The Catholic Register - Readers Speak Out

Wrong symbol shown

Why is Archbishop Terrence Prendergast shown holding a hockey jersey after being named to the see of Ottawa (“Prendergast named archbishop of Ottawa, ” May 27)? Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to portray him holding a symbol of the faith that he is called to proclaim?

Likening the appointment as the vicar of Christ to a player trade in the sports world does little to enhance the mission of the bishop or of the church.

Fr. Douglas Daniel
Sherbrooke, Que.

The water is OK

It was a pleasure to read your comments in the May 27 editorial headed “Turn on the tap .”

It reminded me of a survey undertaken in 1983, when I was Commissioner of Works for Metropolitan Toronto, when permission and funding was authorized to test Toronto’s municipal water supply for trace chemical contamination against about 12 brands of bottled water, to U.S. E.P.A. standards, with co-operation from Pollution Probe. Then, as now, the municipal supply was being given a black eye by the promotion of bottled water supplies.

The tests were performed on twin unmarked samples and the results placed Toronto’s first and third for lowest levels of contamination against those of the bottled water providers. A bacterial problem was noted with two of the bottled suppliers, referred to the Medical Officer of Health, and no doubt overcome in short order.

A fellow parishioner used to consult me regularly, and I always told him I did not think he needed to be purchasing bottled water. When he died, the first words his widow spoke to me at his wake were: “It was not the water that killed him.”

I recognize that recent reports suggest potential trouble for those who receive municipal water via lead water services. Obviously, that arises well after the treatment process in Toronto’s water filtration plants, which have added granular activated carbon treatment since 1983.

Frank J. Horgan
Don Mills, Ont.

Christians persecuted

I was shocked to read your editorial “Some inquisition ” in the issue of June 10.

I think Dr. Shiraz Dossa should be asked if he has ever raised his voice in defence of the small Christian community in northern Pakistan who have been threatened with beheading if they didn’t convert to Islam within 10 days. Or the other Christians in Pakistan who are constantly being falsely accused of violating the odious blasphemy law which carried a mandatory death penalty; or the Muslim lady in Malaysia whose conversion to Christianity the government of that country has refused to accept.

Dossa presumably migrated to Canada voluntarily but if he feels that his freedoms are somehow constrained I would strongly suggest that he return to the Islamic world where I am sure he will be more than welcome to propagate his obscurantist views of history.

I find it more than a little disturbing that The Catholic Register and other secular newspapers in Canada never hesitate to publish some dubious claim to discrimination suffered by the Islamic community but hardly ever report the physical persecution of the small Christian communities in the Islamic world.

Having migrated from this world I can assure your readers that the freedoms the Islamic community enjoys in Canada are unheard of in their own countries where a revisionist view of history is always encouraged, as it is in Iran, if it maligns us “unworthy unbelievers.”

J.E. Sequeira
Oakville, Ont.

Thanks to Lorettos

Regarding the June 17 article, “ Mississauga school to go private ,” rather than criticize, I am mindful of the religious orders which continue to support our separate system. In particular, I want to recognize the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary — the Loretto Sisters.

I want to thank the Loretto Sisters for keeping Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Toronto, founded in 1847, as a publicly funded Catholic school. Through this courage, the Sisters give witness to the wisdom of the Ontario bishops, religious and laity who fought for over 150 years for all Catholics to receive a Catholic education to the end of high school.

I want to thank the Loretto Sisters for showing their financial benefactors over the years that the institutions built with their donations continue to be used for Catholic education.

I thank the Loretto Sisters for resisting the notion that private Catholic schools serve the church and community better than publicly funded ones. Every time a Catholic school becomes private, it shows everyone in Ontario that Catholic schools do not need to receive public funds and that Catholic schools can all be private. Why fund Catholic schools when obviously parents are willing to pay for Catholic education?

Michael Da Costa
Toronto, Ont.