Last Updated:Friday - 09/24/2010

WCR Letters to the Editor

Does war's suffering have a price tag?

I served with the Canadian Armed Forces during the Second World War. Subsequent to the war, I entered St. Joseph's Seminary and was ordained a priest in 1952. At that time the so-called Cold War was a threat and the archbishop asked me to return to military service as a chaplain. In 1956, the Suez crisis was threatening an outbreak of war in the Middle East.

It was our Canadian prime minister, Lester Pearson who approached the UN with an alternative to war. It was at this time that the United Nations established an International Peace Force to travel to the troubled parts of the world where war was imminent.

In 1956 I was sent to serve as a chaplain to the Middle East as a member of the United Nations Emergency Force. I was awarded the UN Emergency Force medal inscribed In the Service of Peace.

I continue on a part-time basis to work with the chaplains at the Canadian Forces Base Edmonton. At the base I see first hand the sacrifices of the service personnel and their families as they travel to all parts of the world - in the cause of peace.

Some families are separated almost 50 per cent of their time - a tremendous sacrifice for the children and their parents in the cause of peacekeeping. Throughout the world Canada is respected highly for its dedication to peace. It is a healthy relief for me, after watching the destruction of war on CNN, to be with our troops and their families making such sacrifices for peace.

There has never been a war that has been more opposed by most of the world. It is heartening to me to see this unique experience where so many people recognize that there is a higher guidance than our own national leaders. The guidance comes from Gospel principles.

The pope has spoken with much more courage, lamenting the fact the Iraqi government did not accept the resolutions of the UN. The pope appealed to Saddam. The pope also lamented and deplored the path of negotiations for a peaceful solution was interrupted. The pope's words "No to war! War is not always inevitable." It is always a defeat of humanity.

There is something which disturbs me a great deal - the number of Canadians who say we should support the war in Iraq because the U.S. is our major trading partner. Is this one of the "new" conditions for a just war? What amount of money would you exchange for the tremendous suffering of children and innocent people?

We do not have a perfect society on this continent - witnessed by the taking of millions of unborn lives.

What will be the outcome of this war in Iraq? What has this done to relations between Muslims and Christians? "War is not always inevitable, it is always a defeat for humanity" - Pope John Paul II.

May God bless our Canadian Forces men and women who make such great sacrifices in the cause of peace.

Rev. John McNeil, CD
Edmonton

War can end repression

In reading the Western Catholic Reporter about the war in Iraq, I have much respect for Charles Moore for telling the truth about Iraq (April 7, "This is why I believe this is a just war"). It was a country where people were very afraid to speak up because of torture or death.

In Afghanistan, it is no better. No women should have to cover their heads for their own safety or the safety of their families. People pray, but praying without action doesn't bring much improvement.

How many million unborn are killed right here in Canada? Social peace is what our premier calls it.

I have witnessed the torture and killing myself in 1944 in Europe. Our only hope was from outside countries and in the meantime millions lost their lives.

People, wake up and stop all that violence in sport too. It is wrong and will backfire on you all. Help the people who can't help themselves.

The few friends we have from Cuba will not talk about their country either because their relatives are left behind.

Mary Feddema
Sundre

Conference undermines Church doctrine

The hosting of a conference promoting Pierre Trudeau as a very "spiritual" a.k.a. "saintly" man, by St. Jerome's University is a direct contradiction, given the reality that a major legacy of Trudeau was his direct complicity in the legalization and subsequent, widespread acceptance of abortion in Canada.

Surely it should be obvious to any rational thinker, that given Canada's abortion rate in excess of 100,000 per year, should have qualified Trudeau for excommunication while he was alive, rather than for the sainthood status accorded by St. Jerome's, now that he's dead. Quite frankly, it was bad enough that the bishops of Canada permitted Trudeau's funeral to be held in the Montreal cathedral.

Personally I consider that your proposed conference to "honour" Trudeau's faith is unconscionable. While I fully acknowledge that the man could have found salvation by repenting on his deathbed, there certainly has been no public evidence to suggest that this happened in Trudeau's case.

Given the long list of truly selfless and dedicated Canadians who are Catholic, there is no shortage of suitable candidates for St. Jerome's to feature at a conference. The university's selection of Trudeau for special recognition, subsequently raises serious doubts about the Catholicity of this university and its faculty.

St. Jerome's sponsorship of a conference promoting Trudeau as a Catholic "saint" flies in the face of Church moral doctrine. Unless St. Jerome's distances itself from the sponsorship of this conference, it should have its certification as a Catholic institution revoked and any Church funding cancelled. There are many more truly Catholic institutions which deserve and are in need of financial support.

Ronald Rosmer
Hinton

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