Bishop Henry held a news conference on 2005-MAR-30. He expressed concern that his freedom of religion and free speech have been violated. He said:

"Those that support same-sex marriage want to shut the churches out of this important debate. Those who favor same-sex marriage have been given a full opportunity to state their views on the issue. But now they are saying anyone who speaks out against same-sex marriage is discriminating against homosexuals."

Henry was disappointed that the Commission didn't dismiss the two complaints without further study. He said:

"I assumed that the one who fields this would have looked at this and said this doesn't stand. This is not an Ernst Zundel case by any means. We cannot give credence to this." [Zundel is a holocaust denier who lived in Canada and was recently deported to Germany where he was arrested.]

Bishop Henry, in an interview with LifeSiteNews, said:

"If the Human Rights Complaint is successful, it will prevent me from expressing my views and the position of the Roman Catholic Church. It prevents me and other Church leaders from speaking out freely in opposition to same-sex marriage. It also prevents me from outlining the position of the Roman Catholic Church to those who attend church in my Diocese." ₃

Egale Canada is a gay-positive group, Its regional director, Stephen Lock, acknowledged that Bishop Henry has an obligation to represent the views of his church. But he said that grouping homosexuality together with pornography and prostitution is going too far. He also said:

"When anyone starts calling for the coercive power of the State to suppress or curtail any legal activity, that's really oppressive to be saying stuff like that."

Focus on the Family Canada is an evangegical Christian group Their spokesperson, Derek Rogusky, felt that churches and other religious groups should enjoy freedom of speech on matters like homosexuality and same-sex marriage. He commented:

"We're talking about changing something that's a foundational institution of our society, we're not talking about changing the speed limit on the street. If anyone is successful in bringing charges against Bishop Henry, they would come after other organizations. It shows that religious freedom protections that the government talks about really aren't there." ₁

Catholic World News reported that:

"A supporter of same-sex marriage is using the human rights process in Canada to take away Bishop Frederick Henry's right to freedom of religion and free speech, supporters of the bishop said...They said proponents of same-sex marriage want to use intimidation to silence the Catholic Church on the issue." ₄

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Bishop Henry stated:

"I stand by the letter, I wouldn't change one comma. Why should I apologize? I think I'm owed an apology for putting me through this rigmarole of harassment, intimidation and attempt to silence me.....Right now, I find myself in the very interesting position of, having been an advocate of social justice all of my life, I'm cast in the victim position right now, where I must defend myself. Defend the freedom of religion and the freedom of the right to speak on this particular issue." ₅

David Mainse of Marriage Canada -- a group promoting the exclusion of loving, committed same-sex couples from marriage -- wrote:

"There is legal action now underway against a Roman Catholic Bishop for simply writing to his priests calling homosexual acts sin." ₆

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada wrote:

"Putting sanctions or restrictions on Bishop Henry is nothing short of censorship of religious expression." ₇

Lorne Gunter of the National Post wrote:

"...the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary,...is being hauled before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for having the audacity to tell Calgary Catholics, in an open letter last January, that homosexual marriage is contrary to Catholic teaching, and that the government should act aggressively on that teaching." ₈

In an article subtitled: "Calgary Bishop Fred Henry Defends Religious Freedom," LifeSiteNews.com, a conservative Christian web site, wrote:

"A supporter of same-sex marriage is using the human rights process to take away Bishop Frederick Henry's right to freedom of religion and free speech.  Despite the Catholic Church's established role in preparing men and women for marriage and conducting religious marriage ceremonies between men and women, it appears that supporters of same-sex marriage do not want religious leaders to be part of the debate on this issue." ₃

The Calgary Herald is reported to have quoted the Very Reverend Bill Phipps, former Moderator of the United Church of Canada, as saying:

"If you're going to use freedom of speech, you've got to take the consequences of what you are saying...He portrays himself as a victim. Well, please. Why are we focusing on one bishop who loves the spotlight?...This is about a group who have been maligned, who have been beaten up physically, mentally and spiritually." ₁₀

Phipps is also quoted as saying:

"If you're going to use freedom of speech, you've got to take the consequences of what you are saying." ₁₁

^{Page Translator:}

This page translator works on Firefox,
Opera, Chrome, and Safari browsers only

After translating, click on the "show
original" button at the top of this
page to restore page to English.