Magic Statistics

To coincide with the initial release from Canada’s 2001 Census, this morning’s Ottawa Citizen features one of the most experienced federal civil servants in town: Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada.  Dr Fellegi, who came to Canada from Hungary in the aftermath of the failed 1956 Hungarian uprising, recently marked fifty years with Statistics Canada (formerly known as the Dominion Bureau of Statistics).

Chief statistician since 1985, he has intentionally raised the agency’s public profile.

Stats man strives to never be 'boring'
. . .
Mr. Fellegi is the chief statistician who made getting beyond the numbers a big priority. He wanted to "bring out the story" by getting staff to write reports on surveys with analysis in plain English and French. It is arguably his most important influence on the national statistics agency.

He says that 20 years ago, the Daily, the agency's regular release of statistical highlights, was "awful" and "almost unreadable." He says the Daily was little more than "elevator statistics — this went up, that went down."

So the agency set up training sessions in journalistic writing for hundreds of employees to give Canadians statistical reporting that was relevant and "fit for human consumption."
"We don't want to publish dull stuff, because nobody will read it," he says. "You don't want to be boring."

I agree: Statistics are so much more interesting when one uses words like “skyrocket” and “plummet”.  The problem is that the government often hates those words.  When it comes to statistics, boring is usually the way the politicians like ‘em.

Previous related post: Census suds

While praying with the sick and disabled in India, Protestant pastor Reginald Howell was beaten with iron bars by Hindu militants.

Shortly after opening the meeting, a group of armed activists erupted into the prayer hall, beating the Pastor on his back with iron rods.  Following the attack the pastor made his way to the local hospital where he was refused treatment by doctors for fear of reprisal attacks by fanatics.

Police also refused to file his report against the aggressors and moreover forced him to leave the State and return to his home city in bordering Punjab.

The attack occurred in the western state of Rajasthan, one of the most intolerant of India’s states.  An anti-conversion law passed in 2006 allows the use of force to prevent conversions.  Those convicted of violating the law risk five years imprisonment.

h/t: Big News Network.com - Breaking Religious News

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Even though they have been living in Iraq for two millennia, Christians are increasingly being targeted by both sides of the Shia-Sunni divide.  Many are fleeing to the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.  Although safer in Kurdistan than in central and southern Iraq, their lives are still at risk.

Sunday evenings in this quiet Christian town [Ainkawa] in the north of Iraq have a serene feel about them. As the light fades, parishioners gather on the steps of St. Elias's church, congratulating the priest on that day's sermon. Their children play in the adjacent park beneath a giant artificial tree with the number "2007" on it.

If it weren't for the two men with Kalashnikov rifles standing guard over it all, it could be a scene outside a church anywhere in the world.

Iraq's Christians, however, are a community under siege. Few of those who attend mass at St. Elias's are residents of Ainkawa, which is part of the country's Kurdish autonomous region.

St Elias has recently begun a Sunday evening mass in Arabic for the benefit of refugees from southern Iraq.  The two main churches in town also conduct six Sunday services in Aramaic.  All are filled to capacity.

Father Tariq Choucha of St. George's parish in Ainkawa points out the tragic irony of struggling Iraqi Christians.

"We have been in this country longer than the Muslims," he said. "But we are overwhelmed now."

The plight of Christians in Iraq has been largely ignored by Western Christians.

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The Anglican Church of Canada’s Council of General Synod (COGS) has finished a four-day meeting to formulate resolutions for recommendation to this June’s General Synod meeting.  Here are the motions on same-sex unions to be presented to General Synod:

The Chancellor moved that three of the resolutions proposed be sent to General Synod:

• 2. That resolutions 3 and 4 below be deemed to have been carried only if they receive the affirmative votes of 60 per cent of the members of each Order present and voting and if a vote by diocese is requested, only if they receive the affirmation of 60 per cent of the dioceses whose votes are counted.
• 3. That this General Synod resolves that the blessing of same-sex unions is consistent with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada.
• 5. That this General Synod requests the Council of General Synod to consider revision of Canon 21 (On Marriage) including theological rationale to allow marriage of all legally qualified persons and to report at the next General Synod (2010).

The motion carried.

Those motions appear to me to contradict the Handbook of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.  From page 16 of the pdf version, under Section 11 Amendments, subsection (c) Canons, paragraph (i):

All Canons dealing with doctrine, worship, or discipline, and all alterations to such Canons, shall require to be passed by a two-thirds majority in each Order voting at two successive sessions of the General Synod, the Canons and alterations proposed having been referred for consideration to diocesan and provincial synods, following the first approval of the General Synod.

The Handbook contains no provision for votes requiring a 60% majority to pass.  It refers only to simple majority votes or votes requiring a two-third majority.  The sixty percent figure was just pulled from a hat with no justification.

Archbishop Andrew Hutchison stated his opinion at COGS that same-sex marriage is a matter of discipline, not doctrine.

The Primate opened the discussion. He said that council’s goal must be to assist the conversation at General Synod and not to manipulate an outcome. He said his view is that the 2007 synod should make a clear decision and not put the matter off another three years, which a canonical change would require. “Another three years does us no good whatever because in the eyes of the Communion we will have crossed the Rubicon and whatever damage has been done will have been done.” He said he is not convinced we are dealing with a matter of doctrine except that all we do is related to doctrine. He said he believes this is a matter of pastoral discipline.

The distinction between “doctrine” and “pastoral discipline” would appear to be irrelevant according to the paragraph under Canons cited above, which refers to “All Canons dealing with doctrine, worship, or discipline, and all alterations to such Canons . . . “

Even if this is a matter of “pastoral discipline” only, the handbook still calls for a two-thirds majority at two consecutive General Synods.  Furthermore, passage of those motions demands that Canon 21 (“Marriage in the Church”) be amended because it contains references to “man and wife”.

I don’t see how the requirement for a two-thirds majority at two consecutive General Synods can be avoided (but I’m not a canon lawyer).

Abp Hutchison’s opinion also contradicts the St Michael Report of June 2005, authored by the Primate’s Theological Commission.

It is the determination of the Primate’s Theological Commission that the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine.

Why bother having a Primate’s Theological Commission if the primate is going to toss aside the collective expertise of its members without explanation?

In sum: COGS blandly states that the three motions need only a 60% majority, apparent contradictions with the Handbook of General Synod notwithstanding.  It would appear very difficult to reconcile that sleight of hand with our primate’s statement that the council's “goal must be to assist the conversation at General Synod and not to manipulate an outcome”.  To me, the motions look manipulative in the extreme.

Reactions from other Canadian Anglican bloggers:

• Peter at The Age To Come
• Rev Steve London at Our Hearts Are Restless
  
• sameo416 at Musings from the Muse

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