Issues, ethics, memory
By Dennis Gruending I return to Saskatchewan every summer to visit friends and relatives and usually I drop in at St. Peter's Abbey near Humboldt. I attended boarding school there in the 1960s and I retain a respect and fondness for the Benedictine monks. I spent several hours on my 2008 visit with Father Andrew... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending I travelled with my family in India in 2008 and my most useful guide was the writing of a Scot named William Dalrymple. This past spring we travelled in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan and found that Dalrymple has done it again in his book From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the... Continue Reading →
Note: Joe Gunn is executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, an Ottawa-based ecumenical group advocating for social justice. He has worked for churches and church organizations, mainly Catholics, in Canada and Latin America, and he was director for the Social Affairs office of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). In March 2010, he... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending It's been a bad month for Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic hierarchy, and by extension a bad month for Catholics in general. The church has been rocked by more allegations, many of them now proven, regarding past sexual assaults by priests on young boys and adolescents, and by news of subsequent... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending  A group of the world’s most respected Elders says that religions frequently oppress women and that it’s time for faith groups to change their ways. "Religion and tradition are a great force for peace and progress around the world,†the group said in a statement issued in July 2009. “However, as Elders,... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending I have been posting to my Pulpit and Politics for just over two years now and it has been a rewarding project. Not long ago the trusty software that counts visits to my blog clocked 50,000 – not exactly a blockbuster but nonetheless significant. I am also pleased that in the Canadian... Continue Reading →
Normally there would be little reason to compare and contrast Karen Armstrong, a wildly popular writer on religion and Tim Flannery, the Australian palaeontologist and author. The random occasion to do so was their appearance within half an hour of each other recently at the Ottawa WritersFestival. Armstrong is a rarity, someone who has actually... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending (The following post was published in the 20th anniversary edition of The Hill Times newspaper on October 5, 2009): Â The Hill Times is a niche publication in the best sense of the word. It is preoccupied with everything that happens on (and around) Parliament Hill and that cuts a broad swath. I... Continue Reading →
By Dennis Gruending The Economist magazine in a recent edition published a special 18-page section called In God's name: A special report on religion and public life. Editor John Micklethwait said in an accompanying interview, "In the 20th century people, particularly among the elites, tended to think that religion was disappearing. That obviously hasn't happened."... Continue Reading →
I plan with this blog to explore the growing influence that religion is having upon politics and society in Canada and elsewhere. This relationship is not merely a topic of interest but rather it has an effect upon the lives of millions of people. There has been a perception among academics, journalists and other opinion... Continue Reading →
Pulpit and Politics 