 | I acknowledge and thank the Lkwungen People for allowing me to live, pray, work, and play on their lands. I am deeply sorry for the injustices inflicted upon the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Turtle Island by the complicity of settlers and the Catholic Church in the colonialism inherent in the Indian Act and Residential Schools including racism, neglect, many forms of abuse & cultural genocide. |  |
WARNING!!!
 |  |  |
1. THE UKRAINIAN FLAG & PEACE SIGNS
On left: posted by D&P/Caritas Canada see here:
The Dove is a time honoured peace symbol shared by Christians (also adopted by Stalin!).
The Cross, dove and peace symbol comes from the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CCND) which has many Catholic members.
The Dove is a time honoured peace symbol shared by Christians (also adopted by Stalin!).
The Cross, dove and peace symbol comes from the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CCND) which has many Catholic members.
As Editors, George and I were astounded to hear from a reader who wrote: “As a Secular Franciscan I found it offensive to find a Masonic symbol on the Ukrainian Flag [shown above] and the promoting of the teachings, clearly opposed to Christ’s and the church’s teachings, of a now deceased priest.” [A reference to Bishop Emeritus Remi De Roo, RIP]
First, we have to recognise and respect peoples’ freedom of opinion but in both cases George and I totally disagree with the reader and at the risk of entering into the Catholic “culture wars” we feel a short response is necessary. The reader’s first assertion is totally untrue while the second is certainly a matter of opinion.
As to the peace symbol let me just say that perception of symbols is in the mind of the perceiver e.g. the crucifix actually represented a death penalty punishment but was adopted by Christians as a venerated symbol of redemption and the passion of Christ found in our churches, shrines and around some necks etc. Obviously in the minds of some, the peace symbol may have some similarities with previous symbols and their interpretation as anti-Christian. The symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N (for Nuclear) and D (for Disarmament). [Letter N (both flags held down and angled out from the body) and letter D (one flag pointing up, the other pointing down). The designer, Gerald Holtom, was an Anglican and the symbol was adopted by the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament in England and supported by many Anglican bishops (and Catholics). It later was adopted world wide as a peace sign (and Greenpeace).
Rather than supposition and plain wrong interpretation, one might want to check for the actual facts in this source: https://cnduk.org/the-cnd-logo/ from which I now quote:
“Misrepresentation and misuse…
There have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations. In South Africa, under the apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it. Various far-right and fundamentalist American groups have also spread the idea of Satanic associations or condemned it as a Communist sign. However the origins and the ideas behind the symbol have been clearly described, both in letters and in interviews, by Gerald Holtom who designed it in 1958.”
I, Andrew, thought I should clarify this for those who might have become “infected” with these “far-right and fundamentalist American” views.
But let us not forget that, in the words of Gaudium et Spes (Joys and Hopes), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council in 1965: “For the bonds which unite the faithful are mightier than anything dividing them. Hence, let there be unity in what is necessary; freedom in what is unsettled, and charity in any case.” (n 92).
First, we have to recognise and respect peoples’ freedom of opinion but in both cases George and I totally disagree with the reader and at the risk of entering into the Catholic “culture wars” we feel a short response is necessary. The reader’s first assertion is totally untrue while the second is certainly a matter of opinion.
As to the peace symbol let me just say that perception of symbols is in the mind of the perceiver e.g. the crucifix actually represented a death penalty punishment but was adopted by Christians as a venerated symbol of redemption and the passion of Christ found in our churches, shrines and around some necks etc. Obviously in the minds of some, the peace symbol may have some similarities with previous symbols and their interpretation as anti-Christian. The symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N (for Nuclear) and D (for Disarmament). [Letter N (both flags held down and angled out from the body) and letter D (one flag pointing up, the other pointing down). The designer, Gerald Holtom, was an Anglican and the symbol was adopted by the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament in England and supported by many Anglican bishops (and Catholics). It later was adopted world wide as a peace sign (and Greenpeace).
Rather than supposition and plain wrong interpretation, one might want to check for the actual facts in this source: https://cnduk.org/the-cnd-logo/ from which I now quote:
“Misrepresentation and misuse…
There have been claims that the symbol has older, occult or anti-Christian associations. In South Africa, under the apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it. Various far-right and fundamentalist American groups have also spread the idea of Satanic associations or condemned it as a Communist sign. However the origins and the ideas behind the symbol have been clearly described, both in letters and in interviews, by Gerald Holtom who designed it in 1958.”
