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Friday, 07 March 2008
Written by Catholic Register Readers,
Views : 414
Column distorted truth
I am writing to you to express my profound regret regarding an opinion in the Feb. 17 column by John Bentley Mays entitled, “Follow Christ’s sacrificial example.” The author of this article posed a question: “How could nominally Christian nations, such as Germany and Romania and Poland, have willingly colluded with the Nazis in their attempted destruction of the Jewish people?”
This opinion illustrates a sorrowful misunderstanding of our recent, tragic history and sadly distorts the truth of cruel terror unleashed by Nazi Germany on occupied Poland, which cost the lives of one-sixth of the Polish population — half of them of Jewish origin. This misunderstanding is sadly disturbing to Poles — both those living in Poland and those who live in numerous countries in the world including a large diaspora in Canada.
Poland was the first country that faced the military aggression of Nazi Germany and fought back, defending its territory and continuing to battle on western and eastern fronts, as well as in the underground (including the special organization Zegota, created exclusively to rescue Jews) throughout the whole Second World War. Moreover, while Romania, mentioned in the article, was at that time Germany’s ally, Poland never established or practised any institutional form of collaboration with Nazi Germany.
During the war, many Poles risked their lives in order to shelter and rescue the Jewish people living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Once the Nazis discovered that help of that kind was rendered, not only the heroic Poles but also their whole families faced the death penalty. Numerous historical examples, e.g. the life and work of the Nobel Prize nominee Irena Sendler, some of them commemorated in the Yad Vashem Museum (The Righteous among the Nations), proved the heroism of many Poles in their attempts to save the lives of the Jewish people.
Moreover, it should be noted that some Catholic monasteries in Poland served as shelters for Jewish children and the church itself had been the anchor of spiritual support for all the Nazi victims and those who bravely opposed the German aggressor. The tragic fact that some Poles betrayed their co-citizens of Jewish origin can’t be used as a base to express general opinion. This is precisely how harmful stereotypes are created.
I sincerely hope that by careful studies of our recent tragic history, frequent exchange of opinions and fraternal respect, we will be able to avoid in the future similar sad misunderstandings.
Piotr Ogrodzinski
Ambassador of Poland in Canada
Ottawa, Ont.
I was fortunate to attend Dr. Ruben Habito’s talk “Awakening to Compassion: Buddhist Wisdom for a Wounded World” at Scarboro Missions, and want to address Helene Pineau’s concerns regarding exposure to Buddhism (“Don’t waken faith,” Readers Speak Out, Feb. 10).
In actuality, Buddhism is not a religion; it is a philosophy characterized by compassion, “com-passio” meaning “I suffer/endure/undergo with (you).” Buddhism does not supersede one’s understanding of Holy Scripture or of church doctrine; it certainly does not undermine one’s faith in God. If anything, Buddhism is particularly complementary to Christianity in terms of its attention to the realities of suffering and death, and to the importance of mindfulness. Someone shedding light on Buddhist teachings as clearly as Dr. Habito did simply reflects Christ’s all the more powerfully.
Criticizing and dismissing those who think and act differently can cause one to forget that Jesus’ life was entirely one of compassion. To perennial Pharisees, Jesus’ all-inclusive love for everyone is anathema because He proves time and again that mercy trumps dogmatism.
However, we choose to view our neighbours, we are all aboard a precious and fragile planet in an immensity of space. Will we be judgmental? Indifferent? Or will we show loving kindness and compassion to our fellow passengers?
That was the theme of Dr. Habito’s message that lovely winter morning.
Regarding the Jan. 27 article, “Archbishop tries his hand at Latin Mass,” I wish to commend Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast for celebrating the traditional Latin Mass for his first time in keeping with Pope Benedict’s recent apostolic letter promoting its wider implementation. One of the things I miss most with the Tridentine rite is the ritual of kneeling at the communion rail when receiving our Lord in holy Communion.
Recently I attended a graduation ceremony in which all university students humbled themselves on a small wooden kneeler before the school chancellor as they were presented with their respective degrees. This practice of kneeling is in fact widely accepted in secular circles, including those instances when one is in the presence of state royalty or some other important dignitary. Oddly enough, while even the secular world requires one to kneel before men of mere mortal metal, our Catholic bishops make no such stipulation when one is in the presence of God Himself in the Blessed Sacrament. In fact our post-Vatican II bishops have even gone so far as to remove the Communion rail in order to make it difficult for the faithful, especially the old, to engage in this most holy and solemn practice. Is this an instance of the Catholic Church trying to be more secular than the secular world?
In any event, kneeling comes from the Bible and its knowledge of God. In fact, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — has pointed out, “the word proskynein alone occurs 59 times in the New Testament, 24 of which are in the Apocalypse, the book of the heavenly liturgy, which is presented to the church as the standard for her own liturgy.”
Paul Kokoski
Hamilton, Ont.
Regarding the commentary on Jan. 27, “Wrong message sent,” by Janet Somerville, it seems to me that the vetting process is the problem at hand in Winnipeg. Consider the precedent that would have been set.
If James Loney, notwithstanding his dissident views on homosexuality, is deemed to be an appropriate speaker at a Catholic conference on peace due to his activism, would Dr. Henry Morgentaler, notwithstanding his dissident views on abortion, be considered an appropriate speaker at a Catholic conference on holocaust survival due to his personal experience?
With all due respect to Janet Somerville, I don’t think sending mixed messages is a good way to teach Catholic moral theology in difficult times either.
Thanks to Michael Swan for coverage of the 10th anniversary commemoration of the massacre of 45 people, mostly women and children, in Acteal, Chiapas, Mexico (“In memory of the massacred,” Jan. 13). As mentioned by Amnesty International in its public statement, “this massacre remains one of the darkest moments in Mexico’s modern history: the facts have never been fully established nor have all those responsible been brought to justice, nor have the victims received adequate reparations.”
I believe your readers would want to know that although it is true that many of the gunmen and some junior officials have been imprisoned for their involvement, none of those responsible at the highest levels for ordering the massacre has been brought to justice, despite innumerable proven testimonies which indicate a planned attack.
So, 10 years later, there is still no justice, the truth is not being heard, impunity continues and the families of the dead have received little reparation. This remains the case in the context of today’s state of violence and growing repression against those who speak out for human rights in Mexico.
As we stated in our letter of solidarity to the community of Acteal: “Yours is a story that strengthens our resolve to work for justice, denounce ongoing human rights abuses and struggle against impunity in Acteal and throughout Mexico.”
The other important point to mention is that the commemoration held Dec. 20 at St. Ann’s Church in Toronto was an ecumenical service organized by groups from different denominations.
Anne-Marie Jackson
Program Director
Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice
Toronto, Ont.
