Zak

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Posts by Zak

Lahey (finally) stripped of clerical duties

The Holy See in Rome has dismissed Raymond Lahey from the clerical state in what is one of the most serious penalties that the Roman Catholic Church can impose, the Diocese of Antigonish, N.S., said Wednesday.

The decision means Lahey, a former bishop of Antigonish, can no longer work as a cleric nor preside at any religious services or sacraments.

Caught with child porn in 2009 but the church waits until 2012 to strip him of clerical duties?

I suppose he could have been innocent (ignoring that his diocese already paid $15 million to sexual abuse victims) but the church isn’t known for evidence based decision making so if they cared, they could have expedited the process. More likely they waited until the courts were settled and then rubber stamped the eviction to avoid embarrassment. No need to be hasty and do it sooner, since he could have gotten off on a technicality and the church could have him back to work the next day.

via National Post

Edmonton minister ignores laws

Catherine Flamond, 52, had argued in a written Charter notice that the provincial civil laws do not apply to her because she is a Christian minister bound only by God, the Queen of England and the Constitution Act of 1982.

However, Provincial Court Judge John Henderson dismissed the constitutional challenge on Friday after ruling that the Alberta Traffic Safety Act applies to “every single person” who operates a motor vehicle in the province.

Not sure why she’s allowed to obey the constitution but not provincial law given that the constitution outlines provincial powers but religious logic isn’t know for it’s coherence.

The judge dismissed the claim so we can breathe easy for now. While it’s easy to mock this minister for her silly sense of entitlement, the same arguments against her can be used against the funding of Catholic schools and tax exemptions for the religions, for example.

Should religions follow the same laws as everyone else? Yes, and they generally don’t claim they shouldn’t even though their actions and claims of entitlement suggest otherwise. Don’t let them get away with it.

via Edmonton Sun

Tough economic times

The Greek orthodox church is facing problems as its cash-strapped government begins cutting spending.

Under a 60-year-old treaty, the state agreed to pay priests’ salaries in exchange for large amount of church property, including land. But this means more than 10,000 priests are now on the government payroll, putting a 190 million euro (US$250-million) annual burden on the country’s overstretched budget.

Under the terms of an international bailout that saved Greece from bankruptcy, the government is cutting pay which for a typical parish priest is about 1,000 euros a month. Athens will also fund only one new priest to replace every 10 who retire or die, causing shortages in remote parishes during a deep recession when the flock most needs help.

It’s a good time to point out how secularism benefits everyone. We don’t have to fund stupid beliefs while religions don’t bankrupt the country. It isn’t the most convincing argument since no one wants to give up their own subsidies but comparing religious funding to big auto and banking bailouts should score us a few points.