Casino fundraising - Morale stance or power trip ?

When it comes to using lottery funds for the betterment of Catholic schools in Alberta, is Bishop Henry what society needs ? Is he challenging Catholics, forcing them to live life as they should according to Christian doctrine ? Is he drawing the line that separates the true believers and followers from the attendees ? Or is he just another short guy in a robe on a power trip ?

My kids go to Catholic school so I got involved with the School council a couple of years ago now and have since been the chairperson for the council and am the current president of our fundraising foundation. The foundation is a registered society and our job is to do the big money fundraising and one of the ways we do this is through casinos. I don't know about you but I am tired of all the people who show up at my door looking for money and I am not sending my kids out to fund raise for things that a debt free province like Alberta should be providing. Our School uses these funds to purchase things like computers, overhead projectors, network lines, library books, gym bleachers, math & science resources - and the list goes on. These are necessities for a school to operate, not frivolous items.

If the public school sector is allowed to continue improving their schools with the extra millions each year that lottery funds provide and the catholic schools are stuck doing bottle drives, the quality of education between the 2 school boards will vary so drastically that I believe most parents would be forced to enroll their kids into the public system. Religion is something that can be taught at home, within the community and at church so I think it would be pretty easy for people to separate faith from a requirement in school education. If parents want to keep thier kids in a faith based education system but are forced to pay more, I believe they will then start to look at the many private and charter schools in Alberta where religion isn't a subject but woven into the very foundation of the school.

If the tension comes from the source of the money, then I have a solution. Take regular tax dollars and fund morally challenged groups, schools and projects with those funds. Take the lottery funds and fund things like homelessness, addiction programs, healthcare, research and public transit. It's not like you'll find his holyness stuffed in the corner of a crowded c-train fanning himself with his big pointy hat like the rest of us so he'll have no grounds to complain about the source of the funds used for public transit expansion.

I think the Bishop needs to be careful that his position on the use of lottery funds doesn't become the ultimate demise of the Catholic School system in Alberta.

A question of faith

With last weeks release of the Da Vinci Code movie, I find more and more people are getting caught up in the hype of it all. Local churches are dedicating sermons to de-mystify or debunk the claims laid out in the book, and now movie, and people are just jumping at the opportunity to proclaim the church and bible as false.

What I find the most fascinating is the level of passion that non-believers seem to have embraced in spreading the word that the church is a rouse.

For the majority of these people, does it really matter if the legitimacy of the church changes ? Does it change the way they live their lives or how they raise their kids ? I don't understand peoples need to crap on the faith of others. One of the most annoying quotes that I hear over and over, and am actually guilty of having said myself, is "it's not religion that bothers me, it's organized religion". The best response I have ever heard to this was "How's David Koresh - is that disorganized religion enough for ya" ? Kinda deep for a guy who was 1/2 in the bag at the time. Too funny. Anyway, my point is that most people who use this line are full of shit. Most practice no religion at all and have no use for God in their lives, so why not just be honest and say so instead of making excuses. Most of these people's lives would be greater impacted if Diet Coke was removed from the market over the bible being proven as false.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not standing up on a Christian soap box here trying to preach. If people actually got struck by lightning for saying, or even thinking, inappropriate things...I am waaay over due. I am a non-Christian, but I've learned to approach religion with enough respect to understand it makes a difference in a lot of people's lives and the world would be a much different place if people didn't, or for matter - did, believe in something greater than themselves.

Coming Soon : "Fat Bastard"