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http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ 1a) http://gs2004.classicalanglican.com/modules/news/ - CANADIAN Diocese of the Arctic may ask clergy to Protest Same Sex Unions. A.k.a.: National ACC seeks to intimidate orthodox Anglican Inuit believers over Montreal Declaration of Anglican Essentials ... (titusonenine)
2a) http://anglicanjournal.com//extra/news.html?newsItem=2005-01-24_sds.news Arctic may ask clergy to denounce gay unions SOLANGE DE SANTIS, STAFF WRITER, Anglican Journal Jan. 24, 2005 - The diocese of the Arctic will consider at its 2005 synod whether employees will be required to approve a statement saying, in part, that "homosexual unions are intimacies contrary to God's design." At its fall meeting in Iqaluit, the 13-member diocesan executive committee voted to endorse the Montreal Declaration, a statement of belief written in 1994 at a Montreal meeting of three conservative Anglican groups. The meeting resulted in the formation of Essentials, a national coalition that supports traditional biblical teaching. (The full text of the Montreal Declaration is available at http://www.anglicanessentials.org/montreal.htm/ ) According to a report in the fall/winter 2004 issue of Arctic News, the diocesan magazine, the executive committee asked that the Montreal Declaration be put before the synod "for ratification." The committee also "said that future employees of the diocese be made aware of this decision and affirmation of the Montreal Declaration would be one of the conditions of employment in this diocese," according to the report. On the topic of sexuality, the declaration says that fidelity between wife and husband "are the only sexual relations that biblical theology deems good and holy." The statement also cites "homosexual partnerships," along with divorce, child abuse and rape as reflecting "weakening of the family ideal."(...) Rev. George Sinclair, national chair of the Essentials Council and rector of St. Alban the Martyr in Ottawa, said he is pleased that the diocese is using the declaration. "The Anglican church has to return to seeking people in paid leadership who affirm central tenets of the Christian faith," he said in an interview. It "seems reasonable," he said, that the Arctic diocese would propose asking people in paid leadership to uphold the declaration. The Montreal Declaration "is an attempt to put into words central essential tenets of the Christian faith." However, Steve Schuh, president of the Vancouver chapter of Integrity, a support group for Canadian Anglican gays and lesbians, said he believes the Arctic's initiative is "problematic on several fronts." In an e-mail response to a request for comment posed by Anglican Journal, Mr. Schuh said the proposal "contradicts the traditional Anglican reluctance to define our theology beyond the ancient creeds and the 39 Articles." (The 39 Articles are statements of Anglican belief approved by the British parliament in 1571. They do not mention matters of sexuality, except to say that priests may marry.) The proposal, wrote Mr. Schuh, seeks to adjust "the ancient Christian formularies" to "the prejudices of some 21st century evangelicals." Mr. Schuh also said he believes that the move could constitute employment discrimination. The chancellor, or legal officer, of General Synod, Ron Stevenson, and Brian Burrows, former chancellor of the province of Rupert's Land, which includes the Arctic, both declined to give a legal opinion to the Journal on the record. Mr. Schuh also wrote that he thinks that "such an affirmation would have a crippling impact on the witness of the Anglican church among both gay and lesbian people and those who support them, in the Arctic and throughout the country." The Arctic motion "widens the circle of discrimination to everyone who even supports gay and lesbian people ... That would make a majority of Canadian bishops and the primate ineligible for leadership in the diocese of the Arctic." Rev. Kevin Arndt, chair of the national church's eco-justice committee, commented, "I wonder how this relates to 'dignity, inclusion and fair treatment.'" A policy called Dignity, Inclusion and Fair Treatment that prohibits employment discrimination was approved by the General Synod in 2001. Canon Linda Nicholls, a priest in the diocese of Toronto who takes up the post on Feb. 1 of co-ordinator for dialogue with the national church's faith, worship and ministry department, said she is concerned that the proposal "creates a separate way of defining acceptability in ministry. I would be concerned about the desire to exclude rather than consider the life and witness of the individual." It has been common knowledge in the church that a diocese might have a "particular theological bent," but that has never been enshrined in regulations, said Ms. Nicholls, whose portfolio includes ethics. The Arctic proposal seems to reflect "discomfort" with diversity or difference, she added. The diocesan synod is scheduled to take place in Iqaluit from May 25 to June 3.
2a) http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=bc_home&articleID=1826672 british columbia news Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 Tories can keep Constitution out of same-sex debate: Harper
VICTORIA (CP) - Conservative Leader Stephen Harper brushed aside a warning Tuesday from more than 100 legal academics by saying he can eliminate a proposed same-sex law without sparking a Constitutional debate(...)
