“Those who refuse to participate in the worship of man, those who refuse to surrender to man’s complacent satisfaction with man and man’s society, are increasingly branded as aliens … Every kind of subtle and direct pressure is employed to force the true believer into conformity with the City of man and the creed of Cain.” —R. J. Rushdoony, 1970
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“Each judgment emanating out of our various human rights commissions seems to be more brazen and bizarre than the one that preceded it. However, for inane stupidity and gross miscarriage of justice our own Alberta Human Rights Tribunal deserves to take first prize for its treatment of Stephen Boissoin.” —Fred Henry, Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary (quoted by Ezra Levant on June 24,
www.ezralevant.com )
A Protestant minister and a Roman Catholic priest who edits a Catholic magazine are in the crosshairs of Canada’s “human rights” commissions.
In Alberta, Rev. Stephen Boissoin has run up almost $200,000 in legal costs, defending himself from the provincial “human rights” commission. In Ontario, Fr. Alphonse de Valk’s monthly magazine,
Catholic Insight, has incurred $20,000 in legal fees while awaiting a ruling from the commission as to whether he and his magazine are guilty of promoting “hate.”
What crimes did they commit to place them in such jeopardy?
Six years ago, Rev. Boissoin wrote a letter to his local newspaper,
Red Deer Advocate, expressing his opposition to “the homosexual machine that has been mercilessly gaining ground in our society since the 1960s” (for the full text of the letter, see
http://canadianpastor.blogspot.com). And
Catholic Insight’s offense was to publish the church’s teachings on sexual morality. In both cases, offended homosexual activists complained to provincial “human rights” commissions, and the machinery of censorship was set in motion.
Will Boissoin Go to Prison?
The Alberta Human Rights Commission has ordered Rev. Boissoin to pay $7,000 to the offended party, to write a public apology for publication in the
Advocate, and never again to say or write anything critical of homosexuality in any public venue, including the Internet—a lifetime gag order. The gay activist plaintiff, Boissoin said, “has told me in person that I need to be reeducated.”
But Boissoin says he will not pay the fine, he will not recant, and he will not keep silence.
“They can incarcerate me if they want to,” he told Chalcedon. “But by the power of God, I don’t think I can be ruined spiritually. If I’m incarcerated, I’ll minister in prison.”
Meanwhile, he hopes to file an appeal in a court of law against the commission’s decision. He is being represented
pro bono by the Alliance Defense Fund in the United States: otherwise, he said, he never could have borne the costs—although concerned citizens can donate to his defense fund via
www.stephenboissoin.com.
“I have been ordered not to talk about this case, or make any disparaging remarks about the commission or its actions,” he said. “But I’m talking to you, and I’ll keep talking. I’ve started educating people, and I’ve had fantastic opportunities to do this since my letter was published.”
Hate Literature?
It may seem natural to most of us for a Catholic magazine to publish articles about Catholic teachings, but that’s what plaintiffs are trying to stop
Catholic Insight from doing.
“They’re trying to put us out of business, harass us, cost us money,” Fr. de Valk said. “Our magazine is hate literature, as far as they’re concerned. We haven’t had a hearing in front of the commission yet, but we’ve already spent $20,000 fighting nuisance actions. Meanwhile, they’ve asked the Heritage Ministry to take away our subsidy.”
Canadian magazines, he explained, are all subsidized by the Heritage Ministry, an agency of the federal government.
Over the years, he said,
Insight has published more than one hundred articles on homosexual activity, including official Vatican statements and scientific studies of the health effects of sodomy. Sixteen months ago, a gay activist in Edmonton filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Fr. de Valk is still waiting to learn whether the commission will hear the case.
