The show was degrading to women and a sacrilege to Christians – lingerie model in skimpy clothes leered at by lecherous old men, East Indian women portrayed at thieves as they stuffed food into their handbags, and Pamela Anderson as the Virgin Mary. The Three Wise men suggested that Mary wasn’t a virgin as she had been sleeping with them and Joseph was only after the gold the Wise men brought.

The show was sponsored by: Subway, Kotex, Nestles – Turtles, Pillsbury cookies and cinnamon rolls, Unilever – Dove and Lipton tea, Xbox Kinect, Paramount pictures, glaxosmithkline – Abreva and Breathe Right, Old Navy, Ocean Spray cranberry, Peoples the Diamond Store, Payless Shoes, The Source, Dairy Queen, Tempurpedic Mattresses, MacDonald’s – McCafe, Barilla spaghetti, Lowe’s, Advil, Schneider’s Country Naturals, Lancome’ fragrance, Nissan, Jamieson Vitamins, Staples, L’Oreal mascara, Warner Bros, and Pfizer – Advil.

Members are urged to write letters to CTV and to the sponsors protesting the sacrilege that was committed by this show.

Contacts

CTV – programming@ctv.ca

Mailing Address:

CTV
P.O. Box 9, Station O
Toronto, Ontario,
M4A2M9

The Comedy Network Information: mail@thecomedynetwork.ca

1. Much concern has been expressed recently about the treatment of sacred faith tenets in some recently aired television programs. So I am appealing to all secretaries to use your skills in defense of our faith to newspapers, television networks, and the Canadian Broadcasters Standards Council (CBSC), whenever the need arises, remembering to use your council’s official letterhead only if you are writing on behalf of your council.
2. At your next parish or diocesan meeting request permission of your president to share the contents of a letter you have written. Preface the reading of your letter with reference to one of the 5 steps in our league’s Personal Letter Writing Guide and ask members to critique your effort.
3. Perhaps suggest that a workshop on “letter writing” be included in your next convention, or that a guest speaker on the topic be invited to your annual luncheon.
4. Some members of our councils may be diffident about expressing themselves in written form, so personally invite one or two to join you when you compose your letter. New immigrants would find the social and educational aspects of these one-on-ones very useful.

May the graces of our Advent spiritual preparations imbue our family Christmas traditions, and also our CWL responsibilities which keep us on our toes this season and all seasons!

~ Evelyn

Write to the Federal Gov’t. to prohibit any practises of altering, manipulation or treatment of genetic material that would result in the death of a human embryo or the combining of species or genetic selection. Send a copy to your local MP.

2011.02: Children of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women

Write letters to Prime Minister and MP’s urging the Federal Gov’t. to implement Canada wide support programs and services for children of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Send copy to your MP.

2011.04: Caffeine in Energy Drinks

Although the government made a first step in addressing this issue earlier this week many feel Ottawa has bowed to industry and that the announcement falls short. Energy drinks are now regulated as Food rather than Natural Health Product but the regulation will not take effect for up to two years.

Write letters to Prime Minister and Minister of Health and local MP’s asking that Health Canada engage in a program of public education focussing on the effects of caffeine in children and legislate stricter regulations, making it mandatory for manufacturers to clearly identify on its labels that the additives in energy drinks are stimulants; ensure these drinks are not marketed to children (teens); and to limit the amount of caffeine that is contained in the drinks.

Write letters to Premier Christy Clarke and Health Minister, local MLA and territorial legislatures asking that provincial/territorial governments enact legislation that determines where, how and to whom energy drinks can be sold in BC or Yukon.

BC 2011.02: Respect and Protection for Human Embryos and Human Reproductive Material:

Write to Prov. Gov’t. asking them to implement regulation to protect human embryos and to develop respectful standards for the handling of human reproductive material and all licensing required. Also, asking them to convene consultative meetings with their provincial counterparts to develop consistent and respectful national regulations in the handling of human embryos, reproductive material and all the licensing required. Send copies to your local MLA and MP.

BC 2011.03 Mandatory Abortion Reporting

Write to the Federal Minister of Health and the Minister of Industry (responsible for Statistics Canada) and ask for mandatory abortion reporting to Statistics Canada from all hospitals and clinics and send copies to your local MP and Prime Minister.

Write to PM and Bev Oda opposing governments support of Planned Parenthood of $6,000,000. Support should not be given to take the lives of the unborn, resources should not be reallocated and it is not in keeping with Canada’s position of the G8 program for maternal and health care.

(Note my email re Denied Funding for Matercare International Oct. 7/11)

Please forward this information to your parish council presidents and executives.  May I suggest we write letters to the Prime Minister, and Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda (with a copy to your local MP) to voice concern re the ongoing disregard of government funding.

