Frederick Henry (bishop)

Frederick Henry (born April 11, 1943) is the seventh and current Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese of Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada. Henry is an outspoken conservative idealogue who commands great polularity amongst the largely conservative and traditionalist population of Calgary. Remarkably successful in the political sphere, he is an outspoken critic of modern trends in government, whether these be the libertarian policies of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives (Provincial Government), or the tendency of certain Canadian federal politicians to overlook their Catholic identities at election time. The two issues most associated with Henry are his steadfast defence of Catholic Clergy accused in the so-called Catholic Child Abuse scandal, and his campaign against all forms of public and private homosexual expression.

History

Henry was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1968. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and a licentiate in theology from Gregorian University in Rome. From 1973-1986 he served as associate professor of Theology and Philosophy at St. Peter's Seminary. In 1986 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of London and titular bishop of Carinola, Italy. In 1995 he was installed as the fifth bishop of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and on March 19, 1998 he was installed as the seventh bishop of Calgary.

Controversy

Henry has created controversy on several occasions in which he has argued that politicians who are also Catholics should act in accordance with Catholic principles and doctrine as a matter of religious duty. Henry's calling to task of nominally Catholic politicians who vote for abortion or same sex marriage initially delighted many conservatives in Calgary and elsewhere. However, as is the case with many senior Catholic clergymen, he has notably failed to follow through on this numerous threats to deny these politicians Holy Communion. His failure in this regard has irritated the many Catholic Tradionalists who believe that Henry has both the authority and a moral obligation to discipline all in his diocese who defy Church teachings and Papal directives on these issues.

On July 30, 2003, in an interview with the Globe and Mail, Henry stated that Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, a Roman Catholic, was risking his eternal salvation by supporting legislation in favour of same-sex marriage.

:"He's putting at risk his eternal salvation. I pray for the Prime Minister because I think his eternal salvation is in jeopardy. He is making a morally grave error and he's not being accountable to God... He doesn't understand what it means to be a good Catholic."

Henry also described comments by former Tory leader and fellow Catholic Joe Clark as "scandalous", after Clark described himself as pro-choice.

Arguably the most controversial aspect of Henry's tenure as Bishop has been his support of Catholic Clergy accused of sexually interfering with children. A prominent example was his hiring of Father James Kneale, a convicted pedophile, into a parish in Calgary. Kneale, from Ontario, had been charged in 1999 with six sex-related offenses, five of which were dropped in exchange for a plea bargain which resulted in his being convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1986. Kneale served a nine-month sentence in the community before serving out 18 months' probation. The parish was furious when they discovered Father Kneale's background, which included providing liquor to the boy, and insisted on his resignation, accepted by Henry in 2002. Henry has also been implicated in the practice of "Parish Hopping", in which suspected pedophiles are moved to new parishes as soons as rumours of their sexual conquests begin to circulate amongst the laity.

Henry is an outspoken supporter of the re-criminalization of homosexuality. On January 16, 2005, in a letter to be read in southern Alberta churches, Henry stated that "since homosexuality, adultery, prostitution and pornography undermine the foundations of the family, the basis of society, then the state must use its coercive power to proscribe or curtail them in the interests of the common good." These comments delighted Catholic and Evangelical conservatives, but also resulted in a formal complaint being made against Henry to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission.

Subject of Human Rights Complaint

On March 31, 2005, the "Calgary Herald" announced that Bishop Henry was the object of two human rights complaints, stemming from a pastoral letter regarding homosexuality that he wrote to the Catholics of his Diocese. It was also posted on the diocesan website. The Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission agreed to hear the complaint. The event created a significant controversy in Calgary with an editorial in the Herald supporting the Bishop. On the other hand, the former Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Very Reverend Bill Phipps, have been sharply critical of Henry. Many moderate Catholics have criticised Henry for his obvious enjoyment of this new-found notoriety outside of the faith.

Quotes

* "If one happens to be a Catholic, there cannot be a split between one's internal kind of views and thoughts ... and what one says publicly. One has a duty, whether he likes it or not, to preach the word of God. This is part of the very mission of the Church, which is not confined to guys like myself who wear this funny Roman collar...." [http://www.dailycatholic.org/issue/2001Mar/mar2nl1.htm]

* "(Pope John Paul II) was a holy man, when I saw him I felt like Moses must have felt before the burning bush. I wanted to tear off my sandals, throw down my staff and bow to him."Fact|date=July 2007

External links

* [http://www.rcdiocese-calgary.ab.ca/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary] (official page)
* [http://bcc.rcav.org/01-03-05/fp.htm Bishop may ban Clark]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/01/16/calgary-bishop050116.html Calgary bishop wants government to oppose gays]
* [http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ca-human-rights-bishop20050331 Bishop defends anti-gay remarks]
* [http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=0903ec66-9dcd-4c49-ad2e-3eeaa0c2bb40 Porn channel an abomination] , opinion column by Fred Henry