Politics
Tuesday July 3, 2007
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Order of Canada Awarded to Gay Pastor Who Attacked Vatican, Performed Illegal Gay "Marriages" under Conservative Government
By John Jalsevac and John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, Ontario, July 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Rev. Brent Hawkes of the Metropolitan Community Church in Toronto, the same man who flouted Canadian law by illegally "marrying" a homosexual couple in 2001, and who subsequently pushed homosexual "marriage" on Canada through the back-door of the judicial system, has now been awarded the highest honor that can be given to a Canadian civilian.
This past Friday, Rev. Brent Hawkes was awarded, along with several dozen others, the high honour of the Order of Canada, given in recognition of "a lifetime of distinguished service in or to a particular community, group or field of activity."
The award given under the Conservative Government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has come as a shock to social conservatives and Catholics since Hawkes, in addition to flouting the law on marriage has attacked the Vatican. In an affidavit before the Supreme Court of Canada Hawkes bashed a Vatican document on homosexual unions and statements by Catholic bishops on the same as "expressions of hatred that should not be tolerated in our society."
According to the Globe and Mail, Hawkes recognized the "irony" of the situation: "I'm used to picketing governments," said Hawkes, according to the Globe, "taking them to court."
"It's amazing. My head's spinning a little bit," he said. "It's just an amazing moment to focus on what a great country this is."
In 2001 Hawkes illegally "married" a lesbian couple in his Toronto church, and when the Canadian government would not recognize the "marriage" as valid, he took the government to court. Subsequently, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recognized the "marriage" as legal, beginning a process of judicial activism that eventually culminated in the legalization of homosexual "marriage" by Canada's Parliament.
Brian Rushfeldt, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC), who has worked to defend traditional marriage in Canada, lamented the naming of Hawkes to the Order of Canada.
"Awarding the Order of Canada to someone who has worked tirelessly to destroy the foundation of marriage is a very questionable act," Rushfeldt said in an interview with LifeSiteNews.com.
"I like the award, but to give an award to someone who has spent his energies undermining the foundation of man/woman marriage is certainly a wrong reason."
Rushfeldt also pointed out that the fact that this award was given while the Conservative government is in power does not bode well for conservatives.
"The fact that we continue to reward activists that are undermining the conservative values and the conservative value base is not going to fare well. Even if it was not something that that the government itself or the prime minister or a minister of the department would or could step into, for the governor general to approve this kind of an award is clearly an indication that she herself is in support of undermining marriage, the very essence and foundation of our society. And obviously the conservative government did nothing to change that or stop it."
To express concerns:
Conservative Leader
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
pm@pm.gc.ca
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Fr. Neuhaus 1936-2009 - Like The Star of Bethlehem, Dies After Leading So Many to Christ
- Canadian Law Prohibiting Polygamy Faces Challenge
- Pope: "Today More Than in the Past, Our Future is at Stake"
- Co-Creator of the Pill Laments Resulting Demographic "Horror Scenario"
- 23-Week Old British Premie Spared Abortion, Goes Home with Family
- Spanish Judge Convicted of "Homophobia" for Not Approving Adoption by Lesbian Partner
- Announcement of Fr. Neuhaus' Death This Morning
- Campbell's Soup Runs Ads Depicting Homosexual “Family”
- Only 19% of Catholic Students in Calgary Receive Controversial HPV Vaccine
- Porn Moguls Seek Bailout Cash
- Doctors Who Refuse Assisted Suicide “Genuinely Wicked” says UK Bioethics “Philosopher Queen”
- President Bush Urges Republicans to Defend Culture of Life
- Terri Schiavo’s Brother Responds after Obama Appoints Lawyer Who Helped Kill Terri to High Position
- By the Numbers: The Ten Most Popular LifeSiteNews.com Stories of 2008
Most Read this Week
- Vatican Newspaper Publishes Article Detailing Birth Control Pill as Cause of Abortion and Cancer
- Obama Selects Yet another Pro-Abortion "Catholic" for Leading Office
- Abortion Group Ipas Defends Abortion Targeting Unborn Girls
- NBC Boots Top Conservative Pundit Ann Coulter from Today Show, Quickly Rebooks Following Uproar
- Medical Expert Says that Contraceptive Pill is Causing Global Rise in Male Infertility
- Mother Refuses All Further "Parental" Visits with Daughter by Former Lesbian Partner as Trial Looms
- New Jersey Rules against Christian Group that Declined to Host Lesbian Civil Union Ceremony
- Outspokenly Orthodox, Pro-life Archbishop Takes Over in Vancouver Diocese
- Kissinger on Obama: "The Reception of Him is So Extraordinary Around The World ... a New World Order Can Be Created"
- New Survey Finds Only 9% of Americans Support Unrestricted Abortion
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.