National news

 — June 30, 200630 juin 2006

The March 2 Supreme Court of Canada unanimous decision upholding the right of a Sikh student to wear a kirpan in a Quebec public school is seen as positive affirmation of religious freedom. “It is gesture in favour of pluralism and accommodation of religious differences,” said lawyer Peter Lauwers. “The court found as a matter of fact that an orthodox Sikh is required to wear a kirpan at all times, even in bed. It is a bona fide religious requirement,” he said. This means outward signs of the religion have to be tolerated, and would extend to crosses, stars of David, Chadors or hijabs, and other religious symbols. The courts did say the school could place restrictions on the kirpan for safety reasons, for example making sure it is blunt, sheathed and sewn inside the boy’s clothing. And it differentiated between an airplane, where kirpans are banned for security reasons. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s law and public policy director, Janet Epp Buckingham, also sees the decision as an affirmation of the importance of religious freedom in Canada. (The Catholic Register)

The new Executive Director of the Canadian Council on American-Islam Relations took up his duties early April 2006. Born in Quebec City, Karl Nickner, embraced Islam about twelve years ago. Nickner is fluently bilingual and has a passion for public policy and advocacy. “I have long admired the professional quality of CAIR-CAN’s work and, God willing, I will be able to lead CAIR-CAN to even greater success through cooperation and partnership with Canadians nationwide,” Nickner said. For further information: CAIR-CAN, P.O. Box 13219, Ottawa, ON, K2K 1X4, Tel: 1-866-524-0004, Fax: 613-254-9810, Web site: [www.caircan.ca].

The Canadian Bible Society is celebrating 100 years of distributing, translating and publishing the Bible in Canada and around the world. The Society has translated Scripture into 134 languages, including twenty-three aboriginal languages. It offers Bibles in large print, Braille and on tape and distributes New Testament to prisons, to the Canadian Forces, to hospital and nursing homes and offers 100 free Bibles to churches destroyed by fire. The Society is celebrating across Canada in 2006 with local events run by district offices. Visit [www. biblesociety.ca/districts] for more information. (Presbyterian Record)

Leaders of the United Church, the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC), the Anglican Church and Roman Catholic entities will embark upon a Ten Days tour across Canada to share a desire for healing and reconciliation with church members at large, the aboriginal community and civil society, and to encourage and inspire local churches to walk together with their aboriginal neighbours. It will be recommended to the General Assembly that the PCC recognize the National Day of Healing and Reconciliation (May 26) by designing the Sunday in the church year before this day as Healing and Reconciliation Sunday. While existing ministries in the PCC focus on healing aboriginals only (through counseling, food banks, shelters, etc), the suggested new program will focus on the relationship between aboriginals and non-aboriginals, making it something for the entire church to get involved with and to inspire action. (Presbyterian Record)

Posted: June 30, 2006 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=247
Categories: CCE • In this article: Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme Transmis : 30 juin 2006 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=247
Catégorie : CCE • Dans cet article : Centre Canadien d’œcuménisme