Housmans of London Announces Book Lecture by Defrocked Canadian Minister

Nov 11, 2010

Housmans of London Announces Book Lecture by Defrocked Canadian Minister

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Housmans of London Announces 
Book Lecture by Defrocked Canadian Minister

London, November 12, 2010 –  Housmans, the major independent bookstore in King's
Cross, London, has announced a lecture, film and book signing by Reverend Kevin
Annett, author of “Unrepentant: Disrobing The Emperor,” published in the UK by
John Hunt Publishing (O-books imprint). The event will take place early in the
new year, tentatively set for February 23, following the book's January release.

Reverend Annett, fired and defrocked by the United Church of Canada 15 years
ago, has waged a singlehanded campaign for justice for indigenous people
following his revelations of what he terms “the Canadian genocide” perpetrated
by the three major church organizations in 141 “residential schools,” with the
complicity of the Canadian government  for 140 years. A similar history of abuse
and atrocity has been experienced in the United States.

Annett's activity has been instrumental although unacknowledged  in a tepid
Canadian government “apology” to the victims and survivors of the “schools.” He
has issued summonses, on behalf of the International Tribunal Into the Crimes of
Church and State (ITCCS) convening in London in 2011, addressed to Queen
Elizabeth and Pope Joseph Ratzinger. Last April he performed an exorcism rite in
St. Peter's Square, which was followed 12 hours later by a tornado – almost
unprecedented in that time and place –  which devastated central Rome and the
Vatican.

Reverend Annett, a radio talk show host and unpaid skid row minister, has
written and produced the film, “Unrepentant," which won “Best Director” at the
New York Independent Film Festival in 2006, followed by the award in the
following year of “Best Foreign Film” at the Los Angeles Independent Film
Festival, and in 2009 by “Best Feature Film” award at the Canadian Native Film
Festival in Edmonton.

Although he has lectured at universities from McGill to Berkeley and from the
University of Chicago to Boston College, and to humanist, native and community
groups in North America, he has met with far greater public and media
recognition and acceptance during his four European film and lecture tours in 16
cities in eight countries. His film has been translated into Italian, French and
German, in the latter case having been broadcast to millions of Central European
viewers, as well as on the BBC.

In North America by comparison, his work has been met with monumental media
indifference. While recent church abuse worldwide has attracted modest media
attention, an interviewer from “60-Minutes” explains the difference: “Whenever
we run any program involving Indians, our viewership falls to near-zero.” The
Irish child victims, by contrast, have white faces.

On September 27 he delivered a lecture to the Philosophical Society at
University College of Cork, one of the oldest and largest academic societies in
Europe. In the ensuing debate, where he supported the affirmative, resolving
“that the Pope is not immune from arrest or fallibility,” Reverend Annett was
declared the winner by the 500 Society members attending. His opponent was the
Papal Nuncio of Ireland. 

Rarely in history has a single man stood alone against such formidable
adversaries, solely because of his insistence on the truth and justice for the
powerless. “Disrobing The Emperor” is the story of one man's fight for truth,
but in a broader sense, it points hopefully toward a better world for all
nations and their indigenous people.