Last Updated:Thursday - 07/15/2010

WCR Letters to the Editor

Faith the Guatemalan way

In a recent letter to the WCR, Chief Victor Buffalo of the Cree Samson Nation (Letters, June 20) states that the policies "perpetrated by the federal government, with the full cooperation of the churches, was to destroy, perhaps permanently, the moral fabric of the native people."

The question that we ask today is: Could things have evolved differently?

During the past year, I have spent some time living in Guatemala with a Mayan Indian family in support of some extraordinary initiatives that they have embarked upon with the help of the Oblate Fathers, the Rainbow of Hope of Alberta and the Dakota Indians of northern Saskatchewan.

The relationship of the Catholic Church with the Mayan Indians of Guatemala during the last 400 years tells a different story and perhaps explains why many of our southern aboriginal natives have so much drive, pride and vision.

What Chief Buffalo bemoans among his people could have been the story of Guatemala also had some leaders in the Catholic Church not championed native language and culture and resisted racist imperial attitudes.

Bartolome de Las Casas, the first bishop of Guatemala, spent his life defending the Indians in his country and in Spain. Earlier as a wealthy landowner, and before he entered the ecclesiastical state, he freed all of his slaves. And when he became bishop he told his priests to deny absolution to anyone who maintained slaves on their estates. This was nearly 350 years before the American Proclamation of Emancipation.

Seven years ago, Bishop Gerardi, the Romero of Guatemala, was bludgeoned to death by two army officers because of his unrelenting defence of Mayan rights, culture and language. His thorough investigation of human rights abuses during the so-called civil war showed that the army and other government agencies were responsible for nearly all of the atrocities against mostly Mayan Indians and Catholics.

These events, which happened less than 20 years ago, claimed 200,000 lives. Plus, one million people were left homeless and 44,000 disappeared in a country that had a population of less than 10 million in the 1980s. A UN-sponsored report which led to the Oslo Peace accord in 1997 confirmed the findings of Gerardi's extensive 1,000 page, four-volume report which was based on personal interviews.

When Gerardi was the bishop of the vast Quiche region he urged his priests to learn the Mayan dialects. Today the Oblate Fathers, who are more recent arrivals in that country, perceive the needs of the Mayans and are endeavouring to encourage their initiatives. The reports of Father Jacques Johnson in this paper keep us informed on a regular basis.

A group of Canadian friends have recently provided the funds for the purchase of a truck for the Cunen Teachers College in the Quiche region so that neophyte teachers can be supervised in the mountain villages. In five years qualified professors, all Indians, have graduated 201 bilingual Spanish Mayan teachers without the benefit of government funding or a proper building. The community, donations and part-time work support professors at the college. Their salary is equivalent to $90 per month Canadian while their young graduates, teaching in government elementary schools, have a starting salary of $230.

Some graduates of the college go on to university working towards further degrees. The Mayans represent 67 per cent of the population of Guatemala and many others are of mixed blood. A recent statistic shows Guatemala as the poorest country in Latin America and it has the highest ratio of aboriginal peoples followed closely by Bolivia. Some Canadian First Nations people that I have met hold the Mayan people in great esteem.

During certain periods of its history the Catholic Church of Guatemala has had the wisdom to encourage and support native initiatives, culture and religion rather than imposing its own cultural parameters.

Rev. Dr. Louis Morin
Wetaskiwin

Determine what is true repentance

I have read several articles regarding same-sex marriage over the last several months now. It is beyond me why no one has addressed the real issue. I appreciate that our bishops have had the courage to speak out on this issue.

However, I think that it is important for them to also address the issue of artificial contraception. I would suspect that most homosexuals would not consider themselves to be Christian and to be quite possibly outside of the realm of salvation unless they repent. On the other hand, most Catholics, if asked, would likely say that they believe that they are saved.

The CCC states that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered" (no. 2357). If one reads a few lines further it states that the use of artificial contraception is "intrinsically evil" (no. 2370). I can't imagine that a person could willingly participate in too many intrinsically evil actions and still expect that they are saved.

Some say that the use of contraception should be left to the conscience of the couple. When was the last time something intrinsically evil was left up to one's conscience? When I think of actions that may be intrinsically evil, I think of things like rape, murder, unjust war. Should these things be left to one's conscience as well?

We, as Catholic faithful, need to let our priests and bishops know that we are not weak and feeble-minded, that we are willing to hear the truth, and that we are willing to have Church teaching apply to us just as much as we want it to apply to homosexuals.

Repentance is not about turning from the sins that we would never do anyway, it is about turning from the sins that we can't imagine living without.

Carl Fakeley
Red Deer

Please, let us choose our battles carefully

The other day I was confronted in front of the Church by a reporter carrying a TV camera." How do you feel now that same sex marriage is law in Canada," he asked. Surprised by an aggressive attitude and the fear that he was only seeking controversy to fuel the battle, I muttered something about it being too bad that it had become such an issue. On sober after thought I wish I would have had the presence to say something like the following:

"One of my many surprises, after returning to Canada from many years of living in other countries, was the virulent battle over the same-sex marriage law.

"In many other countries where I have lived there are also ongoing virulent battles, but it seems to me that these battles are over more significant things like: getting drugs and care for the millions of people dying from the HIV-AIDS virus and the orphans left behind; bringing an end to massive corruption at all levels of government and business; finding enough basic food to keep people from starving to death; and, bringing an end to violence for the sake of power and greed."

I am dismayed to find that this particular battle has created a chasm in our society, a chasm that is just as deep and wide as the chasms that divide societies in other countries, perhaps even wider and deeper.

What shocked me most about this chasm was the inability of religions and religious leaders to even attempt to prevent or bridge this chasm - perhaps it was because they were too busy erecting barriers on their side of the chasm.

What I expected in my country was to find people who would respect both sides and attempt to lead the rest of us to the middle ground of equality, justice and love.

The middle ground laid out for all of us Christians by Jesus when he commanded us to love one another (with no qualifications as to who the other is) so that we would be known by our love.

Doug Krefting
Edmonton

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