I was very disappointed to see The B.C. Catholic publish Colleen Roy’s Sept. 20 column “Don’t dismiss God’s gifts of freedom and dignity,” which contained unsupported claims about the COVID vaccine. As a retired health care professional for almost 60 years I was obligated to respond.
The reasons given for not vaccinating would be laughable were this not such a serious, life-threatening matter. Many scientifically respected institutions provide scientific evidence for the vaccines and the Pope supports and encourages vaccination.
Roy is not a health-care professional or an epidemiologist. Her opinions in this area must be fully examined.
I was also concerned about her choices when she took her unvaccinated children across a closed border into a country with high COVID incidence, even in children. This she rationalized as necessary to settle her son in a California university that will allow him to “think.” Pity those of us who graduated with Canadian university degrees.
Linda Mageau BSN, RN (retired)
Hope
I am saddened by how The B.C. Catholic has handled coverage of the COVID-19 crisis and most recently the topic of vaccinations, with bias and misrepresentation of the facts surrounding vaccinations, including that the Catholic Church is encouraging us to get vaccinated for the safety of all people.
The Aug. 30 issue included an article by Agnieszka Ruck, an editorial by Paul Schratz, another staff article, and Jenna McDonald’s column – four articles in one issue which were clearly biased against vaccinations and no articles showing the benefits and facts about vaccinations.
The audacity of Jenna McDonald to question the Pope’s ability to speak to the issue is shocking. I am sure his advisers are highly educated and very current in the science behind the manufacturing of the vaccines.
The interview with lawyer Jay Cameron (“These laws are unconstitutional, full stop”) was also disappointing. He is entitled to his opinion, but your paper only printing articles that support your views is just plain wrong. Millions of people around the globe have been safely vaccinated without side effects.
People who only read your paper will be convinced that getting vaccinated is wrong. This is not the case. I am a strong Catholic, as are my friends and family. We are all getting vaccinated because we believe it is the right thing to do. Where are our voices in your newspaper? Where is the other side of the story?
Moira Fricke
Langley
(We know it’s very frustrating to feel like your views are not being represented in the media, which is why we want our writers and readers to be able to express a wide range of opinions. We get criticized as well as complimented, but many readers are simply grateful that we allow real discussion on topics. The B.C. Catholic has had a wider range of coverage and discussion on COVID than will be found in mainstream media. Many of them I haven’t agreed with, but none of the views we’ve published were unreasonable. It’s more important than ever to respect and not restrict people’s freedom of expression at a time when governments are making far-reaching decisions affecting our health and freedoms. – Paul Schratz)
On the morning after the election, many of our hearts were heavy. After a tumultuous election where much was at stake – from conversion therapy bans to expansion of euthanasia – in the end almost nothing changed. We also witnessed a major loss when MP Tamara Jansen, who has been such a faithful and courageous defender of life and freedom, lost her seat.
My wife sent me an article called ‘A mighty fortress, living water.’ It was written by Dr. C. Van Dam, who is a former board member for ARPA Canada. The focus is on Psalm 46 and in particular the verse that says ‘there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.’
Why is this verse relevant to the Canadian election results? Jerusalem was built in a perfect place for a capital city, especially when it came to protection from attacks. But it had one major weakness. There was very limited water. God wanted the capital where there was no river or creek. That is quite the challenge, especially if the city was being surrounded by an attacking army.
Yet the verse says ‘there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.’ What is this about? Well there was a small spring, the Gihon spring outside the city. It was so small that it would sometimes run dry. God was making this point – ‘I need you to not rely on yourselves. I need you to rely on me.’ If they had everything they needed, they would inevitably wander from God. God needed to be their living water, their source of life.
There is a lot of relevance to our situation here in Canada in 2021. We would love for everything to go the way we would hope, also when it comes to political affairs and elections. But God reminds us again and again that we need to look to Him for our salvation. Don’t put our hope and trust in political parties or leaders to save us from the storm clouds around us. Jesus Christ alone is our living water.
Sometimes He puts things in our way so that we go to our knees and say, ‘Lord help us.’ I think this is a time like that. Let us be sure to not look just to political parties or to individuals for our hope. Let’s look to Jesus Christ.
Mark Penninga
Executive Director
Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA)
Ottawa
I wanted to share some positive news with you about the fruits of the Sept. 20 article about the new grief support group at Gardens of Gethsemani Cemetery.
We’ve had five people contact us already asking if they can join a grief support group, and a couple of them were even interested in volunteering. Five may not be a lot, but to me each of these people matters. Each one is reaching out for support and we as Catholics have the ability to make a little or big difference in a time of particular sorrow.
We are also seeing more parishes coming forth to show interest in offering their own bereavement support groups.
Thanks for the article!
Anna Loch
Outreach Manager, Gardens of Gethsemani
