Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Canadian Adjudicator To Refugee Claimant: "Not Catholic Enough"

Madonna between Ss John the Baptist and FrancisImage by Lawrence OP via Flickr
You're a refugee claimant. You're in a refugee claimant review. You're nervous. You're in a new country in the midst of strange people who seemingly hold life-or-death powers over you. You're sweating. You're a Christian. You're asked who the mother of Mary the mother of Jesus was, and who the mother of John the Baptist was.

Quick now, what's your answer? (please post in comments without looking at other comments' answers)

If you balked, you may be a Christian, but, in the eyes of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), not Christian enough.

He knew Mary was Jesus’ mother and that John baptized him but not the names of Mary’s and John’s mothers; correctly answered questions about the rosary and the seven sacraments; named books of the Old Testament but was uncertain what they were about; failed to note that 2009 was dedicated to St. Paul by the Catholic Church, and gave other answers that fell short of Ms. Andrachuk’s expectations. 
“I find, on a balance of probabilities, that the claimant is not and never was a genuine practicing Roman Catholic,” Ms. Andrachuk wrote. “I find that the claimant’s level of knowledge of the Catholic faith is not commensurate with someone who has been a Roman Catholic for three years.”

Fortunately a Canadian court had the good sense to strike down this ruling.

IRB adjudicator rebuked by court for refusing man who failed Catholic ‘trivia’


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7 comments:

Anon1152 said...

Appeals processes. The can be cumbersome. But... I'm glad we (often) have them.

Frances said...

Stes Anne and Elizabeth respectively.

BallBounces said...

Right! Bonus points. Which name is based on Scripture, and which one is based on tradition/legend?

Anon1152 said...

I'm guessing--well, guessing plus checking-- that "Elizabeth" is from scripture and "Anne" is from tradition/legend. Though if so, I wonder where the name came from exactly. Perhaps scriptures that didn't make it into the Christian Bible?

I'm still baffled that that's a question for Catholics. I thought Catholics weren't known for knowing scripture. We'd just go to church and have priests read it to us in Latin...

BallBounces said...

Anne - correct. Apocryphal gospels I believe, i.e., non-scripture!

Baffled -- you sir are absolutely right -- knowing too much stuff would probably indicate your were posing as a Catholic!

Anon1152 said...

I have a book called "The Other Bible" filled with apocryphal stuff. Early Jewish writings. Nag Hammadi Library. Dead sea scrolls. Jewish Pseudopigrapha. Gnostic gospels. That sort of thing. I have not looked at in in any depth, but I hope to at some point. The holy bible can hold one's attention for a very long time (or... for a lifetime?).

BallBounces said...

It seems it's one or the other. For me, the Bible has indescribable depths with a sublime continuity over 66 books, multiple human authors and, what, 1500 years of writing? From Genesis three with the oblique prophecy of the coming of the Messiah and the destruction of the devil (nip at heel/crush head) right down to the symphonically climactic book of Revelation -- it's God's book, for sure.

"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"