Posted on 07/19/2005 5:16:30 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
OTTAWA, July 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Just as Senate approaches the final vote on the gay 'marriage' bill, C-38, Canada's national public radio CBC Radio has aired a commentary by a retired professor from the Royal Military College calling for state control over religion, specifically Catholicism. While parliamentarians dismissed warnings by numerous religious leaders and experts that such laws would lead to religious persecution, former professor Bob Ferguson has called for "legislation to regulate the practice of religion."
"Given the inertia of the Catholic Church, perhaps we could encourage reform by changing the environment in which all religions operate," Ferguson began his commentary in measured tones yesterday. "Couldn't we insist that human rights, employment and consumer legislation apply to them as it does other organizations? Then it would be illegal to require a particular marital status as a condition of employment or to exclude women from the priesthood. "
Ferguson continued, "Of course the Vatican wouldn't like the changes, but they would come to accept them in time as a fact of life in Canada. Indeed I suspect many clergy would welcome the external pressure."
The former professor pitched his idea as a boon to religious freedom. "We could also help the general cause of religious freedom by introducing a code of moral practice for religions," he said. "They will never achieve unity so why not try for compatibility? Can't religious leaders agree to adjust doctrine so all religions can operate within the code?"
Ferguson, would see religion regulated by provinces in the same way professions are regulated. "I am an engineer so the model I am thinking about is rather like the provincial acts regulating the practice of engineering," he said. "For example, engineers must have an engineering degree from a recognized university or pass qualification exams. They must have a number of years of practical experience and pass an ethics exam. The different branches: mechanical, electrical, civil and the like have a code of practice that applies to everyone. Why can't religious groups do the same?"
Continuing his comparison Ferguson stated, "I envisage a congress meeting to hammer out a code that would form the basis of legislation to regulate the practice of religion. Like the professional engineers' P.Eng designation, there would then be RRPs (or registered religious practitioners). To carry the analogy to its conclusion, no one could be a religious practitioner without this qualification."
Ferguson also suggests 'obvious' prohibitions on religion including preaching of 'hate'. "I won't try to propose what might be in the new code except for a few obvious things: A key item would have to be a ban on claims of exclusivity. It should be unethical for any RRP to claim that theirs was the one true religion and believers in anything else or nothing were doomed to fire and brimstone. One might also expect prohibition of ritual circumcisions, bans on preaching hate or violence, the regulation of faith healers, protocols for missionary work, etc.," says Ferguson.
The retired professor concluded his comments aired on CBC yesterday morning saying, "Now what is the point of proposing this? I do it because I am worried that the separation between church and state is under threat. Religion is important in our lives, but it can become a danger to society when people claim that the unalterable will of God is the basis for their opinions and actions. Yes religion can be a comfort and a guide, but we cannot take rules from our holy books and apply them to the modern world without democratic debate and due regard for the law."
Listen to an audio recording of the commentary: http://cbc.ca/commentary/media/20050718JUL18.ram
It is worse in Canada but it is coming to the US. Cardinal George spoke of an underground future for the Catholic Church in the United States on several occasions in the last year.
Do you have a link to those speeches?
I've been looking. That's why I tagged NWU ARMY ROTC to the post. He would know I'm sure. I'll keep looking.
"It is worse in Canada but it is coming to the US. Cardinal George spoke of an underground future for the Catholic Church in the United States on several occasions in the last year."
Interesting. A link perhaps?
I can't say I'm surprised or shocked to see this article. This was predictable. The culture of death knows who it's enemies are. So Canada is drawing up it's blueprints for sort of kinder, gentler supression of religion. No surprises there. We'll see this sort of "discussion" (read: planning) in the U.S. within 5 years. If not sooner.
Christians need to start thinking about the future.
My thoughts exactly. Michael O'Brian's novels seem more and more prescient as the months go on.
Liberals are blind to religion...probably by design. He treats religion as an extracurricular activity like biking. Sad. They will never understand that the essence of religion is life and that our temporary existence here is just that, temporary. Any prohibitions they put on it will only make the faithful that much more fervent. We keep the eye on the prize, so to speak.
Bend over and grab your ankles... Your In Canada, Big Boy.
Obviously the purpose would be to force the churches to perform gay weddings, now that they are legal in Canada.
The liberal sewer rats will know their job is done when Churches support sodomy and killing babies.
As nations go, Canada is pretty artificial. The British and French came together simply to keep the US out. They didn't much like each other. Indeed, the English, Scots, and Irish weren't necessarily friendly towards each other.
The French didn't particularly share English Canada's affection for the British royal family, and the English didn't care about the equivalent institution for the French -- the Roman Catholic Church.
Then over the last forty years or so, it all fell apart. If the Americans weren't there already, they weren't coming. Love of England's royal family and traditions came to look fusty and old-fashioned. Quebec gradually rejected its Catholic traditions.
Everybody wanted to be truly "Canadian," but it wasn't at all clear what it meant. Except perhaps that a Canadian had to be different from US Americans, and was also expected to be different from the old school England-loving colonial Tories or pious and obedient Quebec Catholics.
So you have a vacuum into which any professor or bureaucrat with a "bright idea" can step into -- so long as it makes Canada less, rather than more, American. Canada more or less gave the world "multiculturalism," another brainstorm by academics with too much time on their hands.
Yeah, but here we are. Now what do we do?
I'm reminded of a quote of Mother Angelica's, where she said she wouldn't want to live in a different age. She said we all have a great opportunity to defend the faith in this new Dark Age.
It's exciting, and terrifying. I can't imagine what my children will be facing in the coming decades.
Mother Angelica was and is spot on.
MACVSOG68, you have a disciple in Canada.
Hmmm. Maybe he's on to something. No, actually he should drop such ridiculous ideas. The government's job should be to protect religious rights, not regulate them.
OTOH, I think the government can and should step in when any religious group advocates the infringment on the rights of others. I'm thinking of the madrasas openly preaching the murder of innocent people, and the occasional priest advocating the bombing of an abortion clinic. But the rest of this guy's rants are just garbage.
Edmund Burke, not particularly known for his religious leanings always believed that religion helped keep the population calm and was good and necessary for civilized societies.
and/or Henry Bowman...
Yep. "Have faith in God, but put your trust in the Mauser" - Boer saying
Yep. "Have faith in God, but put your trust in the Mauser" - Boer saying
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.