"We're going to promote traditional marriage without the notwithstanding clause," he said. "We've sought and received legal advice. The legal advice supports my position."(...)
"Everyone in Canada is entitled to their own opinion," said B.C. Conservative MP Jim Abbott. "I respect the fact that these are legal academics who have a considered point of view, but Mr. Harper has legal advice from people who are equally qualified. It is a matter of opinion, both expert and non expert."(...)
Harper said he knows there are different views about gay marriage within his caucus and across the country, but the ad campaign will continue.
2b) POLL You can VOTE At: http://www.canada.com/national/index.html Who should make the final decision on the issue of same-sex marriage? 1.70 % Parliament 93.96 % Canadian citizens 4.26 % The courts 0.07 % Don't know
2c) http://www.canada.com/national/story.html?id=7bc0f646-c5c5-49ab-a501-409f3f1fcf33 Dissident Liberals take stand against same-sex marriage Alexander Panetta, Canadian Press Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Liberal MPs opposed to same-sex marriage launched a last-ditch assault Tuesday against legislation that would allow gays and lesbians to wed.
With only days likely remaining before the federal government introduces a bill to redefine marriage, dissident Liberals pleaded their case with colleagues at the party's annual winter caucus.
They prepared a closed-door pitch to fellow MPs to vote against the legislation and called on Prime Minister Paul Martin, who was to arrive Tuesday afternoon, to allow cabinet ministers a free vote.
Ontario MP Paul Steckle said the legislation could be defeated if Martin lets all MPs - including ministers - vote freely.
Steckle was dead set against making gay marriage the centrepiece of the next Liberal election campaign, a possibility the prime minister has raised, then downplayed.
"It was preposterous to even suggest such a thing," Steckle said.
"Canadians wouldn't tolerate an election being called on same-sex benefits. When the country is split 50-50, how can you win on such a notion?"(...)
Justice Department officials said they planned to introduce a marriage bill in the first days of the parliamentary session that starts next week, marking the final chapter in a turbulent debate(...)
NDP Leader Jack Layton said Martin could make things easier by simply ordering all Liberal MPs to stand behind the marriage bill.
"Why doesn't he just ask the whole caucus to support human rights? That would be true leadership," Layton said in Toronto.
He said such a move would put to rest the Liberal-Conservative shouting match over whether the notwithstanding clause remains the only tool to overturn gay marriage(...)
2d) http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=1028969c-da7b-4be8-910e-5ae952d7b29d NATIONAL POST: Latest News Harper's same-sex stand Gay marriage fight a winner for Conservatives despite dissent, leader says Peter O'Neil, CanWest News Service Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Conservative leader Stephen Harper's new ad campaign questioning the merits of same-sex marriage legislation is a "win-win" for the party, supporters say(...)
"If we don't have a free vote then I think inevitably Canadians won't be happy with this. And certainly, as I said, I'm prepared to have a free vote when I'm prime minister."
Earlier in an interview with National Post columnist Don Martin, Mr. Harper said if Mr. Martin wanted to call an election on the same-sex issue -- "that's fine. It was his idea not mine, just like discussing polygamy was the Liberals' idea not mine.
"I'd like to tell you there are other more important things on the agenda, but the Prime Minister sets the agenda and this is the only thing he's put on it. There's almost nothing else."(...)
Mr. Harper said he's confident judges will respect the will of Parliament if he forms a government and pushes through his own legislation to reverse the law(...)
The newspaper ads, which have run in community newspapers and target minority groups who traditionally vote Liberal, asks: "Where do you draw the line?"
The ads include a photograph of Mr. Martin, stating that the Prime Minister wants to "impose" same-sex marriage, and another shot of a smiling Mr. Harper, who is defending "traditional" marriage(...)
2e) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050125.w2gaym01251/BNStory/National/ NATIONAL UPDATED AT 5:07 PM EST Tuesday, Jan 25, 2005 By ALLISON DUNFIELD Globe and Mail Update with Canadian Press Prime Minister Paul Martin won't back off his plans to introduce a same-sex marriage bill, despite calls from some MPs for him to rethink introducing the legislation.
Mr. Martin told reporters in Fredericton that despite efforts from a group of Liberal MPs to encourage their colleagues to vote against the bill or for the Prime Minister to abandon the bill, he won't do so(...)
