Gay priest murdered in Montreal
Chris Ambidge
Warren Ealing was found dead in Montreal on Wednesday. He was
an Anglican priest, age 53. He'd moved to Montreal from Toronto
a couple of years ago.
He was found (by concerned parishoners, he'd missed a couple of
appointments) half-naked and handcuffed to his bed. He'd been
strangled, his home ransacked, and various items (computer, car,etc)
stolen.
It wasn't a routine burglary-turned-homicide; it was the murder of
a gay man.
His was the 14th murder of a gay man in Montreal in the last few
years. The lesbian/gay community is very upset, (a) because they
may have a serial killer on the loose (number 4 death this year);
and (b) because the police are treating it as a "routine" homicide.
Whether this was a gay-bashing, or a man being killed for thrills
and money by the trick he picked up is a moot point. It wouldn't
have happened if Warren hadn't been gay.
It makes me sick, and it makes me angry.
Partially because I knew Warren, and you-never-think-it'll-happen
-to-someone-you-know.
Partially for the same reason the community in Montreal is angry
and upset and scared -- they're not getting the support, and indeed
being taken as seriously as they deserve by the police.
Partially because, as an Anglican, I am sure that in a very real
way, my Church killed Warren. If they were more accepting of
real-live-gays, allowing them (make that allowing US) to have
acknowledged partners/spouses, instead of hiding and pretendingg
and lying about a huge part of ourselves, Warren wouldn't have
found himself indulging in what can be described as very unsafe
sex.
It's too late for Warren, but I hope this martyrdom will get
some people waking up and smelling the coffee, realising that
gays and lesbians can't be denied (or look what may happen)
I hope it causes enough press that the MOntreal police get up
off their collective cans and catch the murderer.
Chris
--
Chris Ambidge / amb...@ecf.toronto.edu / amb...@ecf.utoronto.ca
chemical engineering / university of toronto
200 college st / toronto ON / M5S 1A4 // 416 978 3106
Paul Hastings
>
>Warren Ealing was found dead in Montreal on Wednesday. He was
>an Anglican priest, age 53. He'd moved to Montreal from Toronto
>a couple of years ago.
>It makes me sick, and it makes me angry.
>
>Partially because I knew Warren, and you-never-think-it'll-happen
>-to-someone-you-know.
Chris, you and all who knew Warren have my sympathies. I was shocked
when I heard of the murder on the radio last week, and when I realized
that the number of gays murdered in Montreal in recent years (since
1990, I believe) has climbed to 14. It's frightening, and sad.
>Partially because, as an Anglican, I am sure that in a very real
>way, my Church killed Warren. If they were more accepting of
>real-live-gays, allowing them (make that allowing US) to have
>acknowledged partners/spouses, instead of hiding and pretendingg
>and lying about a huge part of ourselves, Warren wouldn't have
>found himself indulging in what can be described as very unsafe
>sex.
What is the Anglican Church's stand on homosexuality? The radio
reported that Warren was a very out, and outspoken, homosexual, but
did not state whether he had received acceptance or sanctions from
the church officials.
I assume by "very unsafe sex" you are referring to the fact that he
was found handcuffed to the bed, and presuming that this was by a
trick he had picked up and did not know well enough to trust with
such activities. If you knew Warren well enough to predict this
based on his preferences, fine, but if not, I don't think we should
presume at this point that he welcomed the murderer into his home
for sex, or that he was willingly restrained.
I know *you* would never make such a hideous accusation, but others
could shrug it off as "his own damn fault for being so stupid" if
they were to hear that he let a total stranger 'cuff him.
>It's too late for Warren, but I hope this martyrdom will get
>some people waking up and smelling the coffee, realising that
>gays and lesbians can't be denied (or look what may happen)
Likewise, and again, my sympathies for your loss.
-paul
--
I can get a job, I can pay the phone-bill! I can cut the lawn, cut my hair,
cut down my cholesterol! I can work overtime! I can work in a mine!
I can do it all for you! But I don't want to.
_Enid_, Bare Naked Ladies
Chris Ambidge
[I wrote]
} >Warren Ealing was found dead in Montreal on Wednesday. He was
} >an Anglican priest, age 53. He'd moved to Montreal from Toronto
} >a couple of years ago.
}
} >It makes me sick, and it makes me angry.
} >
} >Partially because I knew Warren, and you-never-think-it'll-happen
} >-to-someone-you-know.
