The Catholic Register - Readers Speak Out

Written by Catholic Register Readers,

How much harm?

In June we witnessed the profound regret of the Canadian people as represented by our Parliament, for the tragic assault on native families through the residential school system. (see Apology opens door to new relations with First Nations )

More recently we learned that the Canadian military has been witnessing acts of sexual assault on Afghani children by the Afghan forces. Canadian soldiers are suffering guilt and post-traumatic stress because they have been ordered not to “interfere” if our allies are committing acts of rape against children.

Please, we must act immediately. Listen to the soldiers. Thank and protect the chaplain and soldiers who dare to tell the truth. Immediately order all Canadian soldiers to always protect Afghan children as if they were their own.

And truly, we must ask ourselves, how much harm is this war in Afghanistan causing to so many people?

Martha Crean
Catholics for Peace
Toronto, Ont.

System in trouble

I read with interest and dismay of the actions of the Toronto Catholic District School Board trustees. Their transgressions concerned taxpayer money ill used, and they certainly need direction and monitoring. (see here)

Here in Windsor, we have a different type of problem for the Catholic school system. A man, Mark Baggio, teacher at F.J. Brennan Catholic High School, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual exploitation and two counts of corrupting a child. He is alleged to have had sexual contact with several girls, beginning when they were 14. What subjects did he teach? Would you be surprised to hear that he taught religion, was a guidance counsellor and coached volleyball and basketball?

As horrible as these charges and allegations are, the actions of Brian Hogan, president of the Windsor-Essex Secondary branch of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, are also totally abhorrent. After Baggio was charged, Hogan wrote a letter to fellow teachers at Brennan and instructed that they were not obliged to co-operate with the Windsor Police in their investigation of this matter unless they wished to. Talk about a code of silence!

I wonder what circumstances would be necessary for him to encourage teachers to co-operate with the police?

The Catholic Church is certainly having major, major problems, beginning with sexual assault by ordained priests, school board trustees misusing their allotted funds, the closure of many long established Catholic churches, and now this.

As a practising Catholic my whole life, I have always believed in the message, not the messenger/s, but I wonder — what would Jesus do? Jesus warns those who harm children would be better not to have been born. This is a very serious warning in a very serious matter. Is it any wonder enrolment is dropping in our school system?

G. Simard
Windsor, Ont.

Times have changed

I am appalled at the nerve of the Catholic school trustees in Toronto. I was a trustee for five years and none of the board members was paid a penny. It was always thought to be an honour to be on the board. (see here)

Many times I paid for stamps to send out correspondence to the members. At the same time I served there was no funding for RC boards and quite often the parish priest would give me a cheque for $500 from church funds to help with the board expenses.

I knew many families that could not afford the expenses of paying both public and separate school taxes, but they did because they wanted the discipline and education offered by the Catholic boards. It was difficult to get ratepayers to sign their assessments to the Catholic boards because the mill rates were always higher.

Our boards could not even consider kindergarten in those days. I personally paid for the tuition for seven children to go to the separate schools before any funding was provided. Several of our teachers were from the Sisters of St. Joseph and we paid them $2,000 each annually. The principal got $500 more.

Get rid of the entire Toronto board, including the chair.

P.F. Mihorean
Markham, Ont.

Give Stronach a chance

Regarding your June 22 editorial, “Declined with thanks,” I think Archbishop Thomas Collins was too rushed in declining Frank Stronach’s magnificent offer to finance the building of a new church.

From what I can understand, an opportunity to negotiate a fair settlement was missed. One suggestion is to give Mr. Stronach a free hand to design and build the church but Archbishop Collins would retain absolute control on the day-to-day affairs of the church.

Mr. Stronach, with his vast business knowledge and connections, is the best person to build a magnificent temple to God. It would be more appropriate than the nondescript and ugly churches we have managed to build in the last 30 years or so.

Joseph Cassar
Toronto, Ont.

Information missing

Our Lady of Grace parish in Aurora, Ont., was recently embroiled in a multi-million-dollar proposal. Had the archdiocese of Toronto accepted Frank Stronach’s dream, a new and beautiful building would have become reality. (see Declined with thanks)

I’ve studied the printed pros and cons advanced by Magna International President Stronach and Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins. A few people representing both the archbishop and the president provided additional commentary. In fact, the recently installed pastor of the Aurora church gave a lengthy interview to a Toronto newspaper.

The archbishop claims the offer of a new and spectacular edifice is most generous. But in turning down the $19-million offer, His Grace and the new pastor found important conditions would decidedly remove the autonomy from the parish and/or parishioners.

