News/Canada

{mosimage}CORNWALL, Ont. - Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine made an historic plea for reconciliation with the Catholic Church while speaking to a gathering of Catholic bishops here Sept. 22.

“What I want to talk about here is the future,” Fontaine told about 80 bishops attending the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual plenary.

Tough-on-crime election promises released this week by the Conservative Party don't much impress the Church Council on Justice and Corrections.

The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition isn't shy about criticizing the federal Conservatives while the election is on. In an editorial in it's September newsletter the Ontario coalition of faith communities takes the Conservatives to task.

Religion and politics are constant bedfellows, so it's no surprise that Catholics aren't the only ones weighing in on this election. Among the religious voices raised in the early going of the short, six-week campaign, Muslims and Jews each have their concerns.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Two of Ottawa’s best known religious leaders have issued a joint declaration challenging a move to force Ontario’s physicians to set aside their own conscience and religious beliefs when they conflict with a patient’s request.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., and Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka said Sept. 11 that they are “deeply disturbed” by a new policy being considered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. This policy could require doctors to perform abortions or other types of treatments even if they contradict their own beliefs.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Less than two weeks after approving an Alberta-based pornographic channel, the CRTC ’s decision to deny the application of two Ottawa-area Christian radio stations is drawing mixed reactions, with some groups alleging there is an anti-Christian bias.

Ottawa’s CHRI Radio was proposing a new FM station featuring Christian talk radio with traditional worship music aimed at an older audience. And Gatineau, Que., resident Fiston Kalabay Mutombo put forward a proposal for a French-language Christian music station.

We know Canadians love hearing about the American election. Barack Obama and Sarah Palin are just way more interesting than our blancmange politicians up here. Now you can get a truly Catholic perspective on the U.S. campaign from Catholic News Service, one of the most authoritative sources you can find.

In its Elections 2008 feature, the Christian, non-profit group Citizens for Public Justice is advocating a review of key election issues from a public justice lens. "A public justice lens challenges us to express love for our neighbour and seek the common good. It puts the values of justice, compassion and care for creation at the centre of political debates," according to its web site.

{mosimage}TORONTO - The Catholic  Organization For Life and Family wants families to discover the sexual liberation buried in long-neglected Catholic teaching.

In its annual message to families, COLF uses the "theology of the body" as a way of talking about sexuality. COLF's goal is to disentangle thinking about sex from  sexual politics, commercialization, media images and pornography.

Catholics aren't the only Christians interested in politics. At www.ecumenism.net the ecumenical movement in Canada is highlighting all the election guides and kits put out by various churches.