Although national caucus chairman Andy Savoy had dubbed this Liberal retreat the "3M" summit - missiles, (same-sex) marriage and mad-cow disease - the gay-marriage issue has taken centre stage.
(Liberal) Ontario MP Paul Steckle said the controversial notwithstanding clause was a legitimate part of the Constitution and it could be used to stop same-sex marriage(...)
2f) http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=cf2ea2a2-76cc-4ef0-ad35-49f61fee3013 National Post, Tuesday, January 25th 2005 (Subscription required) One in five would accept polygamy, survey discloses OTTAWA - Stephen Harper was not too far off in warning that same-sex marriage could result in other Canadians lobbying for polygamy.(...)
2g) http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/news/story.html?id=c0a8ea55-f562-43d4-98a1-05551cda5363 Vancouver Province Newspaper, Tuesday, Jan 25th 2005 Gay couple fight Knights Two Coquitlam women who tried to book a same-sex wedding reception at a Knights of Columbus hall in Coquitlam argued before a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal panel yesterday that they were discriminated against on the basis of their sexual orientation.
2h) http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jan/05012101.html Friday January 21, 2005 Quebec City Cardinal - Primate of Canada - Warns Gay 'Marriage' Will Lead to "Bitter" "Cultural Upheaval"
2i) http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Lorrie_Goldstein/2005/01/23/907714.html FEDS COWARDS ON GAY MARRIAGE Ducked issue by leaving it with courts Lorrie Goldstein, Toronto Sun Sunday, January 23, 2005 In his latest argument in favour of same sex-marriages, Prime Minister Paul Martin has described it as a "Charter right".
In other words, legalizing gay and lesbian unions, Martin now argues, is a basic issue of protecting minorities from discrimination, as guaranteed by Section 15 of the Charter of Rights.
There's only one problem. Nowhere in Section 15 do the words "sexual orientation" appear.
When the Charter was passed by Parliament in 1982, it specifically protected individuals from discrimination based on "race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability".
Sexual orientation as a "Charter right" was never approved by Parliament. It was "read into" the Charter by the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, starting in 1995(...)
Absurd stand The fact that today, Martin, less than two years after his own flip-flop on same-sex marriage, is carrying on like this issue is so close to his heart that he's prepared to go to the polls to fight for it is absurd, given his record(...)
2k) http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Ted_Byfield/2005/01/23/907271.htmlBAD WEEK FOR THE CAUSE Things just went 'wronger and wronger' for proponents of gay marriage
Ted Byfield Calgary Sun, Sunday, January 23, 2005 The Liberal government's campaign to impose gay marriage on the country, a campaign whose success has been portrayed in the national (meaning Toronto) media as a foregone conclusion, appeared last week to be something less than foregone after all. From the point of view of the imposers, things started to go wrong early in the week, and went, so to speak, wronger and wronger as the week went on(...) At the same time, Martin, schmoozing his way through India, found himself castigated by the Sikhs there for even considering gay marriage here. All these developments were bad news. Although metro Toronto is the Liberal heartland, it teems with Sikhs plus Filipino, Vietnamese, African and Latin American Catholics, most of them very devout Christians(...) Then came even worse news. The government was disclosed to be discreetly examining the implications of gay-marriage to Canadian marital law in general. The conclusion: Recognizing gay marriage would certainly open the door to polygamy. After all, if marriage is a matter of human rights, how can the law disqualify Muslims whose Koran authorizes a man to have four wives, or Mormons who at one time widely observed the multiple-wife tradition until the law prohibited it? Now what would the Globe say about that? It found the usual solution, and (as this was written) refused to even report on the polygamy study. What worried the gay-marriage devotees most, however, was this: Why were the Liberals conducting such a study? Could it be they were preparing an escape clause, something they could point to as justification for withdrawing the bill? Surely not. Whatever it meant, last week went very badly for the gay marriage cause.
