TOP6NEWS - Date 12.15.04

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1-NEWS:  Canadian ssm bill will allow officials to opt out; going to create problems

2-NEWS:  Canadian conservative says he'll protect m

3-NEWS: Lesbian battled small-town resistance to Canadian wedding

4-OP-ED:  D. Frum: A blow to Canada's families

5-OP-ED: Oregonian wants CUs on the way to SSM

6-OP-ED: The Vatican combats today's heresy

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1-NEWS: Canadian ssm bill will allow officials to opt out; going to create problems

By FRANK LANDRY, Winnipeg Sun LEGISLATURE REPORTER

Ottawa is setting itself up for a jurisdictional battle by saying it won't force civic officials to perform gay marriages if it's against their religious beliefs, says a University of Manitoba law professor. Karen Busby said Ottawa can only decide who can legally marry. The rest is up to the provinces.

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2-NEWS: Canadian conservative says he'll protect m

By JOE FRIESEN and KATHERINE HARDING

Ottawa and Edmonton — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper proposed Tuesday that the government entrench the traditional definition of marriage, but refused to say whether he would support use of the notwithstanding clause to ban gay weddings.

Mr. Harper said he will offer amendments to same-sex marriage legislation to guarantee equivalent rights and benefits for gay couples.

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3-NEWS: Lesbian battled small-town resistance to Canadian wedding

SUE BAILEY

Many judges and federal lawmakers might support gay marriage, but the court of public opinion isn't so sure.

Elizabeth Boudreau was crushed when the manager of the hall she had rented for her same-sex wedding cancelled, three months before her big day.

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4-OP-ED: D. Frum: A blow to Canada's families

"We've had gay and lesbian marriages in six provinces for almost a year and society hasn't collapsed." So said NDP MP Bill Siksay in the House of Commons last week. You have to wonder: Isn't that setting the policy bar a little low? Normally, we expect a new government idea to pass a higher threshold than, "It didn't cause an utter catastrophe during its first few months in operation."
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5-OP-ED: Oregonian wants CUs on the way to SSM

Today's hearing on same-sex marriage before the Oregon Supreme Court could be illuminating, but in many ways it will be anticlimactic. You cannot count the justices out, of course. They will eventually rule on what the Oregon Constitution demands for gay couples.

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6-OP-ED: The Vatican combats today's heresy

The Vatican combats today's Manichaeans A fourth-century heresy tells us a lot about our embodied selves By CHRIS ROBERTS in National Catholic Reporter In the middle of the summer, on the last day of July, the Vatican released a letter to the world’s Roman Catholic bishops "On the collaboration of men and women in the church and in the world." NCR noted it at the time, publishing both supportive and critical commentary. But now that the dust has settled, is it possible to re-read the letter in a broader, less partisan perspective?

If you followed the columnists and other media reports back in the summer, then you probably suspect that from a feminist point of view the letter is at best ambiguous. For instance, one section of the letter argues that women deserve economic respect, and this can be seen as progressive. On the other hand, a closing paragraph also insists upon "the reservation of the priestly ordination solely to men." Other examples, suggesting both conservative and progressive spin on the letter, can be adduced. Perhaps this letter is just a deadlock.

Furthermore, and frustratingly, this letter is free of ecclesiastical self-criticism. It omits reflection on the church’s notorious failures to apply its own teachings. To some people, the irony will be comical: In this letter, one group of men (some Vatican bishops) writes to another group of men (the world’s bishops) on the subject of collaborating with women. Many critics will wonder why these bishops couldn’t find any women to help with the letter. Collaboration evidently has its limits!...

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