TORONTO, April 14, 2010 – The Catholic Civil Rights League is happy to announce that it will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a gala dinner June 10 in Toronto. Guest speaker will be Father Raymond De Souza, columnist with the National Post.
Ticket order form can be downloaded here. For further information, e-mail ccrl@ccrl.ca or call 416-466-8244.
The Archbishop Adam Exner Award for Catholic Excellence in Public Life will be presented to several winners across Canada in honour of achievements in philanthropy, education and life issues.
This award was established in 2004 to honour Archbishop Exner upon his retirement as Archbishop of Vancouver. Previous recipients include the late Frederick W. Hill of Regina’s Hill Group of Companies for outstanding philanthropy and service to Church and community; Fraser Field of Catholic Educators’ Resource Centre for services to education; Jim Hughes of Campaign Life Coalition for services to the pro-life movement; Dr. and Mrs. Andrew and Joan Simone, founders of Canadian Food for Children, and Frank Chauvin, who founded Haiti’s first orphanage for girls, both for services to international aid.
The League was established in 1985 by a group of Catholics concerned about anti-Catholic defamation in the media and the marginalization of religion from public life. Then as now, much media bias was provoked by coverage of abortion. Over the years, the League has requested and received numerous clarifications or apologies for misleading or inaccurate coverage of faith-based issues in national media, and has contributed greatly to dialogue about media education.
Since 1995, the League has participated in more than 20 court cases and numerous parliamentary hearings involving faith and family issues such as abortion, euthanasia, definition of marriage and free speech issues. The League offers regular membership publications and issues press releases to the secular and religious media, and is frequently sought by national and regional media to comment on public issues with a religious dimension.
The original leadership of the League included Professor Thomas Langan, president emeritus of the League and retired professor of philosophy, University of St. Michael’s College; Professor Keith Cassidy, president of our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy and long-time professor of history at University of Guelph; and Father Alphonse De Valk, C.S.B., editor of Catholic Insight magazine.
The League is supported entirely by the generosity of its members. Its board of directors includes volunteers from across Canada.
For further information: Joanne McGarry, Executive Director, 416-466-8244; joanne.mcgarry@ccrl.ca