NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada

c. 2003 Religion News Service Men Get Prison for Botched Exorcism LONDON, Ontario (RNS) Two men have been sentenced to four years each in prison for causing the death of one of their sons in a botched exorcism. Walter Zepeda, 19, died of dehydration early last year after he had been strapped to metal chairs […]

c. 2003 Religion News Service

Men Get Prison for Botched Exorcism


LONDON, Ontario (RNS) Two men have been sentenced to four years each in prison for causing the death of one of their sons in a botched exorcism.

Walter Zepeda, 19, died of dehydration early last year after he had been strapped to metal chairs for six days in an attempt to drive away the demons his father was certain possessed his son.

Ontario Court heard that Diego Zepeda-Cordera was convinced his son’s increasingly strange behavior meant he was possessed by the devil, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported.

The father called a friend, a fellow member of the Missionary Church of Christ and a man of equal devotion, to help him rid his son of the evil. The boy’s mother, who didn’t originally agree with the exorcism, gave in because she too believed Satan had control of her son, the court heard.

The boy was tied to chairs at his ankles and wrists using neckties.

The Rev. Guillermo Fabian, the pastor of the Pentecostal church, was summoned to the home. As Walter swore and squirmed, Fabian prayed with the family to help exorcise the demon.

Over the weekend, at least 10 other members of the church visited the home and joined in the prayer sessions.

Zepeda-Cordero’s lawyer told the court his client took some solace in his belief that, in the hours before Walter died, the devil left his body.

“When Walter died, he (Mr. Zepeda-Cordero) believed that he returned to Jesus.”

In passing sentence, the judge said she was struck by the distress and remorse shown by Walter’s parents, but that the sanctity of life must be upheld.

Conference for Gay, Lesbian Muslims

TORONTO (RNS) Organizers are putting final touches to an international conference for Muslim gays and lesbians to take place here in June.


Co-sponsored by Salaam Toronto, a local group for homosexual Muslims, and the Washington-based Al-Fatiha Foundation under the title “Liberating Tradition, Celebrating Culture,” the June 20-22 event is expected to draw more than 200 delegates and explore topics ranging from “Islam and Homosexuality: Contextual Interpretations and Ancient Laws” to “Queer Muslim Identities post-September 11.”

Tentative workshops will include “The Intersection of Queer and Muslim Politics” and “Finding a Place for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) People Within Islam.”

Earlier this month, Toronto’s 13th annual Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, “Inside Out,” screened a number of documentaries, feature films and works in progress on the themes of Muslim and Middle Eastern homosexuality.

Bishops Urge Appeal of Same-Sex Ruling

OTTAWA (RNS) Canada’s Roman Catholic bishops are urging the federal government to appeal a British Columbia court decision that ordered Ottawa to alter the traditional definition of marriage.

The May 1 ruling by British Columbia’s Court of Appeal endorsed the right of same-sex couples to marry and gave Ottawa until July 2004 to change existing marriage laws.

In a May 16 letter, Bishop Jacques Berthelet, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, urges federal Justice Minister Martin Cochon to “do everything necessary to preserve the definition of marriage, including appealing the recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Married couples perform a role within society which is of service to all and distinct from other forms of human relationships. We strongly urge you to maintain this distinction for the good of all Canadians.”


Berthelet said the church supports “the continued recognition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.” Traditional marriage has “anthropological, personal, social and religious dimensions that have deeply entwined roots in our history and culture” and “profound religious significance for all faiths.”

Muslim Politician Urges Greater Religious Involvement

MONTREAL (RNS) Dialogue between Quebecers of different faiths should be taken up by ordinary citizens and not just politicians, religious leaders and university professors, a Quebec politician told a recent conference here.

Fatima Houda-Pepin, a Liberal member of the National Assembly, spoke at a three-day symposium on cultural and religious diversity in urban public affairs, sponsored by a nonprofit organization, the Center for Spirituality and Religion in Montreal. Houda-Pepin, a Muslim, was the honorary chairperson of the event.

She urged the center to follow up on the symposium with a series of gatherings, each directed at a specific target group _ for example, health-care workers, teachers or labor organizations _ and focusing on interreligious issues affecting an appropriate theme.

She said it’s also urgent to improve Quebecers’ understanding of faith.

“Too many Quebecers don’t know much about their own faith or that of their neighbors,” she said. “The schools have a role to play, even if we haven’t reached a consensus on what it is.”

Hare Krishna Monk Hits Pavement _ Again

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland (RNS) A Hare Krishna monk from Toronto is walking across Canada for the second time to promote spirituality.


Bhaktimarga Swami is seeking to get in touch with his own personal and spiritual roots _ and to underscore the need for fellow Canadians to stay in touch with their own spirituality. He calls his 8,500-kilometer odyssey “a spiritual healing walk for Canada.”

In 1996, Swami trekked from British Columbia to Newfoundland. He’s reversed the direction this time, and left Cape Spear near St. John’s, North America’s easternmost point, on May 3. He hopes to arrive in Victoria in December.

His Web site (http://iskcon.ca/canwalk) is updated regularly with photos and diary entries.

While walking, he meditates, prays and sings. He tries to cover about 40 kilometers a day. Traveling with him are two companions in a support vehicle. They help with supplies, communications and his strict vegetarian diet.

The point of his walk “is about peace and awareness,” he says. “I love this country, but I am concerned. We are big-time consumers and suffer terrible problems within our families. We are set in superficial coziness. We can do better.”

Lutherans to Gather, Anglicans to Help

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (RNS) Canadian Lutherans are getting ready to welcome the world.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada will host some 1,000 international delegates during the Lutheran World Federation Tenth Assembly July 21-31.

And Anglicans are helping in a significant way.

Among the 500 guests and visitors to the conference will be the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Michael Peers, who will give a presentation to the international crowd on how the Anglican-Lutheran partnership in Canada is working.


The Anglican and Lutheran churches in Canada voted in 2001 to establish full communion, in which the denominations maintain their separate identities but recognize each other’s rites, ministries and sacraments. The arrangement is not a merger.

Based in Geneva, the LWF represents 65 million Lutherans in 76 countries, and holds international assemblies every six years to set policy and elect people to key positions. The July assembly, “For the Healing of the World,” will mark the first time it has met in Canada.

DEA END CSILLAG

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