Calgary Hospitals Mulling Policy to Ban Bibles

CALGARY, October 21, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Under the pretence of not “endorsing any one religion over another”, the Calgary Health Region (CHR) is mulling a policy that would see the Gideon Bibles found in most bedside tables of hospitals in North America, banned.  Toni MacDonald, the CHR’s director of spiritual care said, “There’s no interest in restricting access. It’s just that we want it to be non-discriminatory.  We thought we needed to do a more careful review of what our current practice is to ensure we are being considerate of all religious faiths.”  However, religious leaders of diverse faiths vehemently disagreed with the proposed policy.  Anglican minister Robert Greene told the Calgary Herald that “The secularists are taking over, this is just one more step in the secularization of society – to get rid of anything of spiritual content.”  A local Islamic leader also took issue with the policy.  Imam Mohammad Al-Nadvi, spiritual leader of Calgary’s Muslim community said, “The idea is not acceptable to me,” it suggests, “that faith is maybe some negative thing, some harmful thing.” He suggested, “The better option is to solve it, to get together and solve it, than to get rid of it altogether.”  The CHR lamely asserts that religious material would still be available on request through pastoral services.  Concerns may be expressed to the Calgary Health Region: [email protected]   See the coverage from the Calgary Herald:  https://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=902BEB28-F280-4F43-92ED-59D826DF0081