Letters to the editor.

From Leo F. Coyle re what Mary Wagner is really saying to us

Mary Wagner is a young Vancouver woman who is again serving a prison term (sentenced on July 19, 2001, to three months in jail) for defending our unborn brothers and sisters from murder most foul by abortionists. Mary is unable to speak for herself so I will speak for her. The first thing that reporters or ordinary people ask is, "Why are you here?"

I think that Mary would say, "Why are you not here? How can we live and live it up when so many of our people are threatened with death?" Our 2001 society has entered the new millennium as the most pagan and morally depraved version in Canada's history.

Opposition to the culture of death should be preeminent issue. It is truly a crossroads moment in our history, a turning point, a day of decision. Historians will some day look back on these days and ask the inevitable questions: Did you know? Did you speak up for life? Or did you turn your head, pretending to be an innocent bystander?

And those of us who believe in a day of Divine Judgement know that these questions will be asked also by the Lord of Life who takes as done to Himself whatever we do for the least of His children. Were you there? Did you see? Did you care?

For myself, I have left all the timetables and final results in God's hands, but however and whenever we come to the moment of our enlightenment and to the end of the struggle, when human historians and the Angel of God record those who spoke up for the babies, the handicapped, the retarded, the aged and the forgotten, I hope that my name will be written on that scroll in bold letters. I want my life to be a voice for the voiceless, a defence for the defenceless and a caring love for the unloved and unwanted.

I do believe that no matter how long it takes to see the truth as a human family, we will find our way into the light. We will someday see each life as a unique and unrepeatable image and likeness of God, a fragile miracle of His love, bringing us a special message from God Himself. We will realize that our lives are shaped by those who love us...and by those who refuse to love us.

I think that this is what the poet John Donne meant when he wrote, "No man is an island...," and what Jesus meant when He said, "All I ask of you is that you love one another." If we are faithful, someday the rose of life will bloom in all of its magnificent beauty, for all of us to behold and to love.

Gibbons, AR

From Paul Vandervet re the Jerusalem Temple

My local newspaper, The Expositor, ran an Associated Press article entitled "Theory says Romans paid for Colosseum with Jewish Booty," July 29/01.

I read recently that the current refurbishing of the Colosseum has resulted in the actual finding of stones from the Jewish Temple. It was destroyed in 70 A.D., by General Vespasian and his son Titus (who subsequently became emperors), in accordance with the prophecy of Jesus. These stones ended up in the Colosseum, finished in 80 A.D.

One can then legitimately speculate, both theologically and historically.

The Jewish Temple was where men sacrificed animals to God, according to the Mosaic instructions found in the Torah.

In the Colosseum built with the booty, if not with the actual stones, of the Temple, early Christians were sacrificed by the pagan Romans and killed by wild animals; notable here was Ignatius of Antioch, in about 105 A.D., who wanted his body to be ground like wheat by the teeth of the lions. It was.

If the Jewish Temple was transported to Rome and reconfigured in the Colosseum where early Christians were martyred and sacrificed, would this not add legitimacy to the Catholic claim that the Church was founded on Peter, the first bishop of Rome?

In Matthew 16:18 Christ says to Simon: "You are the rock (petros in Greek) against which the gates of Hell will not prevail." In other words, Christ calls Simon "Rocky." It is interesting to note that on Good Friday of each year the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, recreates Christ's crucifixion in the Colosseum by means of the Stations of the Cross.

By way of further speculation, at the current time the Middle East is a dangerous hotbed, partly because certain Jews and Christians wish to rebuild the Temple (and, in fact, even reestablish animal sacrifice) on the "Temple Mount" where two Muslim mosques are located.

I suggest that it is a serious misinterpretation of Scripture to call for the rebuilding of the Temple. After the once for-all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, animal sacrifice is no longer necessary or required. Christians can add their own sacrifices to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (Colossians, 1:24). As for the Jewish Temple, there is no good reason to consider it part of God's will to rebuild.