[to which Paul responded]
}
} Chris, you and all who knew Warren have my sympathies. I was shocked
} when I heard of the murder on the radio last week, and when I realized
} that the number of gays murdered in Montreal in recent years (since
} 1990, I believe) has climbed to 14. It's frightening, and sad.
thank you. I'm just back from the funeral, which was
exhausting not only for the usual emotional reasons, but
because the Cathedral was packed and I was standing for
2.5 hours too.
Someone at the reception afterwards was all-of-a-twitter
because Warren's car was found on a wharf in Toronto (apparentlly
someone attempted to dump it in the harbour and failed) and
"the murderer is here now and we're not safe". Well, maybe,
but it's not all that safe here either.
[me again]
} >Partially because, as an Anglican, I am sure that in a very real
} >way, my Church killed Warren. If they were more accepting of
} >real-live-gays, allowing them (make that allowing US) to have
} >acknowledged partners/spouses, instead of hiding and pretendingg
} >and lying about a huge part of ourselves, Warren wouldn't have
} >found himself indulging in what can be described as very unsafe
} >sex.
[Paul]
} What is the Anglican Church's stand on homosexuality? The radio
} reported that Warren was a very out, and outspoken, homosexual, but
} did not state whether he had received acceptance or sanctions from
} the church officials.
Well, he wasn't *that* out -- those who chose to remain
ignorant could, he wasn't wearing pink triangles or
championing gay causes. Sure, anyone with half-way reliable
gaydar would know, and he did go to "west end bars" as
the Globe&Mail described it -- but he didn't go in his collar.
His bishop knew he was gay, but didn't have to take "official
notice" because Warren (the name is spelled 'Eling', by the
way, my error earlier) wasn't in a position to cause mud to
be in the water. Jim Ferry in Toronto diocese had a partner,
and that is still on paper not condoned, and so Jim ended
up all over the newspapers in 1991-2.
The Anglican Church's stand is in a flux right now, and
I saw more evidence of it being in flux this afternoon at
the funeral. This is good and bad -- it isn't out-and-out
positive, which is bad; but it *is* thinking about it, which
is good. Other denominations have laid down the law in a
very conservative way, and more or less nailed the box closed.
Most Anglicans are aware that the present policy is
in need of revisiting, and probably re-writing.
The policy is, as one cynic described it "it's OK to be a
bird as long as you don't fly". Homosexuals are acknowledged
as "brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, with full
call on the pastoral resources of the Church" -- so far, so
good. We're not "intrinsically morally disordered" as another
church has said. It's ok to be a bird.
But you can't fly. It is explicitly NOT ok for clergy to
be sexually active with people they aren't married to, and
they are specifically forbidden to bless same-sex couples (ie
les/gay marriages). So we Fruit have no legitimate sexual
outlet. This is the sort of thing that cost Jim Ferry his
job, and countless others -- most resign quietly when
caught/have the whistle blown on them, the only thing
really different about Jim was that he refused to roll over
and play dead [and say "yes, yes, what I was doing was
wrong, I'll go away quietly now"]. That has been the
attitude for many years, and that, I suspect, is really
how the Church contributed to Warren's death. By not allowing
and celebrating same-sex couples, by denying sexual intimacy
in legitimate ways, the church is implicitly saying that
sexual intimacy and delight must be had in ways that it would
call illegitimate. Sex, as Miss Manners has pointed out,
is quite popular, and shows no sign of diminishing in popularity.
Those who think that people not in male/female marriage bonds
are going to do without the joy and comfort of sexual
intimacy are living in cloud-cuckoo land -- but there are
a fair number of people who do live there.
However, as I said, there are signs of hope, in the amount of
discussion that has been happening. The present policies
are NOT chipped in stone. Over the course of the last couple
of years, various dioceses have been having formal discussions
[and, lo-and-behold, discovering that lesgay people do not
have cloven hooves, horns and a tail -- old news to most people
on this newsgroup, but a real discovery to many people out
there in Churchland]. This has happened at the National
church level too, and more will be happening at the triennial
General Synod, next meeting in 1995. I've been at work on
this one for seemingly decades, and there *is* some movement,
enough that I'm not completely discouraged.
Study papers published for all to read have been released
(and caused great discussion) in various places.
The fact that some people are reacting in shock-horror to
some of these discussion papers does not alarm me much. It
is becoming something that is OK to talk about, something about
which it can no longer be said "no right thinking Christian
would be pro GAY". Cracks in the dam. A lot of this is
a partial function of the general societal raised profile
and indeed greater acceptance of lesgays in general. Ten
years ago, this would have been unthinkable.
