Reading Don Tourangeau’s Oct. 11 story “From pain to forgiveness: survivor shares his residential school story on Day for Truth and Reconciliation” left me asking questions: 

Why were these children so mistreated by people who were supposed to care for them? Why would a 7-year-old be picked up in a police wagon like a dog, have his culturally important hair cut short, and have his feet beaten for trying to run away to safety? Why would the school tell his parents he was no longer at the school when he was still there? Why would foster care parents continue the abuse? 

It just seems that the answer is hate. Just like Jews and blacks, people were somehow taught to hate them, and that made it easy to abuse them.

The Jews were segregated in Germany several years before World War II, and this helped the hate grow. Once there is hate then abuse is much easier.

It happens even now with different political opinions, different religions, and even different vaccine status.

It seems to be quite easy to get people to hate each other, and what follows is terrible. 

Joan Davies
Coquitlam


I would like to thank Archbishop Miller for showing his concern for the safety of his flock by mandating mask wearing at church. My wife and I are parishioners of St. Ann’s in Abbotsford where at least two Protestant churches are closed due to COVID breakouts. One of them, with probably the biggest congregation of all Abbotsford churches, did not have a mask mandate.

So, thank you, Archbishop Miller, for your loving concern for us. Even though my wife and I are fully vaccinated, we would not have returned to church if there was not a mask mandate.

Gordon DeLong
Abbotsford

 

What exactly is the reasoning behind the archdiocesan mask mandate? It’s logically inconsistent: if we should try to do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19, then what happened to social distancing in our churches? 

We still don’t have reliable studies demonstrating that the masks in use every day reduce transmission of COVID-19. One would expect that amid the non-stop conversation around the virus, some scientists would have produced solid evidence in favour of masks’ effectiveness by now.

Chris Verhagen
Burnaby 

 

As a mother who sends her children to a public school, I was encouraged to read the Nov. 22 article “Student earns praise for launching Catholic Club at public school.”

I agree that Timothy Que deserves praise and recognition for his evangelization, and hope that his efforts will receive continued support from the Archdiocese.

Many practising Catholics unfortunately have no choice but to send their children to public schools, where our children are exposed to ideas that are inimical to our Catholic faith. While we often read about youth faith formation from Catholic school educators or homeschooling Catholic parents, we do not hear enough about the struggles and creative solutions from parents, students, and educators in public education settings.

I look forward to reading more about how parents whose children attend public schools, from K-12 through college, can prepare their children to become like Mr. Que, with such courage, wisdom, and love.

Sophia Lee
Vancouver

 

We received the following letter in response to the current readership survey we are conducting.

I am a B.C. Catholic subscriber who looks forward to its arrival at my mailbox. 

The faith-based articles are uplifting and challenging. The contents are grounded in the faith, and, yes, they uplift my spirit.

The community activities in the various parishes, especially those involving parish schools and children, provide ideas to take back to my parish community.

We can trust the articles covering current news and issues by the newspaper’s reporters to draw our attention to what we need to do and pray for.

Of course, Life in the Schratz Lane often carries a special message for readers who are seeking a deeper outlook for living out their faith in these troubled times.

 Many thanks to you and your team for establishing a voice for the faith community, one we can trust and depend on! May the Lord bless you and your team as you bless others!

Nancy Lim
Coquitlam