Here’s your Canadian Atheist Weekly Update for to .
![[Photo of St. Francis Xavier’s mummified hand and arm.]](https://www.canadianatheist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/francis-xavier-arm-200x300.jpg)
I really haven’t got the heart to point out to Catholics that this was probably his masturbatin’ hand.
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[] Inmate complaints on the rise over access to religious services
If your response on reading the headline is “so what?”, that’s the wrong response. When a state takes it upon itself to derive a person of their right to freedom, it takes on the responsibility of protecting every other right of that person. The issue here is not whether inmates have a right to practise their religion (they do) or whether the state is obligated to provide whatever they need to do so (it is), it is how to go about it. Is having full-time or part-time chaplains employed by the state the right option? If not, what else could we do?
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Very nice review of the Theodore case, and the notwithstanding clause.
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[] Assisted dying in religious facilities means tough choices for families
Hell of a story of what some Canadians have to go through to access their legal right to death on their own terms.
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[] Anti-abortion group takes Trudeau government to court
This is actually a very messy situation. As abhorrent as the beliefs of some of these groups are, they do have a point: the government shouldn’t be in the business of discriminating based on belief. On the other hand, it seems perfectly reasonable for a government to refuse to support groups that discriminate against others.
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[] Vancouver could become the first city in Canada to ban anti-LGBT conversion therapy
It’s actually surprising that nowhere in Canada bans this pseudo-scientific bullshit. Ontario and Manitoba won’t pay for it, but it’s not outright banned (Ontario does ban healthcare professionals from doing it on minors, but only healthcare professionals, and only for minors).
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Buried in this story is the follow-up to the previous item about medical assistance in dying in Vancouver.
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[] St. Francis Xavier’s hand, said to have baptized 100,000, coming to Saskatoon
Yup. A centuries-old mummified hand is being “venerated” by Catholics across Canada. Catholics across Canada are flocking to see a desiccated, severed limb because it’s… holy? Magical? The CBC coverage includes more hilarious details, like that the arm got its own seat on the plane. But the funniest take on it I’ve heard comes from The Beaverton.
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[] Quebec opposition parties against marking mosque shooting with day against Islamophobia
Fucking Québec, source of so many facepalms these days.
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[] Canadian doctors slam Gwyneth Paltrow-endorsed coffee enema
Seriously? A coffee enema? At this point, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Goop suddenly announced that it’s really just been an elaborate piece of guerrilla performance art all along, aimed at trying to convince overly-right people to shove things up their vaginas and ass holes.
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[] Globe editorial: While Quebec Muslims mourn, politicians play word games
A powerful editorial that pulls no punches.
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[] Islamophobia continues to fester in wake of Quebec City mosque shooting
Monia Mazigh calls out those responsible for the islamophobia problem in Québec and Canada in general.
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[] Discriminating Against The Poor Is Legal. That Must Change
This is honestly something that never occurred to me to ask about; I just assumed that this kind of discrimination was already covered by the human rights code.
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[] ‘I felt really scared and confused’ — girl attacked twice by man who cut her hijab in Scarborough
What the actual fuck.
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