Where the Rubber Hits the Road

"Many people of my vintage developed in high school a working knowledge of basic Latin grammar, and we read and translated classical texts such as Cicero’s De Oratore. “Just as some women are said to be handsomer when unadorned — this very lack of ornament becomes them — so the plain style gives pleasure when unembellished ... All noticeable ornament, pearls as it were, will be excluded; not even curling irons will be used. All cosmetics, artificial white and red, will be rejected. Only elegance and neatness will remain. The language will be pure Latin, plain and clear; propriety will always be the chief aim.” Despite Cicero’s own linguistic elegance, he encouraged speech or writing that was simple, direct, clear, brief, sincere and unambiguous. Cicero would not be pleased with our modern day over-usage and misusage of euphemisms, e.g. “infected obstetrics” (botched abortion), “misstatement” (lie), “program misuse” (fraud), “collateral damage” (civilian death), and “gaming” (gam...

Here is a recent article from Bishop Fred Henry (Calgary). He is one of Canada's most effective Bishops when it comes to writing clearly. He is also one who practices what he preaches! When he was rector of the Seminary I studied at he implemented a practice that would have saved us all a great deal of pain if it were implemented throughout the Church. "The benefit of the doubt" he would say "must always flow to the Church". This meant that if there was some doubt that a candidate for the priesthood would be a holy and effective priest that he should not proceed to ordination. Prevention is first defence against child abuse, says bishop

Wrong Ruling on Same-sex Marriage by Bishop Fred Henry (Calgary) Regrettably both the Calgary Herald editorial and the Saskatchewan Appeal Court got it wrong re marriage commissioners. Religious belief is intertwined with our nation’s history, the spirit of the founding fathers and mothers of our nation, our national anthem, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms  which begins “Whereas Canada is founded upon the principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” Immediately, the Charter proceeds to list our fundamental freedoms. The first one is the freedom of conscience and religion. The second is freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression. Only after, not before,  asserting our fundamental freedoms, does the Charter begin to spell out rights - first democratic rights, then mobility rights, followed by legal rights, then equality rights , etc. Freedom of conscience and of religion. is a primary and inalienable right of the human p...

A real shot in the arm -- a holistic and holy approach to health For The Calgary Herald Published: Saturday, November 06, 2010   Re: HPV decision show Catholic school trustees should be appointed by the bishop, by Juliet Guichon, Nov. 2. One of the few things that Juliet Guichon and I agree upon is that society ought to embrace the means available to prevent diseases like the human papillomavirus (HPV). The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada in its recommendations regarding HPV prevention states as its first recommendation: "1. Counselling and other educational activities should stress (a) that abstinence is the most efficient way to prevent HPV infection but must include avoidance of not only penetration of the vagina or the anus but also any anogenital contact and the sharing of sex toys." In Catholic education, we take that very seriously and we seek to teach students about the beauty and nature of human sexuality, marriage and conjugal love, abstinence a...

Here is an excellent article to contemplate when challenged to prove that the voice of faith has a right to be heard within every medium of modern society. In a letter, written in defense of Pastor Steven Boissons, Bishop Henry of Calgary viscerates the philosophic underpinnings of modern day secularism as practiced today in Canada. It is this philosophy which dominates the public square these days, creating an ever increasingly hostile atmosphere for the free expression of one's religious convictions. You can say that a church is still free to speak and preach its creed and beliefs, however you demand that they be punished for believing in values contrary to current public opinion, then their speech is hardly free. Given Bishop Henry's involvement in the NP Holy Blog story about a Calgary church being stripped of its charitable status , thus denying it the right to offer tax receipts. This decision is not made because they are not a charitable organization...they serve ov...

The Western Catholic Reporter , which advertises itself as being Canada's largest Catholic weekly, has within its website an excellent series of articles written by western Canadian Bishops. Within this archive one can find many submissions from Bishop Fred Henry of the Diocese of Calgary. Not only is Bishop Henry among the most prolific of writers, but he addresses issues in a straight forward and articulate manner, usually foregoing many of the "ecclesiastical niceties" that so often marks the writings of modern Bishops. To use an expression from Fr. Jack O'Flaherty (RIP), my seminary spiritual director, he seems never afraid to "bell the cat" when needed. Fr. Fred Henry was the Rector at St. Peter's Seminary (London) for the majority of my years of study and formation for the priesthood as well as being a professor of Dogmatic Theology. That is, until he was elevated to become first the Auxiliary Bishop of London, then serving as Ordinary in the D...