H
HagiaSophia
Guest
" Calgary Bishop Fred Henry warned of a growing religious intolerance in Canada when he appeared as a witness before the legislative committee studying same-sex marriage June 6.
“We’re into a changed social reality that is hostile to religious belief,” Henry said, citing a threatening phone call from Revenue Canada and two recent human rights complaints against him as threats to his freedom of expression and religion belief.
“These complaints are an attempt to intimidate and silence me and are without any foundation in fact,” Henry said.
Henry began his presentation with a critique of Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew’s recent statement about the separation of Church and state that was interpreted by journalists to mean the Church should “butt out” of the debate about civil marriage.
He pointed out that a Freudian psychiatrist, or a tradesman or a businessman are not asked to set their beliefs and experience aside when they enter into political debate. “I don’t want to be told I can’t participate because I’m a religious believer,” he said.
A state religion?
Henry deliberately left out any religious arguments or appeal to Scripture in his defence of traditional marriage, and, in a dramatic move, tore off his Roman collar in response to questions from openly gay Bloc MP R‚al M‚nard, who was asking if Canada had a state religion.
“If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll take my collar off,” Henry said.
He said while he was not in favour of theocracy, Canada was swinging to the opposite pole, and developing an anti-religious bias.
Later in the evening, Henry quipped that Canada did have a new state religion and it was secularism…"
wcr.ab.ca/news/2005/0613/henry061305.shtml
“We’re into a changed social reality that is hostile to religious belief,” Henry said, citing a threatening phone call from Revenue Canada and two recent human rights complaints against him as threats to his freedom of expression and religion belief.
“These complaints are an attempt to intimidate and silence me and are without any foundation in fact,” Henry said.
Henry began his presentation with a critique of Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew’s recent statement about the separation of Church and state that was interpreted by journalists to mean the Church should “butt out” of the debate about civil marriage.
He pointed out that a Freudian psychiatrist, or a tradesman or a businessman are not asked to set their beliefs and experience aside when they enter into political debate. “I don’t want to be told I can’t participate because I’m a religious believer,” he said.
A state religion?
Henry deliberately left out any religious arguments or appeal to Scripture in his defence of traditional marriage, and, in a dramatic move, tore off his Roman collar in response to questions from openly gay Bloc MP R‚al M‚nard, who was asking if Canada had a state religion.
“If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll take my collar off,” Henry said.
He said while he was not in favour of theocracy, Canada was swinging to the opposite pole, and developing an anti-religious bias.
Later in the evening, Henry quipped that Canada did have a new state religion and it was secularism…"
wcr.ab.ca/news/2005/0613/henry061305.shtml