Mr. Stronach claims a readiness to accept full compliance in the matter of church requirements. At least one of his spokespersons has implied as much. I am not privy to correspondence exchanged between the parties. Thus, it’s difficult to say with certainty what, if any, additional issues have prevented the archdiocese’s approval for the venture.

One thing glaringly absent from all of the public news releases is a comment from the former pastor of Our Lady of Grace. After all, would he not have been involved in much of the preliminary plans to build a new church? I think it’s important to gain some knowledge as to his preparatory submissions to the archdiocese regarding the Stronach proposal.

Paul Mulhern
Toronto, Ont.

Push for change

Regarding the June 15 Register article, “Attempts to ordain women mean instant excommunication,” we can all accept the decree that persons involved in an attempted ordination of a woman excommunicate themselves. That decree, however, should not restrain faith-filled Roman Catholics from campaigning to change the status quo, and open the priesthood to any devout and qualified man or woman, married or celibate.

We cannot ignore the mores of our society and we want to embrace spiritually beneficial changes to our culture which have bloomed in the last 100 years. We do not seek to change any doctrine but only one policy.

Murray A. Mogan
Ottawa, Ont.

Required reading

John Bentley Mays’ column of June 8, “Praying through depression,” should be required reading for every one, and especially doctors.

His affliction and his gift of writing about depression explain so clearly the hell of this horrible debilitating illness.

Nurses (of which I was one) need more understanding and this article could provide increased help for them.

I hope Mr. Mays will return soon to his former healthy self, and think about further articles for publication about this illness.

As of now, we can add him to our prayers because we know when we are ill we need others to say our prayers for us.

Mary Calnan
Cobourg, Ont.

He is THE one

How sad to see Our Lord Jesus Christ and His prayer, the Our Father, listed along with the founders and prayers of other religions — as though He were just one of many (“Multifaith support for prayer in legislature,” June 29).

Our Lord said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Did the founders of any of these other faiths suffer a cruel passion and death to open Heaven for all of us?

Patricia Wilson
Newcastle, Ont.

Rejoice in Paul

Regarding the June 22 article by Michael Swan, “Rediscovering the faithful disciple Paul,” I disagree with two ways in which it portrays Paul in a negative light. First, it speaks of my comments about the idea “that Paul is the inventor of Christianity.” This is a topic which Swan brought up when he interviewed me and his article does not adequately convey that I clearly responded that such an idea is not at all true.

Jesus is of course the founder of Christianity, and so when the article brings up the idea that Paul is the inventor of Christianity without clearly rejecting the idea it portrays Paul negatively by suggesting a possible lack of harmony between Paul and Jesus.

Second, Paul is portrayed negatively by suggesting a lack of harmony between Paul and the church. For Mr. Swan’s opening paragraph says that ever since Christ appeared to Paul, “the church has had to deal with the difficult Saul of Tarsus, St. Paul,” and he later writes: “Though it has been the institutional church which has preserved and read Paul for two millennia, Paul has always been a challenge to (certain) elements in the church.” The Year of Paul invites us to rejoice in Paul, one who was in harmony with Jesus and the church.

Fr. Walter Werbylo
Professor
St. Augustine Seminary
Toronto, Ont.

Don’t focus on errors

I would like to congratulate Ashley D’Souza on his fine letter critiquing The Register’s choice of book reviews (“Book was slanted,” June 8).

The Catholic Church, although a Divine construct, will from time to time be prone to error because of its human content; these errors have been acknowledged by and profusely apologized for by both the late Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict. Consequently this unnecessary regurgitation of history is rather pointless and only serves to give succour to the Richard Dawkins and Dan Browns and others of their anti-Catholic ilk or to help salve the conscience of those who have a psychological difficulty in seeking or accepting forgiveness if not accompanied by some form of self-flagellation.

J.E. Sequeira
Oakville, Ont.

Rubrics ignored

I am confused (“One with the Earth,” June 15). My understanding is that Mass can only be celebrated in a Catholic Church. Now the Mass celebrated at the Jesuit Farm in Guelph may have had permission from the bishop but that should have been included in the article.

I am also very concerned with the host used in the Mass. From the picture on page 14, the host looks like leavened bread to me and not unleavened as per Catholic Church rubrics. Also what was used in the ingredients of this host?

The chalice looks like earthen ware, which again is breaking the rubrics. What is to stop the clay chalice from tipping over when it is placed on the bale of hay after the wine becomes the Precious Blood of our Lord? Was wine used?

I know that the Jesuit order has had problems over the years with conformity to Catholic rubrics and obedience to the Holy See. Is this another sign of disobedience? Is it a want or need to be liberal in their ideas?

John Crosby
Prescott, Ont.