I, Andrew, thought I should clarify this for those who might have become “infected” with these “far-right and fundamentalist American” views.
But let us not forget that, in the words of Gaudium et Spes (Joys and Hopes), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council in 1965: “For the bonds which unite the faithful are mightier than anything dividing them. Hence, let there be unity in what is necessary; freedom in what is unsettled, and charity in any case.” (n 92).
2. THE ROOT MEANING OF RELIGION AND RULE
Lastly, since the Common Good quotes the OFS Rule, I think it is worth reminding ourselves, thanks to Dan Horan, OFM : “The English word "religion" comes from the Latin word religio, which itself arose from a compound Latin verb religare. The suffix "re" is pretty self-evident in its meaning: to do again. But the root word ligare, which is the foundation of our modern English word "ligature," means "to bind" or "tie" or "connect."
Those of us in professed religious life [which, given the above definition, would include the OFS] understand the medieval usage of this term to describe being bound to a particular regula, a "rule" or way of life, such as that of St. Benedict, St. Francis, or St. Clare. You belong to a religion insofar as you are bound, tied or connected to a distinctive way of life, tradition or community.”
How well do we know and practice Catholic Social Teaching & our Rule?
How spiritual are we?
Those of us in professed religious life [which, given the above definition, would include the OFS] understand the medieval usage of this term to describe being bound to a particular regula, a "rule" or way of life, such as that of St. Benedict, St. Francis, or St. Clare. You belong to a religion insofar as you are bound, tied or connected to a distinctive way of life, tradition or community.”
How well do we know and practice Catholic Social Teaching & our Rule?
How spiritual are we?
3. BISHOP REMI DE ROO
 |
I will only say that I rely on those who knew and worked with him closely. These include Cardinal Czerny, SJ; retired Senator Douglas Roche; Sr Marie Zarowny, SSA & Patrick Jamieson, Editor of the Island Catholic News. The latter extensively covered the funeral and life of Bishop Remi De Roo and wrote about Remi’s vindication of charges regarding investments. The Cardinal’s homily and the Senator’s Eulogy and Sr Marie Zarowny’s vigil reflections can be easily found online.
“Bishop Remi De Roo was one of the great bishops in the history of the Catholic Church in Canada,” Bishop De Roo’s friend of 60 years, retired Senator Doug Roche said in an email. “He became a driving figure for change in the Church. In fact, he was a prophetic figure who advocated the outreach of the Church into the modern world. He leaves a lasting legacy of understanding the Church as the People of God.” Read more...
George and I accept their assessments over any other negative views. Amen.
“Bishop Remi De Roo was one of the great bishops in the history of the Catholic Church in Canada,” Bishop De Roo’s friend of 60 years, retired Senator Doug Roche said in an email. “He became a driving figure for change in the Church. In fact, he was a prophetic figure who advocated the outreach of the Church into the modern world. He leaves a lasting legacy of understanding the Church as the People of God.” Read more...
George and I accept their assessments over any other negative views. Amen.
4. POPE FRANCIS APPEALS FOR AN END TO THE BLOCKAGE OF GRAIN EXPORTS FROM UKRAINE.
Click on this quoting Vatican News:
“Ukrainian grain must not be used as a weapon of war!”
"Of great concern," the Pope said,
"is the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people depend, especially in the poorest countries."
“I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food.”
"Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war!"
“Ukrainian grain must not be used as a weapon of war!”
"Of great concern," the Pope said,
"is the blockade of grain exports from Ukraine, on which the lives of millions of people depend, especially in the poorest countries."
“I earnestly appeal for every effort to be made to resolve this issue and to guarantee the universal human right to food.”
"Please do not use wheat, a staple food, as a weapon of war!"
Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that the invaders had stolen at least half a million tonnes of grain in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and were looking for ways to illegally sell it. Due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, 7 million tonnes of wheat, 14 million tonnes of corn grain, 3 million tonnes of sunflower oil, and 3 million tonnes of sunflower meal are unable to reach the global market. This has already led to a record rise in global market prices and will inevitably result in a global food crisis and rising inflation.
5. UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC PRELATE
TO BE RECOGNIZED AS PATRIARCH?
TO BE RECOGNIZED AS PATRIARCH?
