Has the Catholic Church spoken up about the violation of our religious freedom and the imprisonment of Christian pastors in Canada? Have the lay people said much?

There have been many martyrs throughout the centuries of the Catholic Church and those who fought the wars. But now the focus seems to be on being patient and kind and silent.

As Martin Niemoller wrote, they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I’m not a Jew. They came for the socialists, but I did nothing because I’m not a socialist. They came for the Catholics, but I did nothing because I’m not a Catholic. “Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Joan Davies
Coquitlam

 

I applaud Archbishop Miller for joining the recent prayer campaign for China.

While it is important to pray for the suffering Catholics and Christians in China, it is dangerous to think that the religious and political situation in China is complex, because that falls into the line long touted by the Chinese Communist Party – that outsiders do not understand China and that no one should meddle in China’s internal affairs. Translated into the language of realpolitik, this means, “Stay out of our affairs.”

If we have learned anything from history, we should remember that negotiating with a dictator achieves nothing. The 1933 Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich did not protect German Catholics, but rather gave Hitler legitimacy as a statesman. Similarly, the Vatican diplomatic thinking of Ostpolitik achieved nothing as the Soviet bloc countries continued their persecution of Catholics and Christians. I’m sure fellow readers of this paper would forgive me for questioning the merits of the contentious Vatican-China agreement, which were extended in 2020.

The Chinese Communist Party, founded in 1921, is nothing more than a criminal organization whose tentacles extend into every aspect of the lives of Chinese society and beyond, and which – perhaps learning from Lenin – operates by intimidation, extortion, bribery, and blackmailing. Persons deemed unacceptable to the state or the “revolutionary cause” can be, just like in a mafia family, “disappeared,” physically and from the history books. Look at China’s recent history, and look at what is happening to Hong Kongers today.

Perhaps there are indeed places within China that Christians are able to practise their religion with slightly greater latitude, but make no mistake, the ultimate goal of the Chinese Communist Party is to destroy organized religion, be it Falun Gong, Tibetan Buddhism, or the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Saint John-Paul II well understood the evils of Communism and totalitarianism. He, along with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan, stood up to the Soviet behemoth – not by advocating violent confrontation, but by standing firmly by his convictions, eventually winning the Cold War.

We must remember that dialogue with thugs only results in thugs getting their way. Governments of democratic nations have been putting up with China’s shenanigans for far too long. They have created the monster that is China today. Before World War II, many statesmen laboured under the illusion that Hitler was someone they could do business and negotiate with, making one concession after another until it was too late, and looking – in vain, as it turned out – for “peace for our time.” Are we making the same mistake with Xi Jinping today, waging a different kind of warfare?

So yes, I pray for the Catholics and Christians in China, that they may one day practise their faith with complete freedom. I am also praying for Father Stephen Chow, the new bishop of Hong Kong, that he would, like Karol Wojtyla, lead the faithful in Hong Kong, who are being suffocated by a ruthless and brutal dictatorship. May the Holy Spirit inspire him as he leads the Catholic Church in Hong Kong with wisdom, dignity and, most importantly, with fearlessness as well as courage.

Patrick May
Vancouver

 

I ask this question in all sincerity, with all due respect, and with great desire to know the answer:

Why are you still bowing to Caesar?

Peace be with you.

Kirsten Haymond
Mission

 

An April 15 letter from Kathleen Higgins urged The B.C. Catholic to report on recent COVID recommendations by the Kenya Catholic Doctors Association. Several years ago, this association charged that tetanus vaccine had been deliberately adulterated to make it abortifacient; I regret that I myself initially treated this explosive earlier allegation as credible. As for the KCDA’s recent claims about COVID prevention and treatment, the Catholic news services CNS and ACI Africa treated them as a news story, presenting both sides of the controversy in context. They reported the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ explanation that the doctors were on their own and “should not purport to speak in the name of the Catholic Church.”

By contrast, you obligingly linked to the association’s report alone, a rambling 10-page compilation of often inaccurate or misleading claims about diagnostics, epidemiology, and clinical treatment. This was irresponsibly unbalanced.

Tragically, Dr. Stephen Karanja, chairman of the KCDA, who had dismissed vaccination against COVID as unnecessary, died from the disease on April 29. This of course does not disprove his claims, but it should remind us all of the seriousness of the issues at stake.

Alan Yoshioka, PhD
Vancouver

 

It is time more attention was paid to catechesis, not just of the children but of adults too. Many evangelizers such as Bishop Barron claim that most Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence, because they have not been properly informed.

That may very well be the underlying cause of the present dilemma we are facing with politicians who claim to be Catholic but do not follow Church teachings and insist on presenting themselves for Communion.

Anyone who believes that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist will most certainly be aware of all Church teachings and will not dare to insult Jesus by receiving him in a state of sin. Because the Church stands for the truth, it is blamed and accused of imposing its morals on others, but as Father Richard Neuhaus said, “the Church never imposes, it only proposes”.

We really have to pray much more for this troubled broken world and for those in authority to have courage to speak the truth. I am surprised at some bishops and priests who do not have the courage to deal correctly with such politicians. As Bishop Robert Barron says, “the Eucharist is the means by which we are Christified.” So be bold, live truth, and live Catholic.

Doris Joseph
Vancouver

 

Why can’t we make it illegal to have second- and third-trimester abortions and end taxpayer funding if most people are against them? Pro-lifers are against all abortions and against taxpayer funding of abortions. Many pro-choicers want legal abortion only in the first trimester and oppose taxpayer funding of abortions.

If so many people are against late-term abortions and oppose taxpayer-funding of abortions, why can’t we end them?

Dean Clark
Langley