Nicholas is a Senior Translator and Conference Interpreter living in Canada. Through his work as both liaison and conference interpreter, he is in frequent contact with policymakers on both the national and international level. He is a practicing Catholic, a father of 4 children. S4C asked him as a Canadian and as a Christian about the recent events that shocked the public worldwide.

Nicholas, S4C published an article not long ago about happenings that seem absurd to us over here. News about restriction of freedom of conscience and obviously the craziest one: the judicial approval given to a polyamorous threesome as family. What is going on in Canada?

Sadly, this article is very true. There is absolutely no way to defend traditional values over here. In fact, it is a known strategy for radical liberal ideas to become legalized in Canada, then they use that as precedent for instilling such madness in other jurisdictions such as the US and Europe.

There had to be a process to arrive at this extreme in your country’s social policy. How did this all come through?

The real shift came when the father of our current prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, made the Charter of Rights and Freedoms the heart of the Canadian Constitution in the 1980s. This is the Trojan Horse to destroy all morals. Essentially, all it takes is one person to claim a right to anything, and if they find an unelected judge to side with them anywhere in the country, it then becomes the obligatory law for all Canadians.

Is this the same like in the US where the Supreme Court in fact legislates instead of interpreting positive legal measures?

It is judicial activism at its worst, and the complete overthrow of democracy, as the people and elected officials have no way to oppose the madness.

Unfettered rights devoid of any responsibility. The sure recipe for diabolical chaos. We are in a very sorry state here indeed, no question about it.

Take the case of euthanasia, or physician assisted suicide. On more than one occasion it had been discussed in Parliament, and each time our elected officials stated this is not what Canadians wanted. Then the Supreme Court heard the Charter arguments in the Carter case and decided that euthanasia was a right for all Canadians. And as a body of unelected judges, it mandated that elected legislators pass a law to enable euthanasia within a year, which came about in June 2016. If this is not a perversion of democracy and judicial activism, I don’t know what is…

What is the situation of Catholic and Christian education? What is the extent of autonomy in your curriculum and in what you can require from faculty, staff and students?

Funnily enough, in the founding documents of our nation, their is a mandate to have a Catholic school board alongside the secular one, and both are publicly funded. And this is the reality across the country. But while this looks on paper, Catholic school boards have many times lost an actual Christian identity, despite the name. The end result is actually more harmful, as they are sending the wrong message, but under the banner of a “Catholic” school.

In the United States a lot of families choose home schooling. Is that an option for Canadians as well?

Yes, homeschooling is alive and well in Canada. There are many communities of Christian, Catholic and even secular homeschoolers throughout the country who are concerned with the erosion of parental rights in the school system, and who see no other option than assuming full responsibility for their children’s education. Catholic and Christian homeschool co-ops are helping these families homeschool their children as well. In the end, we know that if our main goal is to have our children reach Heaven, and the schools are not helping, or even impeding, that goal, we sometimes have no option but to act on our own.

One key factor that leads many parents to decide to homeschool is the pernicious sex education curriculum that is foisted on our children from the first years they are in school, that is rife with gender confusion, sexuality devoid of morality, and worse. Even well-meaning secular parents are appalled at the content and are considering their options carefully.

Here in Hungary we are in a quite different situation: Parliament decided to amend the Constitution bringing in the defence of Christian Culture as a basic value. Do you think one day this could happen in Canada? Is there any political party over there that supports traditional values?

Praise God for Hungary! We are heading in completely the other direction.

We just had another Supreme Court decision this week against a Christian University that was not allowed to have a law school because it had a pact for students to live Christian sexuality. This was deemed to be discriminatory and against the Charter values. Christian living is under seige on all sides. Two of the three main politicial parties in the country have expressly forbidden pro-life candidates from running for public office within their country. And the third party is constantly under attack if a solid pro-life candidate ventures to seek election. It is a war: the culture of life versus the culture of death.

S4C is a media outlet that was created to give voice to persecuted Christians in the world. As we see it now Christians in Canada are in a way persecuted. Would you agree with this statement?

Yes, sadly. But this is the state of all Christians worldwide, whether they realize it or not. And should it surprise us? Our Lord predicted this would be so, and promised us only persecution and the Cross in this life.

What can Christian families do in a situation like this?

The same as we have always done. Live out our Faith. Make it part of our lives.

Be authentic. And importantly, as we read in the Letter of St. Peter, “know the reasons for what we believe.” Read, research, practice, become experts in expressing the rational reasons for what we know to be true. And be active in the public square.

What would be your message to us Hungarians?

Stay involved in your political processes. Never grow complacent, as there are forces worldwide that are already working to destroy the system of Christian order that you have in your country.

Be aware, work hard. And above all, pray hard for all Christians in your own country and in the world. And pray for your politicians: they are under direct attack and need our prayers and support.

Meet with them. Express your approval… or disapproval. Develop personal relationships with them. Get involved. You can be sure that people who are opposed to our worldview are doing just that. We should not let “the children of darkness [be] more astute than the children of light.”