Category Archives: Diocese of Ontario

Diocese of Ontario to ignore marriage canon vote

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The Diocese of Ontario is the latest diocese to approve same-sex marriages.

From here:

Dear Friends,
I am writing to you further to my letter of October 27th to the diocese following the session of the Special Synod convened last Saturday, October 26th. I have given prayerful consideration to the content of the debate, the results of the votes taken by the clergy and laity and sought the counsel of the Bishop’s Advisory Committee which met this past Friday.
I am prepared to authorize same sex marriages in the diocese by those clergy and congregations who make a request to me for such authorization. Attached to this letter is the policy I have drafted which is framed to strike a balance between the pastoral generosity which some wish to extend and the gracious restraint to which others wish to adhere. I commend it to you and will continue to welcome your comment, advice and counsel as we move forward.

I am deeply grateful for the prayers offered and the diligence shown by members of synod who spoke from their hearts and the courage of their convictions. I am also grateful for the communications I have received from throughout the diocese, not only in light of the current special synod, but throughout the last several years we have addressed this issue. Thank you so very much.
May the Peace of Christ attend us, the Love of God bind us together and the Breath of the Spirit sustain us into a future that is filled with hope and promise.

Pastoral guidelines for same sex marriage (PDF)
Yours Faithfully,                                                                      Bishop Michael

Here is an updated list of dioceses that will marry same-sex couples:
Diocese of Ontario
Diocese of Central Newfoundland
Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador
Diocese of Western Newfoundland
Diocese of New Westminster
Diocese of Toronto
Diocese of Niagara
Diocese of Montreal
Diocese of Ottawa
Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
Diocese of Rupert’s Land
Diocese of Kootenay
Diocese of Edmonton
Diocese of B.C.
Diocese of Huron

That hits the 45% mark. Soon it will be more economical to list the dioceses that have not authorised same-sex marriage. Again, this raises the question: why did they bother to hold a vote on this at General Synod and why all the subsequent fuss when it failed to pass?

Anglican Cathedral holds an Iftar dinner

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From here:

At 8:41 p.m., the exact time of sundown on May 30, 2019, the imam turned to face the east and issued the call to prayer. Dates and water were passed out to break the daily Ramadan fast.

It was all very traditional—except that these prayers took place in an Anglican church.

The scene unfolded before a special Iftar dinner held at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral in Kingston, Ont.

“It was beautiful,” says Bishop of the diocese of Ontario Michael Oulton. “We were holding our Ascension Day service in the cathedral and the Islamic folk were holding their prayers in the library of the cathedral.”

We must assume the “Islamic folk” mentioned above were Muslims and the apparent reluctance to refer to them as such was born of the same reticence that prompted Obama and others to refer to murdered Sri Lankan Christians as “Easter Worshippers”. To categorise a person is to offend. No one is afraid of offending Christians, so both examples must be a misguided attempt to avoid upsetting – Islamic Folk.

Since Islam teaches that Jesus was not God Incarnate, the crucifixion, death and resurrection did not occur and that the Triune God does not exist, it is perfectly clear that Muslims and Christians have a different God.

How, then, can Bishop Michael Oulton think that a group of people praying to a false god in his cathedral is something “beautiful”? Unless the bishop doesn’t believe in the Triune God either.

Appeal filed in Grenville Christian College abuse case

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A class action suit against the Anglican school by alleged abuse victims was denied certification earlier this year; the judge declared that individual actions would be more productive.

The claim against the Diocese of Ontario was also dismissed. This is good news for the Diocese of Ontario, since even paying lawyers to defend against a class action suit would probably bankrupt it. The diocese could still be in trouble if individuals pursue litigation individually or the appeal is successful.

It doesn’t sound as if the abuse victims would be pacified by Truth and Reconciliation, the Anglican Church of Canada’s recipe for promoting “healing and reconciliation” – without it costing too much.

From here:

TORONTO — A group of former students of a Christian college in eastern Ontario claiming abuse do not have the emotional strength to pursue individual lawsuits, their lawyer is arguing.

A judge denied certification earlier this year for their proposed $200-million class-action lawsuit against Grenville Christian College and its two former headmasters and the Anglican Diocese of Ontario, saying it isn’t the preferable procedure.

But Loretta Merritt, one of the three lawyers for the plaintiffs, said that individuals would struggle to move forward with the case on their own and a class-action suit is the best way for them to be heard.

“If this decision were to stand then each individual survivor would have to come forward and say ‘I want to pursue an individual action,”‘ she said.

[…..]

The plaintiffs in the case are former students at the college, which operated both as a junior school and residential high school, and they alleged in the lawsuit that they were subjected to years of abuse.

The suit claimed the school was run as a mind-control cult that left the former students traumatized.