2l) http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Calgary/Ezra_Levant/2005/01/24/908182.html TABOOS TUMBLE DOWN Polygamy looks certain to be next marriage issue Ezra Levant, Calgary Sun Monday, January 24, 2005
The Liberal government is studying the prospect of changing the definition of marriage again -- this time, to include polygamy. That's not just a scary scenario cooked up by opponents to the Liberals' policy of same-sex marriage. That's the official word from the Liberal government itself, which is now studying polygamy "in order to best prepare for possible debate surrounding Canada's polygamy policy." According to government documents, the debate is going to come -- in fact, it's already here(...) Polygamy isn't just the sport of eccentrics in the B.C. interior -- it's a practice sanctioned by some in Canada's fastest-growing religion: Islam. Under the Koran, Muslim men are allowed up to four wives. Far from renouncing or minimizing this practice -- as mainstream Mormonism has renounced its fundamentalists cousins -- some of Canada's Islamic leaders gently press for polygamy's legalization(...) Today polygamy is illegal, a crime under the Criminal Code. But then again, so was sex with minors, until an activist court lowered the age of consent to 14. If the ban on two men marrying is illegal because it violates the Charter's equality rights provisions, then surely the ban on a man and four women marrying is illegal for exactly the same reason(...) Is there a line that can't be crossed? Is there a tradition that cannot be abandoned, or a taboo that cannot be violated? The mere fact the government is funding a study of polygamy, and a national Muslim leader is making the case for it, tells us plenty. Levant is publisher of the Western Standard 2m) http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jan/050123A.html LifeSite Special Report - Sunday January 23, 2005 Quebec Cardinal's letter on Same-Sex 'Marriage' Leglislation
3a) http://www.americananglican.org/News/News.cfm?ID=536&c=21 Source: Anglican Communion in New Westminster March 7, 2003 (Almost 2 years ago) Statement by International Primates The undersigned declare that:
1. Motion 7 (a motion in respect of the blessing of same sex unions) passed by the June 2002 Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada and the assent given by Bishop Michael Ingham thereto are schismatic and contravene submission to the sovereign authority of Holy Scripture and loyalty to our Anglican tradition and formularies; and 2. such schismatic actions of the Synod and Bishop Michael Ingham create an exceptional pastoral emergency for at least eight parishes within the Diocese of New Westminster (referred to as the ACiNW coalition parishes) which oppose the authorization and implementation of the blessing of same sex unions and would like to remain faithful to the authority of Holy Scripture and our Anglican tradition and formularies ("Orthodox Parishes"); and 3. such exceptional pastoral emergency within the Anglican Church of Canada constitutes a case of exceptional emergency which requires intervention from the wider Anglican communion; and 4. the undersigned commend, endorse and affirm the offer of alternative episcopal oversight with full jurisdiction to the Orthodox Parishes made by Bishop Terry Buckle of the Diocese of Yukon in the Anglican Church of Canada (the "AEO Offer") as a faithful and legitimate step to resolve such exceptional pastoral emergency within the Anglican Church of Canada; and 5. in the interest of the wider Anglican Communion, we the undersigned request all Primates to join us in affirming the AEO solution.
Signed: * Archbishop of West Indies, The Most Revd Drexel Wellington Gomez * Archbishop of Central Africa, The Most Revd Bernard Amos Malango * Archbishop of Kenya, The Most Revd Benjamin M P Nzimbi * Archbishop of Congo, The Most Revd Dr. Fidele Balufuga Dirokpa * Archbishop of Rwanda, The Most Revd Emmanuel Musaba Kolini * Archbishop of South East Asia, The Most Revd Datuk Yong Ping Chung
3b) http://www.anglicanessentials.org/News_Terry_Buckle.htm November 7, 2003 (over 14 months ago) (...)After much prayerful thought and reflection I have reached the conclusion that it is necessary at this point in time for me to withdraw my offer of Alternate Episcopal Oversight to the parishes of the ACiNW(...)
+Terry, T.O. Buckle, Bishop of Yukon
3c) http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/1791.htm From "Anglican Communion News Service" Date Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:59:27 +0100 (15 months ago) ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE ACNS 3633 | ENGLAND | 16 OCTOBER 2003 (over 15 months ago)
A Statement by the Primates of the Anglican Communion meeting in Lambeth Palace (...)At this time we feel the profound pain and uncertainty shared by others about our Christian discipleship in the light of controversial decisions by the Diocese of New Westminster to authorise a Public Rite of Blessing for those in committed same sex relationships, and by the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church (USA) to confirm the election of a priest in a committed same sex relationship to the office and work of a Bishop.
These actions threaten the unity of our own Communion as well as our relationships with other parts of Christ's Church, our mission and witness, and our relations with other faiths, in a world already confused in areas of sexuality, morality and theology, and polarised Christian opinion(...)
Therefore, as a body we deeply regret the actions of the Diocese of New Westminster and the Episcopal Church (USA) which appear to a number of provinces to have short-circuited that process, and could be perceived to alter unilaterally the teaching of the Anglican Communion on this issue. They do not(...)
To this extent, therefore, we must make clear that recent actions in New Westminster and in the Episcopal Church (USA) do not express the mind of our Communion as a whole, and these decisions jeopardise our sacramental fellowship with each other. We have a particular concern for those who in all conscience feel bound to dissent from the teaching and practice of their province in such matters. Whilst we reaffirm the teaching of successive Lambeth Conferences that bishops must respect the autonomy and territorial integrity of dioceses and provinces other than their own, we call on the provinces concerned to make adequate provision for episcopal oversight of dissenting minorities within their own area of pastoral care in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the Primates(...)
If his (Gene Robinson's) consecration proceeds, we recognise that we have reached a crucial and critical point in the life of the Anglican Communion and we have had to conclude that the future of the Communion itself will be put in jeopardy. In this case, the ministry of this one bishop will not be recognised by most of the Anglican world, and many provinces are likely to consider themselves to be out of Communion with the Episcopal Church (USA). This will tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level, and may lead to further division on this and further issues as provinces have to decide in consequence whether they can remain in communion with provinces that choose not to break communion with the Episcopal Church (USA).
Similar considerations apply to the situation pertaining in the Diocese of New Westminster(...)
4a) http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/call-to-pray.htm NATIONAL CALL TO PRAYER FOR MARRIAGE January 29 - 30, 2005
A joint message from the following national organizations: Canada Family Action Coalition, Focus on the Family Canada, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Christian Legal Fellowship, Evangelical Association of Churches, Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada, Real Women of Canada
Dear Fellow Canadians;
Marriage is on the frontlines - again. The attempts to redefine marriage are an affront to this God-ordained institution, its righteousness and sanctity.
We know that prayer has the power to change things. God's people are required to be a force of righteousness and the light. It is up to the church to lead and promote marriage. So we are issuing this email to invite you to join us in prayer in the days ahead, culminating in a national prayer weekend January 29 -30, 2005(...)
Would you as a spiritual leader in this nation take sufficient time in your service on Saturday January 29 or Sunday January 30 to call all people in the church to pray? Let us continue in prayer until we hear from God(...) http://christianity.ca/family/marriage/ontherock/about.html . 4b) http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/tfn/2005/012105.html January 21, 2005 RELIGIOUS LEADERS ASSAIL GAY MARRIAGE
The supreme spiritual leader of Sikhism and a Roman Catholic cardinal have both taken a firm stance against the Canadian government's plan to legalize same-sex marriage.
In what Canadian Press called an "unprecedented edict," Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti in Amritsar, India, directed Sikhs around the world to oppose gay marriage as well as any government or political party that promotes it. Outside of Asia, more Sikhs - about 300,000 - call Canada home than anywhere else in the world.
The edict, which is meant to be binding on followers of Sikhism, was published just two days before Prime Minister Paul Martin was due to arrive in India as part of his Asian tour of regions ravaged by last month's tsunami(...)
At the same time, Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Toronto, appealed to Martin in a letter made public this week that marriage not be extended to homosexuals, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.
Ambrozic warned the Prime Minister against rushing into a redefinition of marriage, especially when "none of us" can predict what its impact would be on society. The cardinal suggested that the government invoke the Charter's notwithstanding clause, which would give Canadians five years to arrive at "a sober and careful decision" and allow for time "to observe the social experiments now under way in Belgium and the Netherlands [where same-sex marriage is now legal] and in other places where legislation implementing same-sex marriage might occur."
With 1.4 million adherents, Ambrozic heads the largest and most multicultural Catholic diocese in English-speaking Canada.
4c) http://www.fotf.ca/familyfacts/tfn/2005/012105.html CANADIAN FORCES GIVES OK TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
On Wednesday, the Ottawa Sun reported that homosexuals in the Canadian Forces can now be legally married on military bases. New "interim" guidelines allow military chaplains to perform gay weddings if they so choose, with the use of on-base chapels.
"It's essentially a statement of the way the law is going," Colonel Stan Johnstone, a military chaplain who helped draft the policy, told the Sun.
But Derek Rogusky, Vice-President of family policy for Focus on the Family Canada, doubts that gay weddings will in fact be welcomed on military bases. "You already see the division across the country [over gay marriage]," he said, "and now you're going to bring that on the base of a military where cohesion and unity is a key aspect of their success?"(...)
5) http://www.anglicangathering.ca/articles/humphreyad.htm Dr. Edith Humphrey is coming from Pittsburgh to Ottawa Feb 11 as the speaker at the Anglican Gathering that night. 7:30 - 9:30, St George's Church, Metcalfe St, Ottawa.
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