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Politicians Should Take Heed on Implications of Hate Crime Bill C-250 BY LifeSiteNews.com TORONTO, September 2, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Toronto Star published a 750 word letter on Sunday by Rev. Alphonse de Valk, editor of the Canadian monthly magazine Catholic Insight, concerning the Catholic stand on homosexuality.  The paper accepted the letter in response to de Valk’s request for an opportunity to respond to the Star’s publication last week of a lengthy article by Thunder Bay priest Fr. Scott Gale objecting to the Vatican’s recent document on homosexual unions.  See http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/aug/03082502.html   In his characteristic, straightforward style, Fr. de Valk served up the teachings of the Church on the subject unapologetically.  “The Church is right. The homosexual condition is a disorder, and homosexual acts are grave moral aberrations,” he wrote.  However, of ten subsequent letters to the Star responding to Rev. de Valk’s article, six accused the priest of hate crime.  Despite the fact that Rev. de Valk merely presented Church teaching on the matter, distinguishing between homosexual acts and persons with homosexual inclinations, he was nevertheless accused of hate.  “Homosexual activity rages against God’s will,” he wrote.  Quoting the Bible, he explained, “God ordained the institution of marriage (Genesis 1: 27). He intended that it should be a permanent, lifelong commitment between husband and wife (Matthew 19:5-6); and, He ordained that marriage should exist for loving and cherishing one another and for co-creating children who are protected and nurtured in a family.”  In an interview today, Fr. de Valk told LifeSite that the responses to his article in the Toronto Star claiming he violated hate crime law should be a warning to politicians against passing Bill C-250 which seeks to add ‘sexual orientation’ to hate crime law.  “While homosexual activists claim such a law would not silence debate on the issue, they themselves have accused me of hate for nothing more than asserting the Catholic position on the matter.”  See Fr. de Valk’s full letter to the Toronto Star:  http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/sep/030902a.html   See one of the responses accusing him of hate crime:  http://torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1062367811193   See several articles on the same-sex unions issue from the September 2003 issue of Catholic Insight at:  http://www.catholicinsight.com/article.html   See response to Fr. Gale article by Msgr. Vincent Foy of Toronto http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/sep/030902b.html http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/faithful-priest-accused-of-hate-crime-for-letter-on-homosexuality/

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