A central claim of the ritualization of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church is the transubstantiation or the creation of ordinary church bread into the body and flesh of a Jewish purported Messiah who allegedly died over 2,000 years ago.

Fundamentally, scientifically, empirically, this claim holds no – ahem – substance; thus, the centralization of this claim in the faith is a failure of both imagination and evidence, so as to render a large portion of the Canadian population engaging in mass benign delusional fantasies.

Those who attend Mass and take a hardline approach, or a sincerely serious belief in the transubstantiation. Behind these beautiful rituals, loving and transcendentalist words and religious poetry, scents, tastes, and sentiments and sentimentalities celebrating the life of a person deemed a God-man, there sits a rather large criminal sexual history.

Crimes of the flesh of the priesthood against the flesh of the young. It comes routinely in the written news record.

Recently, there has been another claim, so an allegation, by a former student who went to a Vancouver Catholic school. They claim a teacher in the 1980s abused him. The teacher was sent to another school in the West Coast based on a confession of preying on boys at an infamous Newfoundland orphanage.

Darren Liptrot has a proposed class action suit filed last Monday in the B.C. Supreme Court. Liptrot claimed his abuser and five others were transferred across the country (as abusers). The claim is being moved from Mount Cashel facility, in Newfoundland and Labrador, to his high school, Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate (1976-1983).

On the basis of a possible certification of the class action lawsuit, the head of the defunct Christian Brothers and the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. of St. Johns could be held liable to sexual abuse charges.

The alleged abuser of Liptrot is Edward English, is former vice-principal, John Kavalec, the Catholic Independent Schools of Vancouver Archdiocese, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver. These are huge names and ma have devastating consequences.

Apparently, the corporations who own and run the two high schools are currently being sued, too. Joe Fiorante, Liptrot’s lawyer, speaking on behalf of Liptrot reflected on the fact of the Christian Brothers, the Catholic school system, and the hierarchs of the Catholic Church knew about the pedophilia and still did nothing to protect the students.

The Supreme Court of Canada refused a recent attempt – in January – by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s to appeal the ruling finding the church liable for sexual abuse at Mount Cashel orphanage. Often, the theology speaks in strong tones about justice.

They don’t want justice; they don’t even want to mete out forgiveness. They want to weasel out of trouble, simple as that. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s is financially liable for the abuse.

Indeed, I have heard claims of individuals thinking the Roman Catholic Church is under attack in this country. Quite the opposite, this country’s citizens and the land’s native inhabitants have been under attack by the Roman Catholic Church for a long time.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s claimed no ownership of the emotional devastation at Mount Cashel orphanage or the Christian Brothers who ran it. Purportedly, Peter Hundt, the Archbishop of St. John’s, became aware of the lawsuit only recently.

Melissa Godbout who is a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Vancouver, expressed regret and sadness for those who may have suffered sexual abuse from a person in power. Godbout questioned being mentioned in the suit, as they neither own nor operate the school.

This has been a story rippling across Catholics in the country for years now. It seems, as the Catholic Church continues to bleed members, some of the darker truths are coming out now. Expression of sadness and grief may ring hollow to a large number of people who come from these religious organizations and backgrounds.

These are not isolated events, but international phenomena. The Archdiocese of Vancouver is dealing with its own class action lawsuit against them, too.

As in recent reportage, the Archdiocese of Vancouver has been alleged to cover-up decades of various abuse by members of the clergy. No allegations have been set forth as definitive within a court of law.

A certification by a judge of the class-action lawsuit would mean plaintiff representation of claimants to physical and sexual abuse by clergy between 1976 and 1995. Students from Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate are making the allegations.

The Christian Brothers ran Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate. While, they finished operations in Canada in the middle of the ‘90s due to paying compensation to individuals physically and sexually abused by them. Those who entrusted with their care.

Apparently, Vancouver College and St. Thomas More Collegiate reached an agreeable deal with a liquidator.

As for Liptrot, who is 53, he claims his life was derailed after claiming or making allegations of physical and sexual abuse in grades 9 and 10 by a Mr. English of Vancouver College. He had dreams be a lawyer in high school.

However, he claims use of alcohol and cannabis, heavily, after the abuse, which led to a path of addiction. He sought treatment in 2006.

Now, in 1991, Mr English received 13 charges of assault causing bodily harm, gross indecency, and indecent assault, for which he received 12 years in jail. Liptrot learned Mr. English was not in jail circa 2014. At this point, he decided to go after him.

