Canadian Education Minister Says Children Must Be Allowed to Choose Their Own Gender

Christian Post Report – A school bus is shown in this file photo.

Answers in Genesis CEO and President Ken Ham has slammed new school guidelines in Alberta, Canada, that allow children in public schools to pick their own gender identities.

“The cry of many in this generation of Americans is ‘inclusivity’ and ‘tolerance.’ It’s astonishing, the radical changes that have been made to our Western society in the name of being inclusive and tolerant (but only inclusive and tolerant of certain viewpoints — and not the biblical ones!). Of course, this is most often seen in regard to gay ‘marriage,’ homosexual behavior, and transgender issues,” Ham wrote in an AiG blog late last week.

“Well, this isn’t just happening here in America. We’re seeing this occur all across the West,” he added, linking to Alberta’s school guidelines issued by Education Minister David Eggen back in January.

As CBC News pointed out, the new rules give students the right to self-identify when it comes to their gender identity and expression.

“Some individuals may not feel included in the use of the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’ and may prefer alternate pronouns, such as ‘ze,’ ‘zir,’ ‘hir,’ ‘they’ or ‘them,’ or might wish to express themselves or self-identify in other ways (e.g., Mx. instead or Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss, or no prefix at all),” the guidelines read in part.

The rules further allow students to “participate on the team that reflects their gender identity and expression,” meaning that boys can play on girls teams in sports, and vice versa.

What is more, Alberta students can also choose their own restroom and change room that are “congruent with their gender identity.”

Ham argued in his blog post that although the government is trying to make students feel more comfortable, transgender lifestyles “go completely against God’s design.”

“God created male and female in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Male and female isn’t something we can switch based on our emotions or feelings — it’s the way God has designed us from the very beginning,” he said.

“The answer for all people — transgender, homosexual, or otherwise — will not be found in ‘inclusivity’ or increased ‘tolerance.’ These things may promote acceptance of all kinds of sinful behaviors, thus making it easier to live a sinful lifestyle, but ultimately, this accomplishes nothing,” he continued.

“The only answer for all people is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Ham has spoken out against similar cases in the U.S. pertaining to transgender identities, including New York City guidelines that threaten to fine employers who repeatedly use the wrong pronouns when referring to transgender people.

The Roman Catholic Church in Calgary has also denounced Alberta’s school guidelines, with Bishop Fred Henry calling them “the forceful imposition of a particular narrow-minded anti-Catholic ideology.”

Henry wrote in a statement: “Our teaching is rather simple and direct. God created beings as male and female. In doing so, he gave equal dignity to both man and woman. In his plan, men and women should respect and accept their sexual identity.”

The bishop added: “God created both the body and sex as good. Hence, we do not approach sexuality with fear or with hostility to the flesh. It is a gift of God by which men and women participate in his saving plan and respond to his call to grow in holiness.”

Source : Christian Post

400 Children Kidnapped in Mexico Go Unreported by Parents

Christian Post Report – Catholic women yell during a march for peace in Mexico City, May 31, 2015. Participants marched on Sunday to demand increased security and a stop to drug violence throughout Mexico, local media reported.

Families in Mexico have said that at least 400 children are missing due to organized crime in the country, with reports describing the Catholic Church as one of their only points of faith and hope.

“There are many cases of kidnapping. First there was talk of 50 but it seems that at least 400 have disappeared: But most of their families have not reported the kidnappings for fear,” the father of one of the missing children said, according to Fides News Agency.

Children throughout the country are being taken as victims of drug trafficking and organized crime, and parents have criticized authorities on a number of occasions for not doing enough to help bring them back to their families.

The Fides report added that His Exc. Mgr. Luis Felipe Gallardo Martín del Campo, the Bishop of Veracruz, read a list of 23 missing persons in Tierra Blanca during Mass, and noted that the Church ‘has become the only point of reference for many families in search of faith and hope.’

“Some time ago it was known that the armed gang of guerrillas in Sierra Guerrero enlisted people by force. Now the fact that drug trafficking and organized crime have entered in our society there is no control, the justice system has been destroyed, there is violence everywhere. And now the authorities do not know how to stop the problem,” the bishop said.

Del Campo admitted that the Church has also not been spared such violence, noting that there have been over five cases of priests being kidnapped and later released, while parishes face constant robberies and extortion.

Mexico has been reeling by a number of missing persons cases, most notably the investigation into the fates of 43 students who were believed to have been taken by criminal gang members back in 2014. Although the attorney general has claimed that there is proof that the students were killed by the cartel, parents have staged protests and demanded to see hard evidence before they give up hope on their children being alive.

“We don’t believe anything of what they say,” said Carmen Cruz, the father of one of the missing students. “We are not going to allow this case to be closed.”

As Pope Francis has pointed out, Mexico remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for priests as well. The Catholic community spoke out after a priest was found murdered in April with a bullet wound in his head and abandoned on a dirt road.

“United in prayer, we are indignant at the death of Father Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Díaz, of Capuchinas in Salvatierra Guanajuato. When will this end? Enough with so much blood spilled!” the office of the Archbishop of Morelia said in a statement at the time.

Source : Christian Post