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Vancouver, Canada, Nov 8, 2016 / 11:56 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a unanimous ruling, the highest court in British Columbia said that a Christian law school could not be denied accreditation merely for holding biblical beliefs on sexual morality.

“A society that does not admit of and accommodate differences cannot be a free and democratic society – one in which its citizens are free to think, to disagree, to debate and to challenge the accepted view without fear of reprisal,” the high court said.

“This case demonstrates that a well-intentioned majority acting in the name of tolerance and liberalism, can, if unchecked, impose its views on the minority in a manner that is in itself intolerant and illiberal.”

In a unanimous Nov. 1 decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal agreed with a lower court that the Law Society of British Columbia had wrongly denied accreditation to Trinity Western University’s proposed law school.

The law society had initially voted to accept the school's graduates, but then reversed its decision in late 2014, because the university holds beliefs about sexual ethics based on the Bible.

Religious freedom advocates applauded the decision.

“All Canadians benefit from this decision,” said Gerald Chipeur, a member of a Canadian law firm involved in the case. “It affirms the principle that everyone should be free to live and work according to their sincerely held beliefs and convictions.”

“Faith-based educational institutions should always be welcome in a diverse society and be free to operate according to the faith they teach and espouse,” he said.

“No one can be banned from their profession because they hold biblically based views, and no Christian institution of higher education can be sanctioned because it reflects essential tenets of the Christian religion,” added Benjamin Bull, chief counsel with the religious freedom group ADF International.

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Tears, prayers, caresses -- but most of all, listening -- were the hallmarks of Pope Francis' "Mercy Friday" visits during the Year of Mercy.

As the jubilee began last December, Pope Francis said he would ditch the media one Friday afternoon each month and personally try to give life to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Throughout the year, he used his weekly general audiences and monthly Saturday jubilee audiences to teach about the reality of God's mercy and the obligation of sharing mercy with others.

But the Mercy Friday visits -- even the two that were not held on a Friday -- were about presence. While top personnel at the places he visited had some advance notice, in most cases the guests, residents or patients did not. The Mercy Fridays gave them a chance to tell the pope their stories and, usually, to share a late afternoon snack with him.

Here is a list of the pope's Mercy Friday visits through October:

-- Dec. 18, in an event that turned out not to be private at all -- the pope opened the Holy Door at a remodeled Rome Caritas homeless shelter and celebrated Mass there.

-- Jan. 15, Pope Francis visited a retirement home in Rome and a nearby care home for people in a persistent vegetative state.

-- Feb. 26, he visited members of a residential community for people recovering from drug addiction.

-- March 24, Holy Thursday, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the Lord's Supper at a refugee center in Castelnuovo di Porto, north of Rome, and washed the feet of asylum seekers.

-- April 16, Pope Francis joined Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens for visits with refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos. The pope brought 12 of the refugees to Rome with him.

-- May 13, he visited Il Chicco, a L'Arche community south of Rome. L'Arche communities are homes where people with and without intellectual disabilities share their lives.

-- June 17, the pope visited two communities of priests; one was a home for retired priests and the other was described as a community for priests with "various difficulties."

-- July 29, during Pope Francis' visit to Poland for World Youth Day, the Vatican described the following events as part of the Mercy Friday initiative: a silent visit to the Nazi's Auschwitz death camp; a visit to a pediatric hospital; and the celebration of the Way of the Cross that connected each station to a work of mercy.

-- Aug. 12, he visited a community for women rescued from the slavery of prostitution.

-- Sept. 16, Pope Francis visited the neonatal unit of a Rome hospital and a hospice across town.

-- Oct. 14, he spent the afternoon at Rome's SOS Children's Village, which attempts to provide a home-like atmosphere for children under the age of 12 whose parents cannot care for them.

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(Vatican Radio) We cannot serve God well if we hunger after power and wealth. That was Pope Francis’ message as he reflected on the daily readings at his Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning.

Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: 

Pope Francis began his homily by saying that if we want to be good and faithful servants of the Lord, we must guard against dishonestly and the pursuit of power. But how often, he said, do we see or hear ourselves saying, even in our own homes, that “I’m in charge here?” Jesus taught us that leaders are those who serve others, and if we want to be first, we must become the servant of all. The Pope stressed that Jesus turns the values of our world upside-down, showing that the search for power is an obstacle to becoming a servant of the Lord

A second obstacle, he continued, is dishonesty which can also be found in the life of the Church. Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters – God and money, the Pope warned, so we have to choose to serve one or the other. Dishonesty, he continued, is not just being a sinner, since we are all sinners and can repent of those sins. But dishonesty, he said, is being duplicitous and playing one hand off against the other, playing the ‘God’ card and the ‘world’ card at the same time.

These obstacles of dishonesty and the pursuit of power, the Pope said, take away our peace of mind and leave us anxious, with an ‘itch’ in our hearts. In this way, he said, we live in constant tension, concerned only about appearances and the worldly desires of fame and fortune. We cannot serve the Lord like this, he insisted, so we ask to be freed from these obstacles in order that we may find serenity of body and mind.

We are not slaves, but children of God, Pope Francis said, and when we serve Him freely we feel deep peace in our hearts. We hear the voice of the Lord calling “Come, come, come, good and faithful servant”. We all want to be faithful servants of the Lord, he said, but we cannot do it on our own and so we ask God for the grace to overcome these obstacles and to serve Him freely with peace in our hearts.

Pope Francis concluded by saying we must constantly remind ourselves that we are unworthy servants, unable to do anything on our own. Instead, he said, we must ask God to open our hearts and let the Spirit in, to remove these obstacles and to transform us into children whose hearts are free to serve the Lord.  

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(Vatican Radio) A Conference aimed at combating the horror of human trafficking has entered its third day here in Rome.

The event is hosted by Renate – Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking – and has brought together religious and laity from around the world.

Attending the summit is philanthropist John Studzinski, the chair of trustees and co-founder of the UK-based Arise Foundation, which supports grassroots initiatives against human trafficking.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Studzinski called human trafficking “evil” and “increasingly widespread across the globe”. He said the Renate conference was helping to build links between the different organisations united against the injustice.

“The best partnerships are partnerships among really good people – people who are leaders, people who are visionaries, people who have a ‘can do’ attitude and get things done,” Mr Studzinski said.

“There are a number of countries and religious sisters in Europe with whom we have very close affiliate ties. I think this week at a minimum has strengthened a number of ties. We have made some new relationships and we will be in a strong position to also understand the needs of those particular problems in society.” 

Listen: 

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