Religion News Service
CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, October 29, 2003: Bibles and any other religious texts in hospital bedside drawers may become contraband under a proposal from the Calgary Health Region (CHR), reports the Calgary Herald. If the policy is approved, the Gideons International Bible, a bedside staple in hotels, prisons and hospitals, will be removed from all hospital rooms in the city and all distribution and display of any printed religious materials in hospitals will be banned. The policy, still under review, has drawn both acceptance and criticism from religious leaders in Calgary. An official with the CHR says the policy is the best way to avoid any religious discrimination or even the appearance that the organization favors one religious group over another. “There’s no interest in restricting access. It’s just that we want it to be non-discriminatory,” says Toni MacDonald, the CHR’s director of spiritual care. “There’s not enough room in the drawers for all of the materials.” “The secularists are taking over,” countered Anglican minister Robert Greene, assistant priest at St. John the Evangelist in Inglewood. “This is just one more step in the secularization of society–to get rid of anything of spiritual content.” Pastoral services at all hospitals will continue to offer 24-hour, on-call spiritual advisers of all faiths. Hindus have just been catching up by placing Hindu scriptures and materials in hospitals for Hindu patients.