June 2, 2020
Dear Friends of Parish Action,
Please be assured that we continue to pray for you and your family during this pandemic. We hope that you are well during these difficult times.
Thank you to all of those who were able to attend our webinar on Bill C-8. The comments of our panellists and you at home were very informative; we are grateful for these insights.
We want you to know about another webinar that is scheduled for Thursday, June 4 from 7-8 p.m.
A group of experts will tell us about Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying), which would dramatically expand access to euthanasia, remove safeguards and allow people to be euthanized when they are unable to consent.
Please register for the webinar in advance by clicking here.
The panel will include:
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Taylor Hyatt, disability rights advocate and board member of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
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Christina Lamb, professor of nursing at the University of Alberta. She is also a bioethicist and the founder of the Aletheia Conscience Project, which researches conscience rights issues for health care professionals
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Moira McQueen, director of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute and moral theologian at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto
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Derek Ross, executive director and general counsel at the Christian Legal Fellowship
If you are interested, you can also read a column Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, wrote on this bill.
Please feel free to forward this invitation onto anyone who may want to learn more about euthanasia in Canada. They can register here.
We hope to see you on Thursday, so we can all learn more about this important legislation.
God Bless,
Mark Brosens
Communications Manager
Archdiocese of Toronto
May 14, 2020
Dear Friends of Parish Action,
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We hope that you are doing well in these difficult times. Please be assured of our ongoing prayers for your health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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We want you to know that Parliament of the Government of Canada has introduced Bill C-8 to parliament, which will criminalize conversion therapy. The Church does not undertake conversion therapy, because we oppose the use of coercion and other actions that violate a person’s human dignity.
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However, Bill C-8’s broad definition of conversion therapy means that people and organizations that actively support the Catholic understanding of sexuality and the human body could be found guilty of a criminal offence that is punishable by up to five years in prison.
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On Thursday, May 21, 2020, from 7-8 p.m., the Office of Public Relations & Communications is hosting a webinar to explain Bill C-8 and how Catholics should respond to it. We have an excellent group of panellists who will provide insights from legal, theological, political, psychological and lived experience perspectives.
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Harmful conversion therapy should be stopped, but not at the expense of people who seek loving support from the Catholic community.
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This webinar is open to Parish Action members, clergy, parish staff and anyone who wants to learn more about Bill C-8. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think would be interested in the topic.
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Please register in advance at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9074472181056417292.
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We hope to see you online next Thursday, so we all can learn more about Bill C-8 and how we can help the government craft a better bill.
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God bless,
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Mark Brosens
Communications Manager
Archdiocese of Toronto