There are six Eastern Catholic patriarchates: (1) the Coptic Catholic Church, which is based in Egypt and is governed by the patriarch of Alexandria; (2, 3 & 4) three of Antioch, (one each for the Syrians, Maronites, and Greek Melkites); the Chaldean Catholic Church, which is based in Baghdad and is governed by the patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans (5); and the Armenian Catholic Church, which is based in Lebanon and is governed by the katholikos of Sis, or Cilicia (6).
But one Eastern Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church does not have a Patriarch. Instead it has a Major Archbishop. Why? So as not to offend the Russian Orthodox Church!
22 February 2022: Anatolii Babynskyi, is a Church historian at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. He said: “The pope talks a lot about the need for justice in the world. That is why many in Ukraine do not understand why he does not give a moral assessment of what is happening. Russia is destroying all possible international agreements and principles, holding a gun to Ukraine's head, and wanting to make the whole world play by its rules.”
A way to offer that assessment in symbolism would be to grant the Ukrainian Catholic Church’s long standing request for a patriarch, Babynskyi said. He told The Pillar: “For our tradition, it's natural to have a patriarch as a primate of the local Church.” He explained why many Ukrainian Catholics have hoped to see the Church recognize the Metropolitan Archbishop of Kyiv as a patriarch. The people have the right to pray for the patriarch. And no one can take this right away from them. In addition, this type of terminology corresponds to our glorious Church Slavonic tradition. The terminology of “major archbishop” comes from the Greek world [and] does not correspond to Ukrainian realities.
Ukrainian Catholics have sought that recognition for years, and have frequently referred to the Major Archbishop as a Patriarch. But the Vatican has not conferred that status, mindful that the gesture would create new tensions with the Russian Orthodox Church, which still [regards] Ukraine as its “canonical territory.” But he added: “As long as the Moscow Patriarchate is a tool of Russia's state policy, it will be fruitless to try to convince the Moscow Patriarchate that the Greek Catholic Patriarchate in Ukraine is in no way a threat to the ecumenical dialogue. In their eyes, it undermines their claims for the political and ecclesiastical dominance in Eastern Europe.”
Archbishop Borys Gudziak, is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparch of Philadelphia, USA. Sources close to the Vatican congregation have told The Pillar that after Gudziak’s presentation, members of the Vatican’s Congregation for Oriental Churches were scheduled to discuss the prospect of elevating the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to a “patriarchal Church” — the highest canonical status possible for an Eastern Catholic, or sui iuris, [i.e. autonomous] Church.
Practically speaking, there are few differences between an Eastern Catholic patriarch and a “major archbishop,” like Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who leads the Ukrainian Catholic Church. While the election of a major archbishop by an eastern church’s synod of bishops must be confirmed by the pope, a patriarch does not need that confirmation, and there are few other noticeable distinctions. The title “patriarch” is an ancient one, used since the early centuries of the Church. While the term is used more commonly today in Orthodoxy, not Catholicism, in Eastern Catholic Churches the term denotes respect and authority. Watch and see what happens!
6. SHIREEN ABU AKLEH
(1971-2022, RIP)
(1971-2022, RIP)
 | FAMOUS AL JAZEERA REPORTER KILLED BY ISRAELI FORCES Israeli forces shot Abu Akleh in the head while she was on assignment in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Shireen Abu Akleh was a Palestian American and a Greek-Melkite Catholic. Another Al Jazeera journalist, Ali al-Samoudi, was also wounded by a bullet in the back at the scene. He is now in stable condition. |
Al-Samoudi and other journalists at the scene said there were no Palestinian fighters present when the journalists were shot, directly disputing an Israeli statement referencing the possibility that it was Palestinian fire.
“We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said al-Samoudi.
Shatha Hanaysha, a local journalist who was standing next to Abu Akleh when she was shot, also told Al Jazeera that there had been no confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army. She said the group of journalists had been directly targeted.
The senior Catholic in Israel condemned police actions at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral. Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, described the intervention as a ‘disproportionate use of force’ against mourners. Police are under immense international scrutiny for other scenes captured at the Friday funeral, namely of officers rushing at and beating mourners as they carried Abu Akleh’s casket outside the hospital, nearly causing it to fall to the ground, and the firing of stun grenades.
Church Leaders in Jerusalem Condemn Israeli Police Violence at St. Joseph Hospital during Abu Akleh’s Funeral: “We, the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Bishops and the faithful of the Christian Churches in the Holy Land, hereby condemn the violent intrusion of the Israeli Police into a funeral procession of the slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, as it was going from Saint Joseph Hospital to the Greek-Melkite Cathedral Church,” the church leaders said in a statement.
