothing but praise for and faithful adherence to Humanae Vitae. LifeSiteNews.com coverage noted that the new CCCB document contained not a mention of the Winnipeg Statement or a hint of its dissenting slant on contraception (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08092909.html).
The archbishop urged faithful Catholics to "work for a better future by moving ahead and leaving the past in the Lord's hands." Concluding, he said, "I want to thank all of you who over the past 40 years have kept the truths of HV before us. I know that God will bless you for your efforts and your suffering and I ask that we all go forward now with the task of building the culture of life and love here in Canada."
The conference was sponsored by Campaign Life Coalition, Priests for Life Canada, the Natural Family Planning Association, the Catholic Doctors Guild and LifeSiteNews.com. Jim Hughes of Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com that he was thrilled with the conference and that the sold-out crowd was very enthusiastic. "To see that there are bishops willing to speak out on this prophetic document bodes well for the future," said Hughes.
Certainly the Church has many encyclicals and documents to aid in the understanding of its teaching in this area. We also have Pope John Paul II's work on the 'Theology of the Body'. What lacks is access, by which I mean that most Catholics have never even heard of most of these things. Priests and Bishops need to promote better education in the faith amongst their people. RCIA and Marriage Prep. classes, not to mention our deplorable public Catholic schools (not all of them- just most), might be a place to start.
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