Brantford, ON

From Giuseppi Gori re persecution of families

It is difficult to let go of one's own privacy for the sake of others. This is the sacrifice the Mielke family (from Ottawa) is willing to make in letting it be known that the mother attempted suicide as a result of the action by the Ottawa Children's Aid Society several years ago.

Dave Mielke wrote to me: "It's okay if you talk about it. She herself has told others about it, and appears, right from the start, to have come to terms with it. Others need to know, partly to give them a real illustration of how serious the impact of destroying a family can be, and partly to hopefully prevent a similar occurrence from happening to someone else."

After the Children's Aid Society (GAS) removed nine children from her family for six months, after several thousands of dollars spent in moving to a new house and lawyer fees, after months of tension and frustration, fear, and inquisition, after the youngest of their children had been physically and sexually abused by his foster parents, after the GAS imposed conditions and has been intruding in their family for a year. without ever finding any reason for suspecting abuse, after she started complaining of constantly seeing flashbacks of our children being taken away, Dave's wife attempted suicide, by taking an overdose of the pills her doctor had prescribed for her regularly (subsequent to a problematic pregnancy) for ten years. After several days in the hospital and a few weeks under psychiatric care, she has now recovered.

Dave says: "What she did was so out of character that there had to be a most unusual cause. It caught everyone by surprise, including me, our doctor, our pharmacist, and even the psychologist."

An unjust law like Bill 6, giving the GAS powers to remove children from their loving family without justified reason, has very serious traumatic effects on the children, on the mother, on the father, and on society. Innocent families from Aylmer leaving Canada for fear of the CAS? People driven to suicide because of nightmares about a government agency? Is this Ontario, Canada? Hard to believe.

The persecution of families must stop!

Acton, ON

From Paul Gordon re homosexuals adopting

I have great misgivings with homosexuals being allowed to adopt and I get tired of apologists who tiptoe around the issue almost apologizing for holding a contrary opinion.

Homosexual activists may appear to be winning the public relations battle with powerful lobbies in the news and entertainment media as well as in academic and judicial circles. However, all the influence in the world does not substitute for what is right.

The modern basis for acceptance of homosexuality as normal behaviour was established in flawed and tampered research by prominent psychologists. The fact that one needs studies with hidden methods and ambiguous conclusions to overcome great doses of common sense is the first affront to the thinking person.

Secondly, who can possibly believe a homosexual couple could raise a child without influencing that developing child's sexuality? Michael Coren once interviewed a prominent homosexual activist who wrote for a homosexual magazine on the west coast. He admitted that certainly in his circle there were no loving relationships between participants, but strictly perverse lust.

How can homosexuality possibly be inherited and not acquired, when the vast majority of cases of homosexuals are concentrated in the entertainment, news media, and theatre circles.

Marmora ON

From Dr. Ray Mulrooney re September editorial

In the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, homosexuality is regarded as a sexual disorder, and homosexual activity as morally wrong. In the past few years, this disorder has come to be seen as an "alternative life-style" that should be treated in the same way as the normal, heterosexual mode. It is urged that homosexuality is genetically determined, and that it is therefore not a disorder.

This view involves two errors. The first is the question of genetic determination. This may or may not be the case, but all we have so far is a hypothesis, which has not been scientifically tested; hence to treat this claim as dogma is at best erroneous, at worst dishonest.

The second error is the assumption that because something is genetically determined, it is not a disorder. This is clearly wrong. For example, Down's Syndrome is known to be genetically caused; but no one denies that it is a disorder.

The so-called "gay" lobby has become a serious threat. First is the question of language. They have preempted the perfectly good adjective "gay" -- which used to mean happy and light-hearted--to describe themselves. They have further debased the language by coining the ridiculous word "homophobia" as a term of opprobrium for those who believe that homosexual activity is morally unacceptable. The word is derived from the Greek words "homo", which means "the same", and "phobia", which means "fear". Thus two persons who are afraid of heights (acrophobes) may be said to be homophobic, since both are afraid of the same thing. The derivation of the word has nothing to do with homosexuality. But these things are, of course, merely minor annoyances.