Security camera footage shows officers with batons out in Jerusalem Saint Joseph’s Hospital before heavily criticized intervention at the procession for Shireen Abu Akleh. An independent international investigation has been widely demanded.
This info about Shireen came from various sources available via google.
“We were going to film the Israeli army operation and suddenly they shot us without asking us to leave or stop filming,” said al-Samoudi.
Shatha Hanaysha, a local journalist who was standing next to Abu Akleh when she was shot, also told Al Jazeera that there had been no confrontations between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army. She said the group of journalists had been directly targeted.
The senior Catholic in Israel condemned police actions at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral. Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, described the intervention as a ‘disproportionate use of force’ against mourners. Police are under immense international scrutiny for other scenes captured at the Friday funeral, namely of officers rushing at and beating mourners as they carried Abu Akleh’s casket outside the hospital, nearly causing it to fall to the ground, and the firing of stun grenades.
Church Leaders in Jerusalem Condemn Israeli Police Violence at St. Joseph Hospital during Abu Akleh’s Funeral: “We, the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Bishops and the faithful of the Christian Churches in the Holy Land, hereby condemn the violent intrusion of the Israeli Police into a funeral procession of the slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, as it was going from Saint Joseph Hospital to the Greek-Melkite Cathedral Church,” the church leaders said in a statement.
Security camera footage shows officers with batons out in Jerusalem Saint Joseph’s Hospital before heavily criticized intervention at the procession for Shireen Abu Akleh. An independent international investigation has been widely demanded.
This info about Shireen came from various sources available via google.
7. DID YOU KNOW?
BIG TOBACCO IS [STILL] HAVING A ‘DEVASTATING’ IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT,
WHO report REVEALS
BIG TOBACCO IS [STILL] HAVING A ‘DEVASTATING’ IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT,
WHO report REVEALS
By Rosie Frost
As well as killing eight million people every year, the tobacco industry has a far bigger impact on the planet than many people realise. A new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) released today [31 May 2022] details the destructive impact of this deadly industry on the environment and health of ordinary people.
Every year, tobacco costs the world 600 million trees, 200,0000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water and releases 84 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to the report. The CO2 emissions alone are equivalent to one-fifth of what is produced by the airline industry.
Most tobacco is grown in low or middle-income countries where water and farmland are desperately needed to produce food. Instead, they are being used to grow these “deadly” tobacco plants, the WHO says, while more and more forests are cleared.
Leaching more than 7000 toxic chemicals into the environment
Growing the crops that create these items isn’t the only issue either. They produce mountains of waste that persist and damage our environment, the WHO says. “Tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet, containing over 7000 toxic chemicals, which leech into our environment when discarded,” says Dr Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO.
Cigarette butts are the second biggest source of plastic pollution worldwide, containing microplastics that persist in the environment. Other products like smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes also add to the plastic pollution problem. “Roughly 4.5 trillion cigarette filters pollute our oceans, rivers, city sidewalks, parks, soil and beaches every year,” Krech adds. Each filter that is carelessly thrown away can pollute up to 100 litres of water.
And the cost of cleaning up littered tobacco products often falls on taxpayers - not the industry causing the problem. China spends around €2.4 billion [CAD 3.23 B] every year and India roughly €714 million [CAD 962.9 M] to pick up these items. In Europe, Germany spends more than €180 million [CAD 242.8 M] on cleaning up littered tobacco products each year.
Krech told AFP that the findings were “quite devastating,” adding that the industry was “one of the biggest polluters that we know of.” A hugely costly legal addiction! And Big Tobacco can legally advertise to sell more!
As well as killing eight million people every year, the tobacco industry has a far bigger impact on the planet than many people realise. A new report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) released today [31 May 2022] details the destructive impact of this deadly industry on the environment and health of ordinary people.
Every year, tobacco costs the world 600 million trees, 200,0000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water and releases 84 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, according to the report. The CO2 emissions alone are equivalent to one-fifth of what is produced by the airline industry.
Most tobacco is grown in low or middle-income countries where water and farmland are desperately needed to produce food. Instead, they are being used to grow these “deadly” tobacco plants, the WHO says, while more and more forests are cleared.
