A reader asks why The B.C. Catholic covered Conservative leader Andrew Scheer’s attending Immaculate Conception Church on Palm Sunday.
I was shocked that The B.C. Catholic promoted Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer by publishing a photo of him meeting with parishioners at Immaculate Conception on Palm Sunday.
Scheer has said that if he became the next leader of the Conservative Party, he would not tackle the abortion situation. Once he became leader and they had their convention, abortion was voted off the agenda.
This to me shows there is not enough interest by the majority of MPs to do something about it, letting the killing of babies continue as when Stephen Harper was in power. The Liberal Party could not care less and soon we will have the Conservatives again with the same story.
I hope you can shed some light on this situation. I have been a member of the Conservative Party, but decided in the past that I must look for a party that will satisfy my conscience.
Gerry van den Berg
Abbotsford
(We published the photo of Andrew Scheer, a practising Catholic, because he attended Mass at one of our parishes on Palm Sunday. It should not be considered a political endorsement of Scheer. We would attempt to do the same for any federal leader visiting a parish – Editor.)
I am writing regarding J.P. Sonnen’s May 13 article in which he described the structure and mission of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (OCSP). Although a cradle Catholic, I am a registered member of Bld. John Henry Newman church which is an OCSP community in Victoria, B.C.
Sonnen did an outstanding job of describing the origins of the OCSP and its current status in Canada and the United States. However, a very important error occurs in the headline and throughout the article. The term “Anglican Ordinariate” is not at all accurate. Members of the OCSP are no longer Anglicans. In fact, there is no such organization as an Anglican Ordinariate in the Catholic Church. All members of the OCSP are Roman Catholics. Formerly they were Anglicans, but since their entry into full communion with the Catholic Church, they are now Roman Catholics. The persistent use of the word “Anglican” in reference to ordinariate members has caused much confusion in the minds of other Catholics, and it is critical that this confusion be laid to rest.
It is true that some texts of the Ordinariate Missal and Divine Office used by OCSP priests and laity are unique in that they reflect some customs and formularies of the missal and prayer books used by the Church of England over the past few centuries, but these particular texts have been approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship and are thoroughly Catholic.
When Anglicans come into full communion with the Church through the ministry of one of the three Personal Ordinariates (Our Lady of Walsingham serving Catholics with an Anglican tradition in England and Wales, the Chair of St. Peter covering the United States and Canada, and Our Lady of the Southern Cross serving Australia), they become Roman Catholics in every sense of the term, and thus the expression “Anglican Ordinariate” is inaccurate and unacceptable.
B.J. McCabe
Central Saanich
Re “Dating in the 21st century: Balancing new customs with traditional values” (B.C. Catholic, May 2):
Alicia Ambrosio is one hardworking journalist, capturing the disparate views on the emotionally charged if not cringeworthy topic of dating.
My reading glasses slid down my nose as I laughed at the notion of young people listening to college professors for directions on dating.
The schema of coffee meetups and "levels of dating" with "appropriate activities" sounds spectacularly unromantic. No wonder more Canadians live in "single- person" households than any other kind, according to Statistics Canada, with Quebec and B.C. well above average on that point.
For the mastery of any craft, including dating, it takes two things: aiming high, and practice. Ask him to a salsa dance lesson. If he says no, then aim higher (another boy), and try again.
T. van Riemsdijk
Vancouver