A greater annoyance is Gay Pride Day, with its narcissistic display of homosexual pornography. Whether homo or hetero, sex is not and should not be a spectator sport. Arguably, most citizens find this distasteful; yet mayors in a number of Canadian cities have been coerced into cooperating in this fiasco, and fines have even been levied when the mayor refused to kowtow. At this point things become serious. What happens to freedom of speech and freedom of conscience? Nor is the proclamation of a "Heterosexual Pride Day", forced on the mayor of one Canadian city by a threat to take the issue to the Human Rights Commission, any more acceptable.

The big furor over an MP who remarked that he would not refuse to hire a homosexual, but would not put him in a position in which he dealt with customers who objected to his sexual proclivities, was still more serious. Unless the employee went out of his way to flaunt his homosexuality, how would the customers know about it? Homosexuals are not a visible minority unless they choose to make themselves so. Further, the owner of the business would react in the same manner if a heterosexual employee flaunted his or her sexuality, as, for example, a female employee who insisted on wearing clothes that started too late and ended too soon. This sort of display is not appropriate in the workplace. Still, the MP who made the remark was forced to apologize--wrongly, in my view, since the apology accorded an undeserved degree of credibility to the homosexual "thought police."

Abuse of homosexuals is wrong, and must not be condoned; but other members of the community have rights too. These rights are being attacked by the "Gay Lobby," abetted by the liberal press and by politicians who are more interested in being "with it" than in representing those who elected them.

The abuse of power by the politicians pales to insignificance when compared to that of the courts. Armed with the infamous and unnecessary Charter of Rights and Freedoms (described by one legal educator as "a welfare scheme for underemployed lawyers"), judges are forcing acceptance of special "rights" for tiny so-called oppressed minorities that directly override the rights of the majority. Canadians, who are prepared to live and let live, do not and should not appreciate the in-your-face tactics.

Toronto, ON

From A.J. Leahy

Mrs. Slovak (C.I., July/August) is right in saying we must emphasize and upgrade the content of religious education in Catholic schools (and our teachers are quite capable of doing this). "We must know what we believe" to the extent of which our finite minds are capable....

The objection may be raised that we might overemphasize content to the neglect of faith and the place of prayer in our lives. This has little validity if we are taught that faith comes before knowledge. To quote St. Augustine: "Lord, let me believe that I may understand."

Waterloo, ON

From Camille Goutier re Fr. Rolheiser column

The Western Catholic Reporter of Edmonton, Alberta, carries a weekly article written by Fr. R. Rolheiser, OMI. The August 20 edition is entitled: "In defense of the victims of suicide." (Editor: The title in the Cath. Register, Sept. 10, was "Most suicide is a disease, not a sin.") Fr. Rolheiser writes "...suicide, it's a disease...Suicide is an illness...In suicide, a person...is taken out of life against his or her will...Most victims of suicide will awake...to find Christ gently saying: 'Peace be with you...Our loved ones who have fallen victim of suicide are now joyous inside God's embrace."'

Does this also apply to similar other cases: the robber who steals at the convenience store; not his fault; he had a condition?

The woman who drowned all of her children; not her fault; she had a disorder?

The alcoholic who killed other people in an accident; not his fault; he had a disease?

Not guilty; not my fault; I have a condition, a disorder, a disease.

There are today no sins anymore. There is no need for confession. Very convenient. I really love this new modern Catholic theology!

Joussard, AB

From Joe LeBlanc

As a subscriber to your wonderful monthly magazine which I read with great intensity, I wish to express my thanks and appreciation for what the Catholic Insight has done for me. Simply, through its many thought-provoking articles, it has re-enforced my Catholic faith. What I find most re-assuring are the articles that address the moral issues of the day and provide the Catholic perspective to these issues, such as homosexuality, abortion, cloning, etc.

The Section "Ukraine-Communism-Orthodoxy" of your September issue was particularly interesting, especially the article so well written by Fr. Daniel Callam on the differences between Catholics and Orthodox. I learned considerably more from this 3 1/2 page article than the several books I read on the history of the church. I look forward to reading more articles from the Catholic Insight on important issues that have been faced by our church throughout its history - events that few of us know about.

Kanata, ON