Doing "The Devil's Work"
All I could do was shake my head when I read this article.
Granted, when you're really devoutly religious, you're going to be intolerant to whatever goes against the grain of what your religious text preaches. But you know what? Paul Martin had a point --- being prime minister doesn't mean he can go around and decide, "Um, yeah. Want to support that. But won't support this."
Like he says in the article, "rights are rights."
Parish priest in Martin's riding prays PM will be ousted over same-sex marriage
ALEXANDER PANETTA
OTTAWA (CP) - A parish priest in Paul Martin's riding says he's praying the prime minister will lose his seat in the next federal election because he's doing the devil's bidding on same-sex marriage.
Father Francis Geremia delivered his message in a fiery sermon during a Roman Catholic wedding mass over the weekend in Montreal. In a telephone interview Monday with The Canadian Press, the priest described himself as a former Liberal who has shifted his political allegiance in spectacular fashion.
He's now working against Martin's party - and seeking help from a celestial ally.
"He has to be very careful because he might even lose his riding," Geremia said from Montreal.
"I pray that he will lose his riding. Because you cannot have two faces: either you serve God or you serve the devil."
The priest said he's glad he wasn't around on a day earlier this year when Martin attended mass in Geremia's Montreal church.
He said Martin no longer deserves the sacrament of communion because of Bill C-38 - the federal same-sex marriage legislation.
The prime minister is a practising Roman Catholic, attends weekly services and is MP for LaSalle-Emard, which includes Geremia's St. John Bosco church in the city's Ville Emard district.
In a radio interview Monday, the prime minister explained how public figures can walk the line between public policy and personal faith.
"I'm actually a very strong Roman Catholic," he told Vancouver's CKNW radio station.
"But I'm also a legislator, and I believe that clearly what I've got to do is take the widest perspective possible.
"And that perspective leads me to believe that the Charter of Rights . . . is a fundamental pillar of our democracy."
He repeated his intention to quickly pass C-38, which has been through two of the necessary three readings in the House of Commons.
Martin said he's willing to make it happen by extending the House of Commons session that is slated to end this week.
The same-sex marriage debate heated up in 2003 when an Ontario provincial court ruled that it violated the charter to ban gays and lesbians from civil matrimony.
That ruling has since been echoed in six other provinces and one territory.
The Liberal government responded with Bill C-38, which would apply at city halls and courthouses but allows religious institutions to refuse to marry same-sex couples.
The government says its legislation succeeds in balancing the charter's equality provision with its religious freedom guarantees.
"I don't believe that a prime minister can cherry-pick among those rights and say, 'Oh, well I'll support this right but I won't support that right,' " Martin said.
"You can't do that. What you've got to do is say, 'rights are rights.' "
But many religious institutions aren't buying the argument that churches, synagogues, mosques and temples will be left untouched.
Gay-rights activists have already talked about challenging churches' tax-exempt status, and Geremia worries that religious figures will some day be subject to hate-crimes prosecution.
In his lengthy Saturday sermon, Geremia never mentioned Martin by name, but spoke about the "government" visiting the neighbourhood to spread its wicked message.
Parishioners described his message - delivered in Italian and repeated in English - as warning that there is a government in Ottawa "doing the devil's work."
Geremia says he's determined to continue speaking out against the legislation because his conscience requires that.
He says he would wrestle with his conscience if he ever came face to face with the prime minister.
"I wish he doesn't come to communion," he said.
"Because he would put me in an embarrassment, (whether) to give communion or not."
Geremia is not the first church figure to lash out publicly at the leader of the Liberal government.
Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary once waded into the debate, saying that former prime minister Jean Chretien was putting his soul at risk.
To which Chretien replied: "I'm a Catholic and I'm praying."
(c) Canadian Press, 2005
Granted, when you're really devoutly religious, you're going to be intolerant to whatever goes against the grain of what your religious text preaches. But you know what? Paul Martin had a point --- being prime minister doesn't mean he can go around and decide, "Um, yeah. Want to support that. But won't support this."
Like he says in the article, "rights are rights."
Parish priest in Martin's riding prays PM will be ousted over same-sex marriage
ALEXANDER PANETTA
OTTAWA (CP) - A parish priest in Paul Martin's riding says he's praying the prime minister will lose his seat in the next federal election because he's doing the devil's bidding on same-sex marriage.
Father Francis Geremia delivered his message in a fiery sermon during a Roman Catholic wedding mass over the weekend in Montreal. In a telephone interview Monday with The Canadian Press, the priest described himself as a former Liberal who has shifted his political allegiance in spectacular fashion.
He's now working against Martin's party - and seeking help from a celestial ally.
"He has to be very careful because he might even lose his riding," Geremia said from Montreal.
"I pray that he will lose his riding. Because you cannot have two faces: either you serve God or you serve the devil."
The priest said he's glad he wasn't around on a day earlier this year when Martin attended mass in Geremia's Montreal church.
He said Martin no longer deserves the sacrament of communion because of Bill C-38 - the federal same-sex marriage legislation.
The prime minister is a practising Roman Catholic, attends weekly services and is MP for LaSalle-Emard, which includes Geremia's St. John Bosco church in the city's Ville Emard district.
In a radio interview Monday, the prime minister explained how public figures can walk the line between public policy and personal faith.
"I'm actually a very strong Roman Catholic," he told Vancouver's CKNW radio station.
"But I'm also a legislator, and I believe that clearly what I've got to do is take the widest perspective possible.
"And that perspective leads me to believe that the Charter of Rights . . . is a fundamental pillar of our democracy."
He repeated his intention to quickly pass C-38, which has been through two of the necessary three readings in the House of Commons.
Martin said he's willing to make it happen by extending the House of Commons session that is slated to end this week.
The same-sex marriage debate heated up in 2003 when an Ontario provincial court ruled that it violated the charter to ban gays and lesbians from civil matrimony.
That ruling has since been echoed in six other provinces and one territory.
The Liberal government responded with Bill C-38, which would apply at city halls and courthouses but allows religious institutions to refuse to marry same-sex couples.
The government says its legislation succeeds in balancing the charter's equality provision with its religious freedom guarantees.
"I don't believe that a prime minister can cherry-pick among those rights and say, 'Oh, well I'll support this right but I won't support that right,' " Martin said.
"You can't do that. What you've got to do is say, 'rights are rights.' "
But many religious institutions aren't buying the argument that churches, synagogues, mosques and temples will be left untouched.
Gay-rights activists have already talked about challenging churches' tax-exempt status, and Geremia worries that religious figures will some day be subject to hate-crimes prosecution.
In his lengthy Saturday sermon, Geremia never mentioned Martin by name, but spoke about the "government" visiting the neighbourhood to spread its wicked message.
Parishioners described his message - delivered in Italian and repeated in English - as warning that there is a government in Ottawa "doing the devil's work."
Geremia says he's determined to continue speaking out against the legislation because his conscience requires that.
He says he would wrestle with his conscience if he ever came face to face with the prime minister.
"I wish he doesn't come to communion," he said.
"Because he would put me in an embarrassment, (whether) to give communion or not."
Geremia is not the first church figure to lash out publicly at the leader of the Liberal government.
Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary once waded into the debate, saying that former prime minister Jean Chretien was putting his soul at risk.
To which Chretien replied: "I'm a Catholic and I'm praying."
(c) Canadian Press, 2005
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