In our examination of the issues related to residential schools, we looked last issue at the problems of state power in evangelization. But what about evangelization itself?
Cautionary tale
Fr. Raymond de Souza rightly cautions that “Church-state alliances lead to a dangerous path” (Aug. 15), particularly evident in the injurious collaboration between the Catholic Church and state in the operation of residential schools. He acknowledges the 16th-century involvement by the Jesuits with Central American Indigenous peoples as an exemplary and cautionary tale. This involvement saw the Jesuits organize Indigenous people into armed military militias who defeated Bourbon-sanctioned efforts by some Europeans to enslave them. For these and other reasons, in 1759, bowing to Bourbon pressure, Pope Clement XIV ordered the dissolution of the Jesuits.
It’s easy for Canada to be smug about its COVID-19 vaccination rate, but we can’t afford that luxury — not when so much of the world is still starving for vaccine relief.
A priest friend of mine was recently talking about the current state of affairs as it relates to religious freedom in Canada.
“My body, my choice. No one is going to tell me what to do with my body.”
One of my favourite sights when driving along the increasingly paved landscape of Calgary is an ospreys’ nest that has been built atop the metal girder that supports a ubiquitous piece of highway signage. My children and I have marvelled for many years at the site of this large nest, perched out in the open on unprotected steel, which has supported generations of fledgling hawks. So imagine my disappointment driving past the spot recently only to discover that workers had covered the nest with a wooden pyramid. It is impossible not to personify the forlorn hawk, who sat miserably beside this intervention, appearing lost and confused.
My most recent conversation with an avid COVID-denier came during one of my frequent walks in Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley. According to my interlocutor, the COVID pandemic is a hoax and a mysterious “they” are hiding data which would show that tens of thousands of people have died from anti-COVID vaccines.
What is the role of the state — the civil power, be it the crown or another form of government — in evangelization?
National effort
Re: The campaign that fell well short (June 27):
The article is another indictment of the Catholic Church’s efforts to atone for its involvement in the horrors of the residential school system. “Well short” indeed! Do the math. With over 10 million Canadian Catholics, it is unbelievable that the Church’s “best efforts” could only raise 15 per cent of the $25 million promised to help fund reconciliation efforts. Little wonder many view the Church as lacking leadership and accountability.
First it was grief, then it was anger, then it was destruction.
I love hell. Let me qualify that. Hell is a great motivator, perhaps the greatest motivator. But shouldn’t love be our greatest motivation? Certainly, but hell is a great backup when we’re feeling less than virtuous.