Leaching more than 7000 toxic chemicals into the environment
Growing the crops that create these items isn’t the only issue either. They produce mountains of waste that persist and damage our environment, the WHO says. “Tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet, containing over 7000 toxic chemicals, which leech into our environment when discarded,” says Dr Ruediger Krech, director of health promotion at WHO.
Cigarette butts are the second biggest source of plastic pollution worldwide, containing microplastics that persist in the environment. Other products like smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes also add to the plastic pollution problem. “Roughly 4.5 trillion cigarette filters pollute our oceans, rivers, city sidewalks, parks, soil and beaches every year,” Krech adds. Each filter that is carelessly thrown away can pollute up to 100 litres of water.
And the cost of cleaning up littered tobacco products often falls on taxpayers - not the industry causing the problem. China spends around €2.4 billion [CAD 3.23 B] every year and India roughly €714 million [CAD 962.9 M] to pick up these items. In Europe, Germany spends more than €180 million [CAD 242.8 M] on cleaning up littered tobacco products each year.
Krech told AFP that the findings were “quite devastating,” adding that the industry was “one of the biggest polluters that we know of.” A hugely costly legal addiction! And Big Tobacco can legally advertise to sell more!
8. FIRST NATIONS, INUIT & MÉTIS
B.C. FIRST NATIONS GROUPS URGE HALT TO NEW PIPELINES
B.C. FIRST NATIONS GROUPS URGE HALT TO NEW PIPELINES
It's difficult for me to think about the climate crisis without pointing to the need to dismantle systems of injustice, disassemble structures of inequality:
This is outrageous. In the middle of a climate emergency, and without the consent of the Secwépemc people, the federal government just approved a $10 billion loan guarantee for TMX from the public purse. [1] The Liberal government is saying one thing, and doing another thing entirely. This news comes a mere two months after they promised to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies and stop sinking taxpayer money into this climate-killing, Indigenous rights-trampling pipeline. [2,3]
The federal government is facing intense backlash for this reckless decision – from Indigenous land defenders, everyday Canadians, and environmental organizations. It's outrageous that instead of investing in a Just Transition that supports workers with secure, sustainable jobs, and backs Indigenous-led transition plans — the federal government is pouring more public funds into this disastrous pipeline.
We know that the Liberal government is trying to offload TMX because they know holding onto it completely shreds their environmental credibility. Let's show them that they're going to pay that price now. If we can ramp up the public outrage with a massive petition, while the government is feeling the heat over their decision, it could convince them to reverse the loan guarantee — and ultimately abandon the project altogether.
We can’t let the federal government get away with pouring even more public money into this failed pipeline. Let’s make sure they feel the pressure. Will you add your name?
This is outrageous. In the middle of a climate emergency, and without the consent of the Secwépemc people, the federal government just approved a $10 billion loan guarantee for TMX from the public purse. [1] The Liberal government is saying one thing, and doing another thing entirely. This news comes a mere two months after they promised to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies and stop sinking taxpayer money into this climate-killing, Indigenous rights-trampling pipeline. [2,3]
The federal government is facing intense backlash for this reckless decision – from Indigenous land defenders, everyday Canadians, and environmental organizations. It's outrageous that instead of investing in a Just Transition that supports workers with secure, sustainable jobs, and backs Indigenous-led transition plans — the federal government is pouring more public funds into this disastrous pipeline.
We know that the Liberal government is trying to offload TMX because they know holding onto it completely shreds their environmental credibility. Let's show them that they're going to pay that price now. If we can ramp up the public outrage with a massive petition, while the government is feeling the heat over their decision, it could convince them to reverse the loan guarantee — and ultimately abandon the project altogether.
We can’t let the federal government get away with pouring even more public money into this failed pipeline. Let’s make sure they feel the pressure. Will you add your name?
9. RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SURVIVORS & INDIGENOUS LEADERS SAY QUEEN SHOULD APOLOGIZE NEXT
Métis leader says she'll bring up an apology when she meets with Prince Charles and Camilla.
Following a suggestion from a Métis residential school survivor, Cassidy Caron is calling on Queen Elizabeth II, as Canada's head of state and leader of the Church of England, to apologize for the operation of residential schools and pay reparations to survivors.
Following a suggestion from a Métis residential school survivor, Cassidy Caron is calling on Queen Elizabeth II, as Canada's head of state and leader of the Church of England, to apologize for the operation of residential schools and pay reparations to survivors.
