Readers Speak Out: January 16, 2022

Borrow now

Because some Indigenous people will die before they can benefit from the five-year fundraising plan to raise $30 million for residential school survivors, it would be better for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to borrow the money and fundraise afterwards.

Ada MacDonald,

Toronto

The art of compassion

Gerry Turcotte’s inspiring feature article, “Sculpting our memory notebooks,” is a true ray of light in these dark times. Along with Pope Francis, he highlights signs of our times that direct our attention to a potential renaissance to come post-pandemic if we learn to heal our fractured communities and our fragile planet through “the art of visionary compassion.”

Turcotte’s first example is an artist in France using his art to repair holes in sidewalks and roads with exquisite tilework. This reminds me of another French artist who uses his talents in related ways. His story is featured in a recent powerful documentary titled Paper and Glue.

I hope both Turcotte’s essay and Paper and Glue will be shared broadly in Catholic and secular educational institutions.

Gwen McGrenere,

Etobicoke, Ont

Balancing act

In his “Let’s restore some balance in our time” article, Peter Stockland illustrates how the government has become a “source of social blunt force trauma” during the COVID pandemic. 

Another example is the continued imposition of vaccine mandates.  Clearly, the vaccine has not stopped the vaccinated from getting Omicron and passing it to others. Yet the government is encouraging citizens to get the boosters, and universities continue requiring students to be double vaccinated. 

People who have chosen not to get vaccinated have legitimate reasons for doing so. We need to respect that. I am hopeful Stockland’s logic and critical thinking will catch on. 

Chris Naus,

Scarborough, Ont.

Reconciling reporting

Michael Swan’s statement in The Catholic Register that “It’s incrementally better for Inuit children, 25 per cent of whom are poor” works against, not for, social justice. As a mother and grandmother of a Qiqqitaaluk (Baffin) Region Inuit family, who is presently well connected with the Ottawa Inuit population, I can verify this statistic could not be further from the truth of social indicators for Inuit.

I have heartbreaking lived experience that at least 50 per cent of Inuit children living in Ottawa, and more than 60 per cent of Inuit children living in Nunavut communities exist in deep poverty, extremely crowded housing conditions and under the added burden of serious food insecurity regarding both traditional country foods and store-bought foods. 

For the true Inuit story, one would do well to read the research of academic experts. If The Catholic Register is to enter into the national discussion on Indigenous reconciliation, it would do well to ensure that all of its reporters know what they do not know and attempt to broaden their Indigenous horizons and knowledge. It is only by realizing truth that we, as committed Catholics, can love appropriately.

Beverly Illauq,

Kemptville, Ont.