If you Google Bev Oda website and click on CIDA (then on statement in middle of the page) -next on News Release (to the left) Sept. 27/11 you will find info. from this past week re Canada’s Muskoka Initiative to improve the health of mothers and children in Latin America!!   Let’s support those who are working so hard to make a difference and support the health needs of women around the world (not just economic empowerment).  Most of us are very familiar with the work of Dr. Walley through Matercare International and have supported this cause financially in the past.  Do we have to accept that Dr. Walley was told ’they would never get funding…?)Let your voice be heard – encourage government to support Matercare through much needed funding.  Make sure you keep track of number of letters written - Pat wants totals included in your reports.

Subject: Maternal Health Group Denied Funding Over Catholic Beliefs

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=115777

6-October-2011 — Catholic News Agency

Maternal Health Group Denied Funding Over Catholic Beliefs

ST. JOHN’S, CANADA, October 6 (CNA) – A Catholic maternal health group has been denied Canadian government funding for the eleventh time in nearly a decade, while organizations such as Planned Parenthood receive millions from the country.

“We were told that we would never get funding simply because we wouldn’t provide reproductive health-that we were ‘too Catholic’ and too close to the Pope,” Dr. Robert Walley, president of Matercare International, told CNA.

Walley’s organization, a group of worldwide Catholic gynecologists and obstetricians, works to reduce the over 330,000 preventable maternal deaths that occur each year in developing countries.

The news was confirmed on Oct. 3 that the group was excluded yet again from funding by the Canadian International Development Agency. This time, it happened in the context of Canada’s 2010 Muskoka initiative aimed at providing global maternal health care, immunization and nutrition.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced the 28 projects that will split the $82 million in funding between now and 2016. Groups awarded the money include Planned Parenthood-funded $6 million-the United Nations Population Fund, World Vision and the Canadian Red Cross.

A few Christian organizations such as the Presbyterian World Service and Development and the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada were also given a share.

“Every one of those groups is very large, very wealthy-it means that smaller agencies like us are being frozen out,” Walley said.

He explained that the Canadian development agency “decided some years ago to eliminate smaller NGO’s and especially those with certain faith based backgrounds.”

MaterCare International, which has been operating since 1985, had requested $2.2 million in funding to open a hospital near its thriving clinic in Isiolo, Kenya. “We’ve done all of this work,” Walley said, “it’s existing, it’s standing there.”

Adding insult to injury, Walley-a prominent physician who was appointed by Pope John Paul II to serve on the Pontifical Council for Health-was asked for his input on the Muskoka initiative as it was being organized.

“I was invited to the Prime Minister of Canada’s office to brief and advise about this initiative” before being denied funding, he recalled. “It’s insulting, really.”

Walley also said that MaterCare being refused money based on its Catholic stance against abortion and contraception is a complete non-issue and should have no influence in the agency’s decision.

“Abortion and birth control are irrelevant to solving the problem of maternal mortality,” he underscored.

“All the deaths occur during the last three months of pregnancy during labor and delivery and one week after-so what on earth is a birth control pill or a condom going to do?”

Stressing the urgency of the issue, Walley explained that maternal mortality is “the number one health problem among women of the child bearing age in the world.” A close second is the devastating and socially ostracizing condition of fistulas, which can occur during birth and only be fixed by an operation.

Walley said that in the West, only around 1 in 10,000 women are at risk of death during childbirth, “but in parts of Africa it’s 1 in 7.” To ignore the problem or to obstruct others in their attempt to solve it “is a form of violence to women.”

In response, MaterCare International has called for a new “Marshall Plan” for mothers that would see increased investment in health care for mothers and unborn babies in the developing world. The original Marshall Plan saw billions of U.S. dollars used to rebuild Western Europe after the Second World War, in order to combat the “tyranny” of communism, Walley said.

“What we now need-because we’ve got a tyranny of the culture of death and we’re the only ones who are opposing it-is a Marshall Plan for mothers.”

“Motherhood should be of profound significance to us as a Church,” he emphasized. Not only did “Our Lady, Mary, Mother of God, say ‘yes’” but “none of us would be here if we didn’t have a mother.”

The Marshall Plan for mothers has already received backing by leaders such as Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who gave his support for the effort at a global conference of Catholic health care professionals in Rome Sept. 2.

Rep. Smith argued that abortion advocates are willing to kill off faith-based health care in the developing world, despite the fact that such agencies provide up to 70 percent of all health provision in many of these countries.

May our Lady of Good Counsel guide you all your endeavours.

The position of executive director was eliminated on June 29th and no staff has been hired to cover maternity leave. This in effect has shut down the main office in Victoria and leaves OCTIP with two full time employees in Vancouver and a meagre budget of $300,000.

As BC is a recognized source destination and transit province for sex trafficking, the OCTIP has since 2007 coordinated critical assistance to over 100 trafficked persons in our province.

OCTIP runs a 24-7 victim support hot line, coordinates victim services, trains front line responders and raises public awareness about future crimes.

The future of this life saving program is in jeopardy!

Prime Minister Harper has recently promised a National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, backed by $20 million, beginning in 2012. Other provinces have launched major initiatives to crack down on brutal crime.

The CWL of Canada feels that immediate action needs to happen.

- Caroline Ann-Alter Provincial Community Life Chairperson