Roland de Corneille was a Canadian Anglican priest, human rights activist and former politician.
Education
He studied at General Theological Seminary in New York and then transferred to Canada and graduated from the University of Toronto"s Trinity College in 1953 as an ordained Anglican priest. He served as a curate and as a rector of a number of Anglican parish churches, while earning his degrees of Licentiate of Theology, Bachelor of Sacred Theology and Master of Theology in studies at McGill, Yale and Trinity College, Toronto.
Career
Born in Switzerland, de Corneille spent his childhood in France and moved to the United States where he worked and received much of his formal education. He received his Bachelor cum laude from Amherst College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa honorary society. He worked for Time Incorporated. as a statistician, and with Procter and Gamble.
He died on December 30, 2014, aged 87.
The Dialogue sought better understanding between the two faith groups rather than religious conversion. The Christian-Jewish dialogue program initiated by de Corneille ultimately spread to the United States and Europe and helped lead to a change of attitude within mainstream Christian churches, particularly towards anti-Semitism
De Corneille"s activity earned him the respect of the Jewish community.
In 1971 he was appointed national director of the League for Human Rights of B"nai Brith Canada where he worked until 1979. In parliament, he was the founding chairman of the Canada-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group, and a chairman of the Canada-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group.
From 1980 to 1981 he was national chairman of the National Committee for a Human Rights Charter which lobbied parliament for the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
He served for three terms in the House of Commons until he was challenged for the Liberal nomination by Joe Volpe and defeated in a bitter nomination meeting prior to the 1988 federal election.
Membership
In the 1979 federal election he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawrence, serving in the House until 1988.