My letter in today's National Post

re:Valid reasons for 'Church bashing'
National Post Published: Friday, October 16, 2009

There is no valid reason for 'Church Bashing' ever. Bishop Lahey's sins,
Bishop Law's sins, Michael Coren's sins or my own sins are not the Catholic
Church's sins. Pedophilia is wrong, viewing pornography is wrong and slander
is wrong.
As a Catholic I am repulsed by the idea that a priest would posses child
pornography. As a Canadian I am repulsed by the idea that a Canadian priest
would posses child pornography. As a Canadian I am repulsed by the idea that
any man would posses child pornography. Does that make Canada bad? Why does
it make the Catholic Church bad? The Catholic Church has nothing to do with
these sins. Each individual is responsible for his own sins. The Catholic
Church is just there to help him get back up again.
When I see editorial pages like this I am wondering if I should be afraid to
go outside. Are we going to start hanging signs outside stores again that
"papists need not apply"?
Stop blaming religion for all that is wrong with
the world.
Dianne Wood

You Are What You Wear

We all know the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. He believed he was wearing the finest clothing in the kingdom. He was at the forefront of fashion. He would be the envy of all who saw him. All his friends and advisors told him he "looked great." There was only one problem--he was naked, and only one small child had the courage to speak out and say what the rest knew. We all need to become little children in our society today when it comes to modesty. Modesty is an important character trait we should all be teaching to our children.

Our clothes, speak volumes about us. Complete strangers may be able to surmise our gender, age, ethnicity, economic status, education, vocation, personality, and even character based upon what we wear. Employers, teachers, parents, and peers will all take notice of our attire. First impressions count.

Modesty is a natural tendency to guard what is most personal and demands a delicate education. Contrary to popular belief, modesty is not the result of social conditioning, it is not repression or taboo and we do not have to be liberated from it. By teaching our children not to steal we are not in any way restricting their freedom or traumatizing them. We are helping them to learn right from wrong. In the same way a child needs to be educated in modesty.

The word modesty literally means to have a proper estimation of one's own self. This means to not think too highly or too lowly of yourself, but to really have peace in knowing who you are. This is why modesty is all but lost in society today, because people are very confused about who they are. Those who have rejected dress codes have done so because they have rejected any boundaries, any standards of measure in regard to sexuality.

Modesty is a spontaneous tendency to hide personal intimacy from the curiosity of others. Modesty is decency and discretion. Intimacy characterizes a person while the loss of intimacy is the loss of self-dominion, self-mastery, and freedom. All around us we can see violations of our intimacy: movies, TV shows, commercials, billboards and bus shelter advertisements are often immodest.

We must teach children the reason for modesty and the appropriate time and place to communicate personal intimacy. A frivolous person easily gives up his intimacy because he does not understand its worth. But a person with a richer personality has a stronger sense and appreciation of intimacy.

We often assume that our character defects are a deep hidden secret from the world. But this is not so. Our body reveals our inner person to the world. It is difficult for the body to deceive and they are finding that many diseases common today are actually caused by stress and how we handle it. A person can lie or do evil, but there is a difference between the natural face of a person living the truth or living a deception. All mothers can spot a child who is lying. The body reveals attitudes and interior sentiments just as the face reveals the person.

It is up to women to lead this cause in our society by returning to elegance in their fashion. We lead young girls by example by wearing outfits that are not too small or too tight. Women have to be an example to the children around them in their dress, posture, and gestures. When a woman loses her modesty she loses her own personal mystery. A man needs to look at a woman and discover there is something more to her then her body, that she is a person, and she has a personality. Modesty is the character trait we all need to have. Until we all become like the little child who spoke up to the Emperor we will continue to pollute our society.

Polygamy not a right; polygamy is a crime against women

Polygamy is not a religious right; polygamy is a crime against women.
In Canada our Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that men and women are equal. The practice of Polygamy though is form of slavery where the man and women are not equal and where the children are at risk because they are conditioned to embrace a life of servitude.
Polygamy not only contravenes a womens equality rights but it harms their children. In polygamous societies it is common for young men to be discarded because they are competition for older men and young girls are often child-brides that are forced into arranged marriages.
As a married woman I do not like to share my husband with anyone else. Also, like most women, I do not like to share my underwear with others. Polygamy is like sharing your underwear with the lady next door.

Interesting Commercial

Time For a Royal Commission on the Family

It will come as little surprise to you that polygamy may soon be legal in this country. After all, many will say, if we redefined marriage to allow same-sex couples to "marry" then why would our courts stop there? But it wasn't the same-sex "marriage" decision that opened the door to polygamy. The road to this development started already in 1968 when Prime Minister Trudeau introduced no-fault divorce to this country. From then on, our courts and governments began to look at the entire family unit subjectively - based on personal preference.

Canada's rights-oriented society has hurt families immensely. Divorce, the redefinition of marriage, the "three parents" case, and now the polygamy case that is before a BC court all flow out of the mentality that individual rights and preferences should be able to trump the well-being of children and families.

The point that needs to be made right now is not to be reactive but proactive - by using this as a springboard to bring positive change to this country. We need a Royal Commission on the Family.

A Royal Commission is a major public study of a problem that our country is struggling with. Often it deals with controversial issues, such as the status of women or which reproductive technologies we should legalize or criminalize. These commissions meet with experts as well as the general public, and attempt to come up with specific recommendations to deal with the problem being studied. As the name suggests, it is officially requested by the Governor General (as the Queen’s representative). However, she makes this call as a result of notification from our federal cabinet. Royal Commissions have an enormous amount of power, but this power is limited to coming up with a report. It is up to Parliament to decide if they actually want to follow the recommendations. Library and Archives Canada lists over 200 Royal Commissions which have occurred since Confederation.

It is time to phone your MP and let them know we need a Royal Commission on the Family. Get together with a few others from your group of friends, and schedule a lunch or coffee with your MP. Then bring up this issue and proposal and, if they are receptive, urge them to pursue it with their caucus. If you would rather not meet directly with your MP, consider phoning him or her, or simply writing a letter.

Now is the time to promote a Royal Commission on the Family. With a strong majority of Canadians against polygamy, many will agree that the government should take measures to look in depth at the effects of these developments. Let's not wait for this issue to come and go. The time to act is now!