Politics
Tuesday July 3, 2007
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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
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