How Rev. Ray Drennan's Intolerance & Bigotry Tarnished The Public Image Of The Unitarian "Church" of Montreal aka The "Church" of the Tarnished Image

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Montreal Unitarians excommunicated me from the Unitarian Church of Montreal for allegedly tarnishing the public image of the far from immaculately polished reputation of this alleged Unitarian "church". My alleged "image tarnishing" activities were my entirely legitimate public protest and the resulting television, radio and print media news stories that publicly exposed the anti-religious intolerance and bigotry of Rev. Ray Drennan and other Montreal Unitarians and also exposed the incompetent, negligent and effectively complicit failure (or more properly the obstinate refusal) of the Board and congregation of the Unitarian Church of Montreal to responsibly redress my serious grievances in a manner that even remotely lived up to Unitarian*Universalist "covenants" to "affirm and promote" justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

Most ironically, one of the very reasons that I felt that it was necessary to file my formal complaint about Rev. Ray Drennan's slanderous intolerance and bigotry in the first place was because I was concerned that he would unleash his intolerance and bigotry on others in the future. I was actually trying to spare the Unitarian Church of Montreal from future public embarrassment by giving them a very early warning of Rev. Ray Drennan's arrogant and abusive behaviour towards me that I had good reason to believe would surface more publicly in the future. Regrettably for all concerned the Board ignored this clear warning that was contained in my initial letter of grievance arising from Rev. Ray Drennan's demeaning and abusive slanderous attack on me.

The letters to the editor that appear in the above image represent the overwhelmingly negative public response to Rev. Ray Drennan's intolerant and bigoted anti-Catholic attack on the fact that former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau's state funeral was a Roman Catholic rite. Most ironically titled 'Wrong Message', Rev. Ray Drennan's intolerant and offensive opinion editorial was published in the October 9th, 2000 Montreal Gazette. The letters to the editor were published several days later on the 13th of October. Gazette editorial staff informed me that a "ball-park figure" of about 50 Montrealers had written letters to the editor expressing the fact that they were "shocked and appalled" by Rev. Ray Drennan's anti-religious intolerance and bigotry. Five representative letters were published. One need only read the letters to see that the public image of Rev. Ray Drennan and thus by extension the Unitarian Church of Montreal who he formally represented in his offensively opinionated Op/Ed piece were "tarnished" as a result of his 'Wrong Message'.

My point here is very simple. I am no more guilty of "tarnishing" the "image" of the Unitarian Church of Montreal than the five people who entirely justifiably wrote letters to the editor that condemned Rev. Ray Drennan's anti-religious intolerance and bigotry by expressing their "horror" at the "petty and wrong-headed", "totally disrespectful", "narrow views" spouted by "Mr. Drennan" in his "bald attack" on Pierre Elliot Trudeau's funeral rites that were "unbecoming of a minister of a church". . . The "devout atheist" R. W. Morel hit the proverbial nail on the head when he wrote, "Mr. Drennan preaches tolerance, but his article leaves the impression that he doesn't practice it. . ."