Readers Speak Out: February 16, 2020

Plain wrong

Regarding the government’s consultations on euthanasia, it is obvious that the justice department is making a pretence of listening to input from Canadians, as happened when euthanasia was legalized in 2016.

I hate to be an I-told-you-so, but we knew no safeguards would be possible once the forbidden door was opened. Everywhere else euthanasia has been allowed, the criteria were increasingly broadened.

So now in Canada, mature minors will be allowed to ask for assistance in dying. Also those who ask for it in advance will be put to death even if they become incompetent and might have changed their mind. 

It’s just plain wrong. God have mercy on Canada.

Yvonne Dienesch,

Eganville, Ont.

Flawed theology

Re: New Mass at 50: a face-to-face issue:

Regardless of how ancient the tradition, for the priest to have his back to the people is flawed theology. The Eucharist comes to us from the Last Supper. At that meal, Jesus sits among His disciples. It is a moment of intense spiritual and physical intimacy. 

There may be great beauty in the Latin Mass, but it was and remains a human liturgical construct that misses the mark in regards to the Last Supper’s ultimate meaning. Jesus spoke to His disciples in the language of their time. He looked them in the eyes when He offered the bread and cup. Yes, Jesus was revealing the glory of God to them — not on a mountaintop or deep in the temple, but sitting right beside them.

The Latin Mass places God back onto the mountaintop, back behind the veil. And in so doing, it puts Jesus out of arm’s reach from that communal meal. The New Mass may lack the liturgical elegance of the Latin Mass but it is, simply, better theology. 

David Goulet,

Toronto

Troubling change

I was very dismayed to read on the “News & Notes” page about the removal of gender identification on baptismal certificates  approved by bishops in France. 

Babies are still born as “male or female” no matter what modern society tries to tell us. For bishops to cave in to pressure from “New Gender Equality Laws” is very troubling. How far down the slippery slope are we prepared to go?  I can see Satan’s writing on the wall. I wonder if Pope Francis gave his approval to those changes.

Monika Saul,

Richmond Hill, Ont.

Trump triumph

Re: Trump delivers in-person address at March for Life in Washington (Jan. 24):

The March for Life rally held at Washington, D.C., last month and the actions of the U.S President are a triumph for both the Mother of God and the Church against cynicism and secularization. 

We have never had a government on this continent come as close to outlawing abortion and fighting for the rights of the unborn as the Donald Trump administration. Mr. Trump attended, becoming the first President to do so. Praising the “unselfish love” of the pro-life movement, the President vowed to defend the rights of the unborn with unmitigated tenacity.  

Yes, Mr. Trump has a history. Even saints do. But Jesus said, “The man who comes to me, I will not turn away.” America’s rethinking abortion is a miracle only Mother Mary could accomplish — together with a proclamation of life’s sanctity she would approve. 

Christopher Mansour

Barrie, Ont.