Subject: Symposium & Town Hall Meeting: Report
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2012 10:13:28 -0400
From: Canorient Association
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Symposium on Global persecution and discrimination against Christians:
Promoting Religious Freedom Worldwide & Town Hall Meeting
The Canadian Goan Christian Group (CGCG), organized a symposium which
was sponsored (in part) by the Canorient Association of Toronto. It was
held on September 30, 2012 at St. Joseph's Church Hall in Mississauga.
The venue was packed with over 400 attendees and many were unable to
attend due to limited hall capacity.
Four of our fine community speakers at the Symposium described the
persecution of our Christian brethren in South America/Caribbean, Asia,
Middle East and Africa. They focused on the growing discrimination and
persecution against Christians in numerous countries and many in the
audience were surprised to learn about the extent and severity of the
persecution. The four speakers provided specific and value-added
recommendations on how to individually and collectively address the key
issue of religious persecution of Christians in a focused manner.
It was agreed that we must work closely with the recently created Office
of Religious Freedom in the Canadian Department of External Affairs in
mobilizing our specific concerns, championing the cause of freedom of
religion as a human right and demanding desired action. There was
consensus that while we cherish the right/privilege here at home, we
must ensure that the rest of the world can also enjoy this freedom. This
is an uphill task, but it is worthy of our resolve and effort.
The distinguished guests were the Canadian Minister for Citizenship,
Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, Mayor of Mississauga
Hazel McCallion, Fr. Raymond de Souza, Fr. Marc-Andre Campbell, MP Bob
Dechert, MP Brad Butt, and Councilor Bonnie Crombie. The Minister shared
his many initiatives in this important area. He also expressed his full
personal and the Canadian Government’s support for upholding the rights
of Christians who are being persecuted in countries where they are in a
minority situation, such as in Iraq and Pakistan. He assured that this
issue would be the priority for the Office of Religious Freedom in
Ottawa. He also answered some of the questions received from the
audience on key immigration issues. Minister Kenney’s two post-meeting
Tweets speak volumes: “Had a great townhall meeting with hundreds of
folks from the GTA Goan Indian community.” and “What the Goan community
has achieved & contributed to Canada in little more than 30 years is
remarkable”.
Fr. Raymond’s keynote presentation was admirable for the depth of his
intellect, his mastery of theology and his concern for the problems
facing Christians globally. He cherished his Goan Catholic heritage and
stressed that we must uphold our values in public.
Mayor Hazel McCallion inspired the audience by her defense for Christian
values and said how pleased she was to become a part of the solution.
The four other guests present also expressed their full ongoing support.
Attendees were thankful for the opportunity to learn more about the
facts and to review what is being done at many levels and consider the
various ways and means to make our world a better place for all.
Stay tuned for the next event– and let us all work together!
Minister Kenney in full swing:
http://yfrog.com/scaled/landing/815/vbhde.jpg
Photo: Minister Jason Kenney speaking at the CGCG Town Hall Meeting on
September 30, 2012.
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Your Toronto Executive Committee
Canorient, Toronto
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Albert Peres
afpe...@3129.ca
416.660.0847 cell
