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Sunday, July 07, 2013

Canada and Ontario Will Celebrate Pope John Paul II Day

The House of Commons in Canada has passed a bill declaring that Canada will celebrate Pope John Paul II Day on April 2nd every year [An Act to establish Pope John Paul II Day]. It was a private member's bill introduced by Conservative Wladyslaw Lizon (Mississauga East—Cooksville). Lizon is Polish, which partly explains his admiration for the former Pope. Read what Veronica Abbass has to say about this: Tommy Douglas versus Karol Wojtyła.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, a similar bill was passed by the provincial legislature [see Blindsided on Canadian Atheist].

It's tempting to dismiss both these bills as trivial. After all, nobody really expects either government to make a big fuss about it next April 2nd. Its also tempting make excuses by recognizing that few MPs or MPPs could risk speaking out against them.

I don't think we should settle for that. The facts are revolting. Canada has set aside a special day for a foreign despot whose religious and moral views are despised by a large number of Canadians, and rejected by most Catholics. How in the world could that happen in the 21st century?


26 comments :

mregnor said...

[How in the world could that happen in the 21st century? ]

The House of Commons voted. St. JPII (I love the way that sounds) won, and you lost. Democracy, Larry.

[The facts are revolting. Canada has set aside a special day for a foreign despot whose religious and moral views are despised by a large number of Canadians, and rejected by most Catholics.]

He's loved by billions of people. But I understand that you're pissed off. He was instrumental in the fall of Soviet and European communism, which is the only political form atheism has taken since the Reign of Terror.

Don't despair. You atheists still have North Korea to carry your torch.

Diogenes said...

Ignor, why don't you run away humiliated like at every other thread where you ran away humiliated?

Diogenes said...

Ignor: "He was instrumental in the fall of Soviet and European communism"

Ignor tried the same line at a previous Sand walk thread, where he was humiliated by Piotr, a Pole. Then Ignor ran away weeping.

Run away crying like you always do, Ignor.

SRM said...


Re: recent move toward canonization of John Paul II.
Funny how popularity and performing miracles seems to be correlated (see Mother Theresa and JPII).
As if any more evidence was needed that religious "truth" is made up as it goes along.
Not that the faithful will notice or care.

steve oberski said...

As usual, the catholic church colludes with every totalitarian regime going.

Polish catholic clergy were notorious for their systemic collaboration with secret police and the catholic church works diligently to suppress this information, using marketing and propaganda skills honed covering up centuries of kiddy fucking.

Perhaps the most explosive assertion by people in the church is that the taint of collaboration was known for decades but kept quiet out of respect for — or perhaps even at the behest of — the Polish-born Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005.

“The church didn’t want to hurt the pope, but actually, more harm was done by keeping silent,” Father Zaleski, 50, said in an interview at the hilltop compound of a charity he runs outside Krakow.

The sudden focus on the fallibility of a church thought to be heroically anti-Communist followed the Vatican’s choice of Bishop Stanislaw Wielgus as archbishop of Warsaw despite clear signals of his ties to Poland’s secret police. Bishop Wielgus resigned Sunday after admitting his secret past.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/10/world/europe/10poland.html

mregnor said...

[Polish catholic clergy were notorious for their systemic collaboration with secret police]

Sometimes Catholics have collaborated with atheists. Despicable.

Anonymous said...

Nooo!! That's my birthday!

Pedro A B Pereira said...

We're still waiting for answers in the other thread, Mr Surgeon. Did you ran away?

Pedro A B Pereira said...

"He was instrumental in the fall of Soviet and European communism, which is the only political form atheism has taken since the Reign of Terror."

Apparently, not only Mr Surgeon doesn't understand biology, but he doesn't understand politics either. Such a simplistic black and white view of the world. Quite fitting.

Danny said...

It really a truly boggles the mind that this bill has gotten as far as it has although it should be noted that the bill still has to make its way through the Senate and then receive royal assent before it becomes law.

Diogenes said...

Ignor: "He's loved by billions of people."

Half the planet thinks your Pope is the Antichrist and that Catholics go to Hell. And the people who think that are Christian. Even prominent Protestant pastors in the USA say the Pope is the Antichrist. And Egnor votes for politicians from that background.

Robert Byers said...