Apparently, 2007 was when a former British Columbia student sued Mr. English, as well as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, and the Christian Brothers. Fiorante states this case, as many others, was settled out of court.

With files from CBC News.

Photo by Brayden Law on Unsplash

One member of a British Columbia church wanted to use religious belief as an excuse to not join a cross guard union.

Apparently, the B.C. Labour Relations Board heard from a man from Abbotsford. The particular evangelical sect of the Abbotsford man from Plymouth Brethren Christian Church doesn’t allow socialization outside of the sect.

The union is the local Teamsters. He offered to give finances equivalent to the union dues to charity rather than join the union. The day-to-day lives of the members are highly constrained. A representative wrote to the B.C. Labour Relations Board for the man.

The letter stated, “It is our religious conviction that we cannot join or financially support an employee’s union. This request … is not based on any hard feelings toward any individual or to the Labour organization. Rather, it is based on principles that we have found in God’s Word and as upheld by our church.”

On January 29, the application for exemption was rejected. The Labour Code of B.C. stipulates the exemptions apply to preclusion from belonging due to religious belief.

David Duncan Chesman, Board Vice Chair, stated, “As the beliefs or ‘conviction’ of the church upon which the application relies have not been particularized or identified and as no explanation of their incompatibility with trade unionism has been provided, I am not satisfied that such beliefs are incompatible with trade unionism.”

In fact, the church, Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, enforces a Doctrine of Separation for its membership, which means the rest of the world and the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church community.

In other words, the application gave the believes, but the church gives explicit beliefs for public consumption and internal community enforcement. They find technology, communication, media, and schools, outside of the church community as a negative force for their world.

Socializing with anyone outside of the church is forbidden, streng verboten. The B.C. Labour Relations Board provided some exemptions to some churches in the past, but not this time.

With files from CBC News and Jason Proctor.

Photo by Benjamin Jameson on Unsplash

The television presenter Saira Khan received a number of death threats when making a public announcement: renouncement of practicing Islam.

She was a panellist for the show Loose Women. She stated that the issue for women with a Muslim-sounding name and an Asian heritage are the assumptions about them.

In addition to the death threats, she received a number of abusive troll comments online too. Her fame arose as a contestant on The Apprentice. She has been on Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother.

“I feel that by saying this as a public figure, I will no longer inadvertently confuse or unintentionally hurt others of the Muslim faith,” Khan wrote, “People assume that because we have Muslim parents we are practising Muslims, that we have read the Quran, that we fast every Ramadan, that we don’t drink, that we don’t have sex before marriage.”

Her reasons for renouncing Islam included wearing clothes against an accepted dress code, drinking alcohol, and having a boyfriend in a tryst sort of situation. She is of Pakistani heritage. She adopted a child and does not follow Islamic rules on inheritance for her daughter.

On individual Muslims, Khan clarified, “I respect people who have Islam in their lives – some are the most humble people I know… However, I don’t share their conviction. I’ve tried hard over many years, not for myself, but for my parents and the wider family.”

She bases current spiritual values on some of the Islamic upbringing and some other spiritual traditions as well. She was baffled as to how her personal choices in a faith and a lifestyle can so drastically impact the level of hatred in other people.

Khan was, in fact, “contacted by so many women in the last 24 hours documenting their fears for wanting to live their life how they wish… Whilst I like to keep things upbeat and positive, I cannot forget that I as a woman have a duty on my platform to help other women… We don’t need to look the same in order to feel each other’s pain. I feel your pain if you are hurt”

With files from BBC News.

Photo by Johannes Andersson on Unsplash

Those churches in British Columbia, as reported in some previous more in-depth articles, that have been violating public health orders may be given an injunction. An injunction sought by none other than Dr. Bonnie Henry or the Provincial Health Officer.

The basic claim is restrictions on gatherings in places of worship is justifiable in a pandemic. If people gather in places of worship for religious services, and then people get sick, then the obvious conclusion is God does not protect believers from the pandemic. If believers follow the orders, then they understand, too, the impotence of God to protect us absolutely.

It’s a sort of a catch-22 situation of losing in either direction. In particular, Henry, who I respect as a public official and an intelligent authoritative person, seeks the injunction via the B.C. Supreme Court, Henry will be there with the B.C. attorney general on Friday – tomorrow (Pacific Time, so Vancouver Time).

The orders are sought against three churches’ leaders. The churches of Immanuel Covenant Reformed Church, the Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack, and the Langley Riverside Calvary Chapel.

