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Ontario-born Father Richard John Neuhaus (at right), editor of First Things, spoke with a National Post reporter after his annual summer vacation at the family cottage in Quebec.
It is true to say that, in most aspects of public life [in Canada], Christianity has been not only disestablished but also banished," he wrote in the "The Public Square," the popular column he pens for the magazine.In a recent phone interview, he linked that state of affairs to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He calls it paradoxical that there are so many anti-Americans here, yet the Charter "is a thoroughly American document" — and he does not mean it as a compliment. "It is riddled through and through with the radically individual notion of the unencumbered self and equality enforced by state power. It is a very American document and I think Canada has suffered from it grievously. All of Canada is a fascinating case study in terms of the meaning of modernity relative to religion generally and Christianity in particular. When I'm up there and I speak with clergy they seem very much in a state of defensiveness and a deep sense of malaise."
That brings to mind a paradox I have noticed before: Canadian leftists champion the application of the Charter in all areas of Canadian life virtually without compromise, yet they tend to be vehemently anti-American. They seem unaware of the political philosophical pedigree of their beloved Charter.
I must digress here for a moment. As I have mentioned before on this blog, my kidneys failed during minor surgery at University Hospital, Vancouver, in January 2005. For several days, it was uncertain whether and to what extent I would recover. Needless to say, that was a very distressing and trying time for the StatWife and me.
Nevertheless, we did manage to get a chuckle from the title of a book I had purchased at Regent College Bookstore the day before my surgery: As I Lay Dying by Richard John Neuhaus. After I had recuperated enough to read it, I found it deeply moving and spiritually enlightening. It is a treasure.
h/t: Bourque
Dr Norman Borlaug (at right), father of the “Green Revolution” that transformed world agriculture in the 1940s and 1950s, saving millions of lives, has spoken out about the increasing use of food as biofuels. He thinks it’s gone too far and is likely to cause excessive 
Artwork: Scipione Tadolini, St Michael the Archangel, 1865, Marble sculpture, Rotunda, Gasson Hall, Boston College.