My spies in the House of Bishops tell me that they realise
that they have to work on two fronts: honesty between clergy
and bishops [ie this duplicity and "lets pretend I don't
know that" sucks eggs and has to go]; and recognising/
blessing gay unions. Once the second is accomplished, the
problem of gay clergy diminishes dramatically -- because there
won't be the dreadful secret (The Rector's Husband) to
hold over anyone's head.
Now there are many in the church as a whole and the House
of Bishops in particular who will resist both, but the path
for reform is clear.
The sermon at the funeral was great -- Glenn Prichard spoke
about anger. How Warren was not free to let us all
know about himself. We may be angry, but being gay is no
reason for murder. We [the church] are probably willing to
lay the blame for this horrible death at every door but our
own. We need to listen to how our silence is doing violence.
Three years ago I could not have believed that sermon could be
spoken (and the preacher have a job the next day). Yet
everyone today (including the bishop) thought it was well
said. Maybe the church WILL start accepting some of the
blame for the violence against lesgays (and all of us, not
just extreme cases like Warren).
Maybe Warren's death, horrible as it was, will wake some people
up. I surely hope so, and there is indeed grounds for hope.
It isn't moving as fast as I would like, but there are
signs that movement there is.
Leith Chu
_Globe and Mail_ (National Edition, Monday, November 15, 1993). I am
saddened by the tragedy which continues to strike our brothers in Montreal,
I'm angry at the cavalier attitude of the police, and I'm frightened for my
friends and acquaintances, and all my unknown brothers who have to face this
evil every day.
What's really frightening is the fact that I could have been one of the
victims. Joe Rose was murdered on a bus at a subway stop hours after I had
passed through there, on March 19, 1989. Had I been there a bit later, I
might not be here posting to you now.
***************
Community wants coroner's inquest
MONTREAL - Since 1989, there have been at least 14 sex slayings of
homosexual men in Montreal. The gay community has demanded a
coroner's inquest to investigate the inability to solve the crimes.
Many of the men killed were known to be "closet" gays who
sought partners in Montreal's Gay Village, so there are suggestions
some of the crimes may be linked. Four people have been convicted
in connection with the killings, while nine of the crimes remain
unresolved.
The victims include:
- Rev. Warren Eling, 53: the Anglican priest was found bound and
strangled in his home on Nov. 10; unresolved.
- Robert Panchaud, 36: bound and fatally stabbed in his downtown
Montreal apartment on Jan. 27; unresolved.
- Michael Hogue, 42: bound and stabbed to death in his suburban
Laval home on Jan. 18; unresolved.
- Daniel Lacombe, 37: the teacher suffered a heart attack during
a beating by a group of teen-age boys at a roadside stop in
Joliette; resolved.
- Yves Lalonde, 51: the accountant was beaten to death by
skinheads in a west-end park popular with "cruising" gay men;
resolved.
- Garfield Walker, 30: stabbed to death in his Montreal home on
No. 30, 1991; unresolved.
- Pierre-Yvon Croft, 48: stabbed to death in an east-end park
popular with gay men on Oct. 9, 1991; unresolved.
- Marc Bellerive, 33: the accountant was stabbed to death in a
different east-end park on Sept. 20, 1991; unresolved.
- Normand Gareau, 45: a salesman who was beaten to death in his
downtown apartment on May 10, 1991; unresolved.
- Robert Assaly, 59: a retired teacher beaten to death in his
Nun's Island condominium on April 7, 1991; unresolved.
- Gaetan Ethier, 45: the labourer was fatally stabbed in his
downtown apartment April 2, 1991; unresolved.
- Dr. Edward Yong Sua Mok, 26: the doctor was stabbed in his
Montreal apartment on April 14, 1990; unresolved.
- Brian Booth, 53: the businessman was stabbed to death in a
downtown hotel on April 10, 1990, by a man he met in a Gay Village
bar; resolved.
- Richard Gallant, 28: stabbed to death in his downtown apartment
on March 9, 1989; unresolved.
Joe Rose, a 24-year-old student, was stabbed to death on March
19, 1989 by a group of teenagers who targeted him because of his
pink hair. While the killing of Mr. Rose, a high-profile gay
activist, is not classified as a sex slaying, it focused attention
on homophobic violence.
***************
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