Melkite pastor mourned

Father Maximos Basha, OSBC, hailed for stellar work in prisons

Father Basha (second from right) was the senior chaplain for Surrey Pretrial Services Centre.

BCC File Photo.

For decades he faithfully served Melkite-Greek Catholics, chaplained prison inmates, and sponsored hundreds of refugees seeking citizenship. Father Maximos Basha, OSBC, died April 12. He was 69.

A funeral service was held April 20 in St. Francis de Sales Church in Burnaby. Melkite Bishop Ibrahim M. Ibrahim, BSO, of St. Sauveur of Montreal, led the service. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, also attended.

"His name, Maximos, means 'great,' and he was a great blessing to this community," Bishop Ibrahim said.

The bishop praised Father Basha's devotion to his parishioners, as he "never skipped a Sunday (or) took a vacation for the past 37 years in Vancouver. He was here to serve."

Archbishop Miller stated, "I was in the Holy Land when I learned of Father Basha's death. and I prayed for him in Jerusalem. He was a faithful priest, a man extraordinarily given to his duty to God."

The archbishop commended the late clergyman for his steadfast support of refugees. Father Basha helped sponsor 600 people, or over 200 families, as new immigrants to Canada.

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Tory MP surprised by unanimous support

Motion 382 on religious freedom passes House of Commons

Bev Shipley, the Conservative MP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, explains the nuances of government to a young girl. His motion was passed April 24.

Government of Canada.

Conservative MP Beverly Shipley’s Motion 382, affirming religious freedom as a part of Canada’s foreign policy, unanimously passed the House of Commons April 24. Deborah Gyapong reports:

“I was actually surprised that every party, even the Bloc [Quebecois], supported it,” Shipley said. “That was a pleasant surprise.”

The backbench Tory MP represents the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding in Ontario.

The motion affirmed as part of Canada’s foreign policy that “everyone has the right to freedom of religion and conscience, including the freedom to change religion or belief, and the freedom to manifest religion or belief in teaching, worship, practice, and observance,” and it condemns all acts of violence against religious groups.

 Read the full article here.

Red Mass

Law must be based in truth, archbishop tells judges

Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami speaks to the media in October 2012. CNS photo / Ana Rodriguez-Soto, Florida Catholic.

Discussing the push for same-sex "marriage," Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami told judges and lawyers at the city's 2013 Red Mass that freedom and law must be based on reality and objective truth. Catholic News Agency reports:

"When a democracy bases itself on moral relativism and when it considers every ethical principle or value to be negotiable ... it is already, and in spite of its formal rules, on its way to totalitarianism," Archbishop Wenski preached during his homily on April 24. "The might of right quickly becomes might makes right."

Archbishop Wenski opened his homily by quoting Abraham Lincoln, who noted that even "if you call a tail a leg," a cow still has only four legs, "because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it one."

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.

Conflicts should not involve rape

Archbishop denounces sexual violence in war

Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt, Vatican nuncio to the United Nations, talks at a Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. CNS photo / Nancy Phelan Wiechec.

Catholic News Agency reports that The Holy See's apostolic nuncio to the United Nations has called for more action to prevent "heinous acts" of sexual violence in war and other forms of conflict.

"This violent domination of a human being constitutes an egregious form of degradation of their dignity, but also of the aggressor, who, in so doing, disfigures himself as a human person," Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt said in New York City April 17.

"Such heinous crimes are yet another consequence of the destructive power of war, and thus all states and the international community must do their utmost to stop these barbarous acts that have been properly labelled as an outrage to the conscience of mankind."

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.