Lets think about this.
I am Evangelical Protestant.
I liked this pope because he was a force against communism and so helped to discredit it and make a safer better world. He was seen as unique in this way.
I don't allow this day because of Polish ethnicity in Canada. No foreign motivation is allowed I say.
It seems extreme to recognize a religious person but they recognize everything else.
How many days/weeks/months are offensive to me and north Americans about this or that case. Plenty.

To me its about identity. As long as its not saying Catholicism gets a special attention and its just this guy then its okay. However its silly to do these things about foreigners .
Canada should only recognize Canadian people in our days.
So I would of voted against it.
There is worse. Its really a part of the identity aggression facing Canada these days.
I know he's thought well of in conservative circles.
Now how about Billy Graham day!! (just kidding)

Piotr Gąsiorowski said...

Now how about Billy Graham day!!

Alas, he is still amongst us, but perhaps you could do something about it.

Theo Bromine said...

Sign a petition to urge the Canadian Senate not to pass the bill; write your MP to let him/her know how you felt about their vote

http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/senate-of-canada-oppose-the-act-to-establish-pope-john-paul-ii-day-bill-c-266

Pedro A B Pereira said...

"And Egnor votes for politicians from that background."

Dear Diogenes,

I think it's clear from the simplistic political (and otherwise) views of Mr Surgeon that you'll only manage to confuse him.

Pedro A B Pereira said...

To be quite honest Robert, I didn't understand shit of what you said. But then again, English is not my mother language.

Veronica Abbass said...

CFI Canada has created a petition asking the “Senate of Canada [to] Oppose the Act to establish Pope John Paul II Day (Bill C-266)”:
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/senate-of-canada-oppose-the-act-to-establish-pope-john-paul-ii-day-bill-c-266

steve oberski said...

Signed.

mengor and Robert Byers, don't pass up this chance to accomplish something demonstrably good and leave the world a slightly better place to live for a change.

steve oberski said...

Define foreign.

Define Canadian.

steve oberski said...

Upon re-reading I note that my comment could be interpreted to mean that should mrengor and Robert Byers decide to leave the world it would become a better place.

The sub-conscious always has the last word.




Robert Byers said...

Steve
Canadian refers to a particular people in time and space. It also includes those who are citizens of the nation of cAnada though not Canadians by identity.

A foreigner is simply a different people from a particular people including being not of the nation etc . So a immigrant to the native nation and native identity.

My mother is a foreigner. A different people from mine and from a different country.

I don't know if I would sign the petition.
It would only be because its a foreigner.
Yet as I said he was a special force in human history.
I would agree, I think, with a Ronald Reagan day.
Its probably wrong and maybe about Polish pride more then right motives.
Its morally and legally wrong for attempts to sert up segregated foreign presence in ones native land.
They don't want to live in their former country and neither do I. More then them.

Piotr Gąsiorowski said...

A foreigner is simply a different people from a particular people including being not of the nation etc .

What language is this? Are you sure you are not an alien from outer space?

Diogenes said...

Piotr, your English is so much better than Byers'.

Do you think he's a real Canadian? Canadians speak English. I think Byers must be a foreigner.

He dropped a hint already: "They don't want to live in their former country and neither do I."

See? Foreigner. He can't be trusted.

"Its morally and legally wrong for attempts to sert up segregated foreign presence in ones native land."

That's right. What Byers is doing is wrong-- foreigners like Byers don't even have enough respect to learn the King's English. They just gibber some foreign monkey-language. We should report Byers to the authorities for deportation toute suite.

ShesTheBeth said...

How thoroughly out of touch can the Senate become? The mere suggestion that a pope should be officially recognized by the Canadian government is extremely disturbing to me. Are Catholics really so unaware of how much damage their church has caused - or are die-hard Catholics just pushing back at all the Catholic negativity? Why would Canadians want to be so indifferent and insensitive toward the suffering of the abused at the hands of church officials? It’s YOUR church, Catholics, and YOU are guilty by association. Please do not drag the rest of Canada down with you. The rest of us have been tolerant enough.

Jolo said...

The real reason many are opposed to this, he ran an organisation that had institutionalised child rape. He paid lip service to cleaning up the organisation but never made any major changes.

Unknown said...

The house of commons has passed Bill C-266, not the senate. Given the fact that the senators are over 13 years older than the MPs, and age is correlated with religiosity, and the senate is more elitist than the house of commons (due to the size of the legislative chambers), I am skeptical that the senate is going to oppose Bill C-266. Danny Handelman