April results
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April results
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In February, March and April, 1999, volunteers from across the country scanned newspapers for religious content. The results of the first time period are now ready. The scan is being compiled and analyzed by Dr. Joyce Smith. The complete tables and charts can be found at Smith's web site. A complete analysis of the entire scan is also found on this site. |
The most sensational headline award for the entire study goes to: “Iran cracks down on religious freedom of Shiite skull carvers”, in the National Post, April 27, 1999. In fact, the article is about a very small sect which practices self-flagellation. The Toronto Sun went one better in its coverage of the ritual, publishing a photograph showing a man beating a young boy over the head, with what appeared to be blood covering the boy’s face. The Sun received many, many letters of complaint.
Arts & Entertainment
A new television adaptation of Noah’s Ark aired. The plot took a few
liberties with its Genesis basis; for example, it used the activities of
Sodom and Gomorrah as reason for God’s destruction of the Earth by flood.
Marking what would have been Duke Ellington’s 100th birthday, many feature stories noted his compositions of sacred as well as “profane” music, and friends like Tony Bennett described him as “the most mystic, positive, spiritual, hip, humanistic person I’ve ever encountered.”
The Toronto Jewish Film Festival, one of the largest of its kind, took place during this time period, with films from around the world being screened.
Judy Maddren, host of CBC Radio’s Tapestry, is informed that she will be replaced. Tapestry is the network’s national weekly show dealing with religion and spirituality.
Business
A Greek Orthodox priest, Father Gregory Ofiesh, was named a co-CEO
of Naxos, a gold mining company. Ofiesh and some of his San Francisco parishioners
had lost an undisclosed amount of money in Naxos shares, and led a movement
to dump the management.
A former Seventh Day Adventist pastor was found guilty of stock fraud in relation to losses of $11-million in an investment scheme. Many of the people defrauded by Gary Stanhiser were members of his church.
News
This period saw the murders and injuring of students in Denver, Colorado,
and in Taber, Alberta. In coverage of both horrific incidents, religion
was often mentioned. In Colorado, funeral and memorial services featured
significant Christian symbolism, and leaders from the clergy. In Taber,
the identity of the murdered boy as son of the town’s Anglican priest was
central to coverage, and Rev. Dale Lang became a familiar face and voice
to Canadians. Coverage of the Alberta killing also made note that the town
was predominantly Mormon, that the accused boy was a Mormon who, according
to friends, thought deeply about religion. In discussing the killings,
and the lack of appropriate role models for young people, Sun Media columnist
Michael Harris made a stunning generalization: “Churches used to provide
a brake of sorts to our darker impulses. But if kids look to the church
these days, they see a particularly vicious brand of criminal, the pedophile,
enjoying the full protection of the same people who make their living in
the morality business.” (Kelowna Daily Courier, April 29,1999)
A Nanaimo Pentecostal pastor was criticized after he staged a mock kidnaping of his youth group by assailants. Intended to show the students that at some point in their life they might have to die for their faith, the lesson went too far for some, who went into hysterics, and suffered nightmares later. The RCMP decided not to press charges, recognizing the action as a mistake in poor judgement, following the Littleton massacre.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson visited Belgrade during the NATO bombing with a group of 19 Christians, Jews and Muslims on a peace mission. Soon after their trip, three American prisoners of war were released by the Milosevic regime. In Canada, stories appeared featuring efforts by the Mennonite Central Committee and church and Muslim groups (particularly the United Church) who were working to welcome Kosovar refugees.
A court in Montreal heard that Duane McKenzie had been shot dead outside a bar in June of 1998 for his gold crucifix and chain, a gift from his mother.
Religious groups, including the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, were among those supporting an appeal of a judgement allowing for the possession of child pornography in British Columbia.
One of the most notorious murderers of the Khmer Rouge regime, Kaing Khek Iev, was found alive, and quoted as being ready to answer for his sins, having become a Christian. The man once known as Comrade Deuch is accused of ordering the murder of at least 16,000 before changing his name and working for World Vision and the American Refugee Commission.
An important ruling on funding for Catholic schools in Ontario came down during this period. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the provincial government’s take-over of funding control for public and separate systems. The ruling could affect funding of religious schools not only in Ontario, but also in Quebec.
Entering the European debate on “frankenfoods,” or genetically altered food, Prince Charles vowed not to eat any such products, and was quoted as saying: “That takes mankind into realms that belong to God and God alone.”
Prayer was a common element of services across Canada marking the International Day of Mourning for workers who died on the job.
Religion
Padre Pio, a Capuchin friar famous for being marked with stigmata (wounds
on the hands, side and feet echoing those of Christ), was beatified by
Pope John Paul II on 2 May. This is the penultimate step towards sainthood
for the mystic.
300 years after Sikh Guru Gobind Singh founded the spiritual nation of Khalsa, celebrations of the anniversary were marked across Canada, with coverage of events given considerable space.
There were violent and fatal clashes reported between Christians and Muslims in Indonesia’s Moluccas islands.
The one-year anniversary of the unresolved murder of Guatemalan bishop Juan Jose Gerardi was marked by about 10,000 Guatemalans and visiting priests and bishops from across the Americas who attended a Mass in Gerardi’s honour.
Jean-Gaston Tremblay, known also as Father Jean Gregoire de la Trinite, surrendered to police under charges of sexually assaulting minors. Mr. Tremblay led the Apostles of Infinite Love, a group described as a cult, located in Saint-Jovite, Quebec.
Construction began on a huge new church, called the Cathedral of Hope, in Dallas, Texas. The new church is designed by architect Philip Johnson, and will house a growing community of lesbian and gay Christians, smack dab in what is traditional territory for conservative Christians. The $20-million (U.S.) cathedral is expected to be ready by 2002.
Adherents of Falun Gong, a practice of meditation that some describe as a cult, protested in China after the government refused official recognition to the group. Coverage of this story was criticized by some letter writers (particularly in the Ottawa Citizen) who describe Falun Gong as meditation and not religion.
Rev. Ted Wigglesworth, a former United Church minister in Alberta, faxed charges of blasphemy, heresy and conduct unbecoming a member of the church against Moderator Bill Phipps. Wigglesworth demanded that Phipps be himself ousted from the Church.
An estimated 73,000 teenagers from Canada and the U.S. met in Detroit to sign a pledge to abstain from drugs, alcohol and premarital sex. Organizers hoped teens would be proud to display their religious beliefs.
Sports
Fans of the late F1 driver Ayrton Senna marked the fifth anniversary
of his death in various ways, including Mass in San Marino.
Stephen King’s new novel, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, features a real-life sports hero, pitcher Tom Gordon of the Boston Red Sox. Gordon is known for pointing to heaven at the end of a game, expressing his belief in the source of his strength and ability. In the novel, a little girl lost in the woods relies for strength on God and the inspiration of Gordon, whose games she hears over a portable radio.
Last modified: 6 December 1999