Catholic Church Under Fire in Canada

It did, as it were, have to happen. A human rights body taking on the Roman Catholic Church. In this case the issues are still murky and confused, but it appears that an openly gay man who has been living with his partner for 19 years has been dismissed as an altar server in his Peterborough, Ont., parish.

The man in question, spa-owner Jim Corcoran, claims that while he is homosexual he is celibate and a devout Catholic who observes Church teaching.

One of which is obedience, but don't let that ruin it for you. Also, one is called to "avoid the near occasion of sin," which makes his claim of celibacy while "living with his partner for 19 years" suspect.

Evidently, in Canada one has a basic human right to be an altar server. I suppose the next step are womynpriests, eh?

For a non-Catholic body to interfere at all in such a manner is disgraceful; for an obviously politically driven human rights tribunal to potentially smash the barrier between church and state is terrifying.

It's a brave new world.