Church and state

[prillalar]

To wax political, or perhaps patriotic for a moment, I was heartened by this article in the Globe and Mail.

The federal government will not water down legislation allowing same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien insisted Tuesday, admitting that he is praying for his soul but has to act on behalf of all Canadians.

"We want to legalize the union of homosexuals," he said after a meeting of his cabinet, which has shown signs of the dissent reflected in the wider Liberal caucus.

He said that he has heard accusations from Roman Catholic leaders that he risks eternal damnation but feels that the division between church and state is necessary and that he must act in the best interests of all Canadians, not just his fellow Catholics.

Now I don't know just how devout a Catholic Chrétien is, but his public statement that his faith is separate from his role as our leader makes me proud.

Yay Canada!

Comments

[the-red-baron.livejournal.com]

I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn't do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking -- thinking how good it was all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me all the time: in the day and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, 'stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had small-pox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the ONLY one he's got now; and then I happened to look around and see that paper.

It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:

"All right, then, I'll GO to hell" -- and tore it up.

(Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)

Pretty cool to see my favorite moment in literature play out in real life. :)

I'm proud to have you Canadians as neighbors today.

[prillalar]

Thanks for posting that! It was cool.