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Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Week of January 22, 2001

WCR Letters to the Editor

Anno Domini exhibit leaves reader with mixed emotions

The Anno Domini exhibit at the Provincial Musuem has left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, the display was inspiring, and I was moved to think that such an esteemed secular institution would go to so much trouble to commemorate the life of Jesus. On the other hand, I was deeply saddened that the museum did not adequately address the concerns raised in regard to the news clip on the Latimer case in the introductory video. Even more troubling were the comments made by members of the public in various newspapers in response to this issue. It seems that most people are basing their opinions on facts that they have acquired from the secular media alone. I wonder if the debate would change if people knew facts from the trials that were passed over or downplayed by newspapers, radio and television? Here are some of the more interesting facts from the trials that strengthened my opinion about the Latimer case:

Tracy rode the school bus every day.
Mrs. Latimer's written accounts about Tracy's pain did not support her verbal claims.
Robert Latimer was not Tracy's primary caregiver. It was her mother, Laura.
Laura Latimer had recently submitted an application to place Tracy in a group home. However, Robert had disagreed with his wife about the application and had cancelled a placement meeting.
Robert Latimer was assessed by a psychiatrist as having a phobia about medical devices and procedures.
When Robert Latimer heard that Tracy needed different surgery than had been expected he decided that night to end Tracy's life.
Robert Latimer spent a week deciding which method he would use to kill his daughter.

In the coming months the Supreme Court of Canada will rule on the Latimer case. If it upholds the lower court ruling, it will be a relief to those who have researched the case beyond the secular media's presentation. To those who have not done their homework, I'm afraid it may be perceived as an injustice that needs to be corrected through the introduction of so-called "compassionate homicide."

Mary-Ellen Robinson
Edmonton

A disdainful view of native people

When I read Julio Bailon's letter ("Spaniards civilized the Aztecs," WCR, Dec. 25), my first thought was, "This person must somehow be a reincarnation of a Catholic hierarch who lived in Rome 500 years ago." Much of the following is taken from Catholic New Times, March 1990. In 1452 Pope Nicholas V declared, "You may have full and free permission to invade, capture and subjugate the pagans in whatever location and reduce these people to perpetual slavery." Pope Nicholas' declaration was supported by his three immediate successors. The Europeans considered the Indians sub-human. Voltaire called them "lazy stupid pigs." Columbus wrote, "The best thing in the world is gold; it can even send souls to heaven. " Gold, not love, compassion, mercy, justice, was tied to the theological prize of heaven. In 1492 there were approximately 80 million people in the Americas. By 1650, 95 per cent had been killed by torture, massacres, slavery and disease by the Europeans. When Columbus first landed in Haiti, the population was 200,000. Twenty-two years later only 29,000 were left. Cuba with over half a million Indians was reduced to only 270 households by 1570. European civilization is still creating massacres and perpetual poverty for the remaining Indians who survived in the Americas. Is Bailon implying that it is okay to be cruel and barbaric as long as it is done for the sake of the Catholic Church? Let us thank God for Pope John XXIII and Vatican II. The Catholic Church is in the process of rediscovering Christianity, Jesus' life and teaching.

John Kloster
Edmonton

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