Ron Csillag
Ron Csillag is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Ron Csillag
Canada’s Anglican Church provisionally approves same-sex marriage ceremonies
By Ron Csillag — July 13, 2016
TORONTO (RNS) If it passes a second reading, the Canadian church will join the Episcopal Church, which formally approved marriage ceremonies regardless of gender in 2015.
Muslim woman can wear niqab for Canada citizenship oath
By Ron Csillag — October 6, 2015
TORONTO (RNS) The ruling is the third legal defeat for Canada's Conservative government on the Muslim face veil, which has become a hot-button issue in the Oct. 19 federal election.
Toronto’s ‘atheist minister’ to face church hearing
By Ron Csillag — August 6, 2015
TORONTO (RNS) The Rev. Gretta Vosper, known as the "atheist minister," is back in the news now that a church panel will soon begin a review process to determine whether she should be removed from the pulpit.
Quebec bills aim to prevent Islamic ‘radicalization,’ limit face-covering
By Ron Csillag — June 11, 2015
(RNS) Lawmakers seek a $2 million for an "anti-radicalization center" in Montreal, and limit public employees and people seeiking public services from covering their faces.
‘Blessing of the bikes’ helps churches make climate change a local issue
By Ron Csillag — June 9, 2015
(RNS) Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in Toronto this week held its sixth annual Blessing of the Bikes -- a type of local event that has become more common as a growing number of churches consider the idea that protecting the environment is not just a scientific or political debate, but a spiritual one.
Canadian Supreme Court rules against prayer at city council meeting
By Ron Csillag — April 15, 2015
TORONTO (RNS) Canada’s Supreme Court has ruled that a small town in Quebec may not open its council meetings with prayer. In a unanimous ruling Wednesday (April 15), Canada’s highest court ruled that the town of Saguenay can no longer publicly recite a Catholic prayer because it infringes on freedom of conscience and religion. The […]
Canadian Supreme Court rules against prayer at city council meetings
By Ron Csillag — April 15, 2015
TORONTO (RNS) Canada's top court ruled that the state must be neutral when it comes to religion.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper vows to appeal face veil ruling
By Ron Csillag — February 19, 2015
TORONTO (RNS) "I believe, and I think most Canadians believe, that it is offensive that someone would hide their identity at the very moment where they are committing to join the Canadian family," said Stephen Harper.
Canada bill would ban polygamy, other ‘barbaric cultural practices’
By Ron Csillag — November 7, 2014
TORONTO (RNS) The "Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act" would ban arranged marriages of minors and deport polygamists.
For Ismaili Muslims, a Toronto milestone
By Ron Csillag — September 16, 2014
TORONTO (RNS) When the Aga Khan set out more than a decade ago to build a landmark museum to house his family's collection of Islamic art, he wanted to locate it in London. When those plans fell through, he chose Toronto.
Ontario Sikhs ‘deeply disappointed’ with new helmet law
By Ron Csillag — August 26, 2014
TORONTO (RNS) The open road is now closed for devout Sikh men who can't fit a turban under a motorcycle helmet.
Search warrants allege physical abuse in fringe Canadian Jewish sect
By Ron Csillag — February 21, 2014
(RNS) In the warrants, according to reports by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a young woman in the sect said she was hit with a belt and a coat hanger. Another female, a pregnant 17-year-old, told nurses at a hospital she was beaten by her brother, sexually abused by her father and forced to marry a 30-year-old man when she was 15.
Canadian archbishop bans eulogies at funeral Masses
By Ron Csillag — February 21, 2014
(RNS) The Feb. 2 decree from Archbishop Terrence Prendergast reminds the faithful that Catholics gather at funerals "not to praise the deceased, but to pray for them."
Judge orders foster care for children from Canadian sect
By Ron Csillag — February 3, 2014
TORONTO (RNS) An Ontario judge has ordered 13 children in an Orthodox Jewish sect into foster care in adjacent Quebec. But the judge stayed the order for 30 days to give the sect time to appeal.
Canadian authorities to rule on foster care for children in reclusive sect
By Ron Csillag — December 26, 2013
TORONTO (RNS) Last month, about 150 members of the group Lev Tahor ("Pure Heart") decamped from a village north of Montreal to Chatham, Ontario, about 200 miles southwest of Toronto. Comprising about 40 families, the sect fled just before a Quebec court ordered 14 children into foster care.
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