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Opposition attacks ‘anti-Christian bigotry’
Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
Thursday, 03 June 2010 12:02
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe accuses the Conservatives of being influenced by the fundamentalist religious right. (Photo by Deborah Gyapong)
OTTAWA - Recent attacks by federal politicians on Opus Dei have raised concerns about efforts to drive Christians out of public life.
A number of Opposition politicians accused Opus Dei of being “fundamentalist,” right wing and “creepy” and having an undue influence on the Tory government, attacks that began after Msgr. Fred Dolan, Vicar for Opus Dei in Canada, spoke at a May 26 luncheon at the Parliamentary restaurant for MPs, Senators and Parliament Hill staff.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Dolan in an interview from his Montreal office. “I was mystified because the whole purpose for my going there was basically just to feed the spiritual needs of anyone who wanted to come.”
During Question Period the next day, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe mentioned the luncheon and “outed” a Quebec political candidate and a Conservative Party official as Opus Dei members.
“Will the Prime Minister admit that his policy is influenced by the fundamentalist religious right?” Duceppe asked.
Duceppe also mentioned Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast in his efforts to point to a hidden anti-abortion agenda in the Harper government. Yet both have challenged the Harper government to show more courage in addressing the legal vacuum in Canada that leaves the unborn child with no protection at any stage of pregnancy.
Duceppe was not the only politician to take a swing at Opus Dei. The NDP’s Pat Martin also took shots at the Catholic lay movement.
“I think Opus Dei is creepy and, you know, you can’t account for some people’s taste but I can’t imagine why a Member of Parliament would invite them for a meeting on Parliament Hill,” said Martin May 28 during a scrum after Question Period.
“That’s like calling apple pie creepy,” said Dolan, who said he came not as the Opus Dei leader but as a simple priest, hoping to help anyone willing to listen learn how to “get a bigger vision of their life not just in Parliament but as a whole.”
This was his third talk on the Hill since 2008. None of his talks have ever been of a political nature or touched on hot button issues such as abortion. MPs, Senators and staffers from all parties were invited, and while most in attendance were Conservatives, there were Liberals there as well.
The anti-Christian rancour has arisen not only as part of the Opposition parties’ insistence abortion be included in any overseas maternal and child health initiative, but also the result of a new book warning of the rise of a Christian right with undue influence on government, bent on establishing a theocracy in Canada that would impose Old Testament law. Marci McDonald, in The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, says, “Theirs is a dark and dangerous vision, one that brooks no dissent and requires the dismantling of key democratic institutions.”
catholicregister.org/canada/opposition-attacks-anti-christian-bigotry
Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
Thursday, 03 June 2010 12:02
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe accuses the Conservatives of being influenced by the fundamentalist religious right. (Photo by Deborah Gyapong)
OTTAWA - Recent attacks by federal politicians on Opus Dei have raised concerns about efforts to drive Christians out of public life.
A number of Opposition politicians accused Opus Dei of being “fundamentalist,” right wing and “creepy” and having an undue influence on the Tory government, attacks that began after Msgr. Fred Dolan, Vicar for Opus Dei in Canada, spoke at a May 26 luncheon at the Parliamentary restaurant for MPs, Senators and Parliament Hill staff.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Dolan in an interview from his Montreal office. “I was mystified because the whole purpose for my going there was basically just to feed the spiritual needs of anyone who wanted to come.”
During Question Period the next day, Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe mentioned the luncheon and “outed” a Quebec political candidate and a Conservative Party official as Opus Dei members.
“Will the Prime Minister admit that his policy is influenced by the fundamentalist religious right?” Duceppe asked.
Duceppe also mentioned Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast in his efforts to point to a hidden anti-abortion agenda in the Harper government. Yet both have challenged the Harper government to show more courage in addressing the legal vacuum in Canada that leaves the unborn child with no protection at any stage of pregnancy.
Duceppe was not the only politician to take a swing at Opus Dei. The NDP’s Pat Martin also took shots at the Catholic lay movement.
“I think Opus Dei is creepy and, you know, you can’t account for some people’s taste but I can’t imagine why a Member of Parliament would invite them for a meeting on Parliament Hill,” said Martin May 28 during a scrum after Question Period.
“That’s like calling apple pie creepy,” said Dolan, who said he came not as the Opus Dei leader but as a simple priest, hoping to help anyone willing to listen learn how to “get a bigger vision of their life not just in Parliament but as a whole.”
This was his third talk on the Hill since 2008. None of his talks have ever been of a political nature or touched on hot button issues such as abortion. MPs, Senators and staffers from all parties were invited, and while most in attendance were Conservatives, there were Liberals there as well.
The anti-Christian rancour has arisen not only as part of the Opposition parties’ insistence abortion be included in any overseas maternal and child health initiative, but also the result of a new book warning of the rise of a Christian right with undue influence on government, bent on establishing a theocracy in Canada that would impose Old Testament law. Marci McDonald, in The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, says, “Theirs is a dark and dangerous vision, one that brooks no dissent and requires the dismantling of key democratic institutions.”
catholicregister.org/canada/opposition-attacks-anti-christian-bigotry
