When orthodoxy is a crime
Canon Lawyer Peter Vere covers Fr. Alphonse de Valk, a Basilian priest and pro-life activist known throughout Canada for his orthodoxy who is currently being investigated by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC).
What was Father de Valk's alleged 'hate act'?
Father defended the Church's teaching on marriage during Canada's same-sex 'marriage' debate, quoting extensively from the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Pope John Paul II's encyclicals. Each of these documents contains official Catholic teaching. And like millions of other people throughout the world and the ages - many of who are non-Catholics and non-Christians -- Father believes that marriage is an exclusive union between a man and a woman.
The response from Mark van Dusen, a media consultant and spokesperson for CHRC, shocked me. I have interviewed van Dusen in the past and he has always struck me as an honest person willing to field tough questions on behalf of the commission. If he feels an accusation against the commission is hogwash, he states so plainly. If he feels the CHRC and its personnel are being unfairly tainted, he states so boldly.
Yet van Dusen did not dismiss the question out-of-hand as I thought he would. "We investigate complaints, Mr. Vere," he said, "we don't set public policy or moral standards. We investigate complaints based on the circumstances and the details outlined in the complaint. And ...if...upon investigation, deem that there is sufficient evidence, then we may forward the complaint to the tribunal, but the hate is defined in the Human Rights Act under section 13-1."
In other words, individual Jews, Muslims, Catholics and other Christians who, for reasons of conscience, hold to their faith's traditional teaching concerning marriage, could very well be guilty of promoting hate in Canada. The same is true of any faith community in Canada that does not embrace this modern redefinition of one of the world's oldest institutions -- a redefinition that even the highly-secularist France rejects.
He also goes on to mention an interesting tidbit in the Mark Steyn trial this week.
Additionally, a message posted to a popular Catholic internet forum has reportedly made its way before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The alleged poster, who is an American writing from America, was commenting on an article written by Mark Steyn - a Canadian author who now lives in New Hampshire. The tribunal accepted this posting as evidence that Steyn promoted "hatred". While the website is never mentioned by name in news reports - referred to only as "a Catholic website" -- a source at the tribunal told me, off-the-record, that the website was Catholic Answers.
While the claim is unconfirmed as of this writing, the controversial Mark Steyn article, over which the British Columbia hearing is being held, was posted to the Catholic Answers message forum. Moreoever, popular Jewish-Canadian blogger Ezra Levant, who is blogging live from the hearing, and who is the subject of his own human rights commission complaint, published a description of the unnamed Catholic forum. Several details match, including the screen names of two participants to the Catholic Answers forum discussion of Steyn's article.
Imagine that! Canada's human rights tribunals are now attempting to prosecute a case against an American resident, based upon what an American citizen allegedly posted to a mainstream American Catholic website. What passes for mainstream Catholic discussion in America is now the basis for a hate complaint in Canada.
Known as 
Does Fr. de Valk have a legal assistance fund that I could contribute to?
This is the kind of stuff that makes me believe time is running out on religious freedom in this world. I sometimes wonder if the day will come when I have to saddle up the family and say goodbye to my country and head for a safer country or just flat out go into hiding. Or maybe God will want us to stay and be martyrs, red or white.
These "hate" laws are just going to be open ended variables used to shut down anyone who doesn't tow the line.
Our Lady of Fatima's words seem to be coming to fruition, there will be terrible persecution of the Church. It seems the wheels are in motion.
Hi,
It is unfortunately very educational to follow the Macleans trial. (Andrew Coynes is live blogging the trial & can be found at Maclean's blogs.) We discover that the BC tribunal does not have to follow rules of evidence. Truth, journalistic standards, and intent are no defence. Hear say evidence is admissible.
So, the complainant need not be an injured party. (we have a professional complainant up here, who is doing very well financially from the awards he has received.) It seems that the complainant need only show that it is possible that that someone (somewhere) may feels injured.
The tribunal does not require timely disclosure. They have ruled evidence admissible that the complaintant did not even have. (Speculation is that they had to send someone to Kinkos to print out some blog posts.)
Yes, whatever we comment on regarding Father de Valk's alleged 'hate act', may very well be searched for, and used against him.
At this point I'll self censure,
Trudy
No one expects the Canadian Inquisition!
http://tinyurl.com/64bpmx
By any chance, do you think that our descendants will be looking back on the "secularist inquisition?"
Wouldn't that be odd? Black legends in the future about horrid crimes and censorship committed by state inquisitors?
All of it is really hard to believe. This is the stuff of end times novels! The sad part is that is actually happening. I pray the folks in our country, and Canada for that matter, soon wake up to the fact that there are people who want to take away our liberty. This is really sad. Let's pray for conversion of hearts! God bless!
Speaking as a Canadian Catholic blogger in the know, I'm sure "Catholic Insight" would love your donation for the legal defense fund. It's a small magazine, with a small readership, and it is probably going to be in financial difficulties long before any trial.
Part of the problem with these Commissions and Tribunals is that whereas the Plaintiff gets the taxpayer to pay all his bills, the Defendent has to pay his own. So just being named to the HRC or HRT means you have to start paying for your lawyer, etc.
You can get a daily news round-up on the HRC travesties at http://www.freemarksteyn.com. And I write on them often at my blog.
Now thank God for your First Amendment rights, and make sure you fight to keep them!
If Canada's HRC-system is in any way similar to like it is portrayed here, it is doomed - digging its own grave quite publicly and in front of the media. What we "hate promoters" are doing, is merely assisting in this noble activity. Well, after patient's demise, all of us shall grieve ... for about two seconds. - I'd like, however, to comment on the last paragraph of the blog entry: Canadian tribunals attempting to prosecute and so on. Why does that enrage you like it seems it does? It is what US courts do to the rest of the world every day; of course they do not do it under the auspices of penal law. They apply the US variety of tort law instead, allowing greedy people to sue for punitive damages, very often on the flimsiest of pretexts. US statutes permit this, enabling a specialized brand of lawyer to shop for that forum with the most gullible of jurymen ... If you are mounting an attack on the principle of foreign courts unjustly prosecuting "our" citizens, kindly consider putting an end to this sort of dangerous nonsense as well - or come down of your high horse.
If you are mounting an attack on the principle of foreign courts unjustly prosecuting "our" citizens, kindly consider putting an end to this sort of dangerous nonsense as well - or come down of your high horse.
I suppose there is room for that on the to-do list. As they say, error has no rights.
Catholic Insight magazine has a button for donating to their legal defence fund at the top right corner of their home page. Please go and give them ten bucks.
Jeff:
1 - Fell for the Greek Captcha. Well done.
2 - Thank-you for shedding light on the precarious situation in which Catholics from Canada find themselves.
3 - I interviewed Ezra Levant earlier today. He was at the hearing when the Catholic website was introduced as evidence against Maclean's, and he states that the website in question was Catholic Answers.
Isn't there freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the People's Republic of Kanada?
If not, glad I fled when I did. Amurrican by choice!
Isn't there freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the People's Republic of Kanada?
According to the Canadian Charter:
But, much like anti-religious liberals here, the First Amendment and its Canadian brother don't apply to people who they disagree with ideologically.
It's pure and utter BS.
Quite frankly, the CHRC can try to do whatever it darn well pleases, because they won't shut me up.
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