Thanks for publishing Patrick May’s well written and insightful letter “China deal a ‘disaster’” (B.C. Catholic, Nov. 12):

Politics and church are never really separated since politics govern how people live.

As a German citizen I welcome the writer’s comparing the deal to Nazi Germany. Incidentally Mao goes into history as one of the three greatest mass murderers together with Stalin and Hitler.

How much is China governed by dictatorial practices today ? How quickly are aspects of freedom erased?

Can Pope Pius XII be excused for signing a pact with the devil in order to protect the Church? We who were born after the Second World War have no right to judge. But it is our responsibility not to forget the evils in history because they tend to repeat themselves.

Marianne Werner
Vancouver