10. THE RIGHT TO TELL THE TRUTH AND THE CONSEQUENSE
Tomson Highway
After a press interview several years ago Tomson Highway, author of Permanent Astonishment (Doubleday Canada, 2021) found himself sidelined by Indigenous and media elites for his apostasy in saying that some good things came out of residential schools. He said: “Nine of the happiest years of my life were spent at that school…You may have heard stories from 7000 witnesses that were negative. But what you haven’t heard are the 7000 stories that were positive stories. There are very many successful people today that went to those schools and have brilliant careers and are very functional people like myself. I have a thriving international career, and it wouldn’t have happened without that school. You have to remember that I came from so far north and there were no schools there.”
[Guy Hill Residential School on the Saskatchewan–Manitoba border, near The Pas.]
T Highway
The 11th of 12 children, Highway arrives two weeks early [born 6 December 1951] while his family is en route from hunting grounds 150 miles from Brochet, “the village that serves them as home base but home base only for they are almost always out on ‘the land.’” [Founded as an HBC trading post and RC mission, the community was originally called Fort du Brochet, first appearing on maps in 1883. The community's name was shortened in 1924 to Brochet, which is the French name of the northern pike, commonly known in Manitoba as the "jackfish.]
Highway doesn’t flinch from the school’s horrors, though. One chapter follows his abuse, and the abuse of boys in his dormitory, at the hands of a brother. He fully acknowledges the crippling toll of those experiences: “The men these boys grow into have nightmares. For life. … Their lives are destroyed. And they think about it and think about it and think about it. Sometimes to make the thinking stop, they kill themselves. And the fallout goes on to affect the next generation and the next and the next. The field is littered with dead male bodies.” Most crucially, he writes, “From what I understand, that is their experience. And one day, I hope they write about it because I can’t. And to those who can’t, I have tried my best to write this story of survival for you.”
After a press interview several years ago Tomson Highway, author of Permanent Astonishment (Doubleday Canada, 2021) found himself sidelined by Indigenous and media elites for his apostasy in saying that some good things came out of residential schools. He said: “Nine of the happiest years of my life were spent at that school…You may have heard stories from 7000 witnesses that were negative. But what you haven’t heard are the 7000 stories that were positive stories. There are very many successful people today that went to those schools and have brilliant careers and are very functional people like myself. I have a thriving international career, and it wouldn’t have happened without that school. You have to remember that I came from so far north and there were no schools there.”
[Guy Hill Residential School on the Saskatchewan–Manitoba border, near The Pas.]
T Highway
The 11th of 12 children, Highway arrives two weeks early [born 6 December 1951] while his family is en route from hunting grounds 150 miles from Brochet, “the village that serves them as home base but home base only for they are almost always out on ‘the land.’” [Founded as an HBC trading post and RC mission, the community was originally called Fort du Brochet, first appearing on maps in 1883. The community's name was shortened in 1924 to Brochet, which is the French name of the northern pike, commonly known in Manitoba as the "jackfish.]
Highway doesn’t flinch from the school’s horrors, though. One chapter follows his abuse, and the abuse of boys in his dormitory, at the hands of a brother. He fully acknowledges the crippling toll of those experiences: “The men these boys grow into have nightmares. For life. … Their lives are destroyed. And they think about it and think about it and think about it. Sometimes to make the thinking stop, they kill themselves. And the fallout goes on to affect the next generation and the next and the next. The field is littered with dead male bodies.” Most crucially, he writes, “From what I understand, that is their experience. And one day, I hope they write about it because I can’t. And to those who can’t, I have tried my best to write this story of survival for you.”
| 11. |  |
Agnes Richard (Coordinator, MLSM) writes “Really good news about SHARE's work with faith based investors and their successful efforts to change corporate practices in favour of social, including Indigenous, justice. Thought you might find this interesting, and worth sharing.”
12. UNDERSTANDING JPIC
(MORE TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE)
Quote by Andrew Conradi, ofs, 2013, UJPIC at para 3.2.98
Thanks to Margaret Ross, ofs for the reminder
(MORE TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE)
Quote by Andrew Conradi, ofs, 2013, UJPIC at para 3.2.98
Thanks to Margaret Ross, ofs for the reminder
Source: Antonisse, Marcel / Anefo –
[1] Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989,
Nummer toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer 931-7341
[1] Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989,
Nummer toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer 931-7341
Peace & joy, Andrew Conradi, ofs. JPIC & Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement Animator
Peace & joy, Andrew Conradi, ofs. JPIC & Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement Animator
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