By the narrowest of margin, four against three, the Supreme Court of Canada decided it is legal for a Catholic school to teach a Catholic version of the province’s mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) curriculum. The court ruling overturned a previous decision of Quebec’s Education Minister.
The court also decided that Catholic schools should teach about other religions from a ‘neutral’ perspective, rather than a Catholic one.
“In the Quebec context, where private denominational schools are legal, preventing a school like Loyola [the school which contested the minister’s decision] from teaching and discussing Catholicism from its own perspective does little to further the ERC programme’s objectives, while at the same time seriously interfering with religious freedom,” the court ruled.
Chinese priests arrested
The Communist government of China continued with its persecution of Catholics.
Asia News reported that two priests loyal and united with Rome have been arrested in Mudanjiang, a city of 2.8 million in northeastern China.
The two priests are Fr Shaoyun Quan, 41, and Fr Jianyou Cao, 43. The priests were arrested by police after they celebrated Mass. The news agency added that the Catholics of the city were shocked by the violence used by the police during the priests’ arrest.
Archbishop calls for respectful debate
“In the current debate [about the legalisation of same-sex marriage], normal parliamentary procedures seem rushed,” complained Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.
The archbishop was speaking in the run-up to the referendum on same-sex marriage. He also called for a calm and respectful discussion.
Martin defended the Church teaching which considers as “irreplaceable that relationship between a man and a woman who commit to one another in love and who remain open to the transmission and the nurturing of human life”.
“Even if it were possible to clone a child, that child would still bear the genetic imprint of a male and a female,” he said.
Exploring faith and the meaning of life
An introductory session for people interested in taking part in the next edition of the Alpha course will be held on April 9 at the MSSP oratory’s adult catechesis centre in Birkirkara.
The course is designed to help participants ask, discuss and explore important questions about the Christian faith and life’s meaning in an informal Christian setting and over a light meal. To date, an estimated 24 million people in 169 countries have attended an Alpha course. In Malta, the course has been run twice a year for the past 17 years. Participants may listen to the talks in either English or Maltese.
For details visit the website below or call 9945 1363.
www.alpha.org.mt
Grand mufti wants to destroy churches
Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, has decreed that all churches in the Arabian Peninsula should be destroyed.
He claimed his decision is in line with Islamic law.
The appeal was made in the context of Islamic State’s destruction of several churches.
Last month, Kuwaiti MP Osama Al-Munawer announced plans to submit a Bill calling for the removal of all churches in the country.
Al-Munawer later clarified that the law would only apply to new churches, while old ones should not be destroyed.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)