B.C.’s provincial health officer is seeking an injunction prohibiting gatherings by three Christian churches that are challenging her orders suspending in-person religious services.

Lawyers for Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C.’s attorney general will be in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday seeking orders against the leaders of Langley’s Riverside Calvary Chapel, Abbotsford’s Immanuel Covenant Reformed Church and the Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack.

Pastor Lou Slagter is the head of Immanuel Covenant Reformed Church. Elder Nathan Sawatzky, Elder Brent Muxlow, Elder Pete Jansen, Lead Pastor Brent Smith, Assistant Pastor Randy Dyck, Assistant Pastor Rob Lee, and Youth Pastor Cole Smith are the pastoral leadership of the Riverside Calvary Chapel. Pastor John Koopman is the leader of the Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack.

Last week, the province applied for an injunction followed by a response to a petition by churches and some others who want to overturn the public health orders of Henry.

The claim from the court documents is the province of British Columbia is seeking a halting of elders and members from worship at places of worship for any event. The police could detain anyone on these grounds. The discussion seems to revolve around the absoluteness, or not, of the freedoms, the rights of Canadian citizens of British Columbia.

Henry issued an indefinite extension of the orders from November, 2020. This means stoppage of public events to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. The virus sets the timeline for us. Which is to say, as with many things, nature is far more in control. Our job is reduction of transmission via adaptation and vaccination.

Three pastors filed a petition on early January. These were not other faiths or the non-faithful, i.e., the secular, but the Christian in particular and coming from the Fraser Valley, not elsewhere. The petition argues for a violation of the Constitution of Canada, in terms of rights to expression and religious worship, while permitting restaurants and businesses to maintain operations.

The sole purpose is to invert the order for in-person worship, which means Zoom or recordings aren’t good enough. God needs a building and people in it; even though, he’s everywhere.

The province responded, “…no question that restrictions on gatherings to avoid transmission of (COVID-19) limit rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

The province maintains the restrictions are justified. Indeed, “Rights and freedoms under the charter are not absolute.”

If the healthcare systems and infrastructure are unable to cope with the current numbers of patients and corpses having to be dealt with because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, then the protection of vulnerable populations – vis-à-vis health – should have protections from healthier populations.

Dr. Brian Emerson, the acting Deputy Provincial Health Officer, stated in an affidavit that the evidence shows COVID-19 spreads better in indoor settings. Those settings in which individuals may stay longer than 15 minutes.

The injunction application stipulated, “Clusters of COVID cases stemming from religious gatherings and religious activities have been noted since the onset of the pandemic globally, nationally and in British Columbia.”

Dr. Henry wrote to the pastors of the Riverside Calvary Chapel and the Free Reformed Church in December.  after she became aware of their intention to defy her orders.

Pastor John Koopman of the Free Reformed Church of Chilliwack said the “offer to consider a request from our church to reconsider your order sadly rings hollow.”

However, and contradistinction to the posturing of the pastor(s) at select churches, the documents of the court state faith leaders were widely consulted prior to the suspension of in-person religious services.

Either the pastor(s) at these select churches are a) lying about lack of knowledge, b) claiming special rights and privileges based on their interpretation of the Christian religion over and above all others, or c) are simply malicious, privileged, and stupid. B) seems the most plausible based on public statements.

Under Section 43 of the Public Health Act, the churches can request reconsideration.

The most crucial foundation here is the science about the virus and its variants, insofar as these are known to us. The experts note 18 new variants known detected in the U.K. and in B.C.

The injunction application said, “By contrast, the Attorney General and Provincial Health Officer have provided evidence that transmission occurs in social settings … that there is evidence from British Columbia, Canada and around the world of transmission in gatherings, and in particular, religious gatherings.”

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is representing the churches with their lawyer, Marty Moore, who wrote:

Our clients continue to diligently implement health guidelines and protocols to minimize any risk of COVID transmission, and will be providing the court with evidence attesting to the safety of their services

The actions of the government to seek an injunction against these three churches who have brought a petition for judicial review of the public health orders does not appear to reflect a genuine effort to advance public health concerns. 

Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson will hear an application for an intervening through the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), which is a Christian advocacy group on the political level. ARPA represents reformed Christians – 165 in the country and 28 in B.C.

Their application stated, “The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the practice of in-person public worship (including celebrating communion) has been the top issue of concern for ARPA Canada’s constituency since March 2020… That constituency has been profoundly impacted by the orders under review in this proceeding — likely more so than certain other religious groups.”

With files from CBC News.

Photo by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash