Readers Speak Out: September 11, 2022

State of distortion

The Catholic Register’s Aug. 21 editorial explains how euphemistically named Medical Aid in Dying is rapidly expanding in Canada.

MAiD is wrong and harmful to society. It’s a distortion of the proper role of the State to promote the deaths of the elderly and sick.

In contrast, the Catholic Church teaches that the State should seek to advance the common good. That means protecting the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death thus enabling society to flourish and develop. As Pope St. John Paul II said: “It is impossible to further the common good without acknowledging and defending the right to life upon which all other inalienable rights of individuals are founded” (Evangelium Vitae, no. 101).

Claudio Ceolin

Toronto

Seek transit gloria

Sr. Helena Burns whimsical Sept. 4 column on being a hereditary lead-foot leads to more serious reflection.

All the locales Sr. Burns identifies as “places of encounter” have, by North American standards, accessible and extensive public transit. Oakville and Erin Mills are served by GO Transit and local systems. Toronto, Boston and Evanston boast integrated subway and bus service. Kingston has good local transit.

As a volunteer at a parish outreach in Toronto I found public transit to be a place of encounter and conversion. Riding home on the streetcar or bus I would meet clients whose files I knew because of assistance provided. None could afford a car. It was on this common journey that time was provided to listen to their stories. These encounters challenged me as “clients” were transformed into “persons.”

Christ was revealing His face to me despite my initial aversion to such a theophany. The experience of Emmaus is realized on public transit. 

Michael Chard

Toronto 

Duty call

My congratulations to The Register on recently garnering 19 honours at the recent Catholic Press Association Awards.

As a faithful reader I can only echo the judges that it is “a gift of all that is Catholic wrapped up in a readable, thoughtful package.” Going through the honourees’ list felt like a convening of old friends whose insights have permeated my psyche. I would  add my heartfelt tribute to Fr. Scott Lewis for his exegesis of the Word. It is my entry point to the paper and how I explore the social and political issues covered — through the lens of the Eternal.

What makes this newspaper, as with anything of consequence, stand out is a sense of vocation and yours is fidelity to the Word. As Madame de Stael put it, “The search for truth is the noblest occupation of man: its publication is a duty.”

Michael Dias

Markham, Ont.

Touch me not

In his Sept. 4 article, Michael Swan summarizes the accusations made against Cardinal Ouellet as “unwanted shoulder massages, caresses and hugs.” The response of the anonymous female complainant, we are told, was to feel uncomfortable and afterwards avoid the cardinal. Yet a de-escalation strategy was available to her at the time of the alleged incident. She could have taken a step back and said, “Please do not touch me.”

Lise Anglin

Toronto