Time for the Catholic Church to seek absolution

Editor:

As a teenager, I attended a Catholic high school and received an intense exposure to the tenets, rules and custom of that religion.
My memory of that instruction was that it was a focused indoctrination of the special adornments placed on Christianity that gave the Catholic Church a special place in society’s hierarchy of social mores and conduct.
As I matured, I realized that the Church, like all human organizations was hobbling itself with practices aimed only at the advancement of the Church as a mega corporate institution.
What was fading into background was the foundational roots of Christianity based on humility, love of our fellow man and the seeking of forgiveness for our transgressions.
Then, a momentous thing occurred. The church was given the opportunity to address its sin of pride and malice to his fellow man when the Canadian Courts mandated that the Christian churches make an admission of their abuse of native people and pay money to those communities to redress those wrongs.
While all other denominations addressed their complicity by paying the fines levied against them, the Catholic Church chose to hire lawyers to lie and misrepresent historical fact.
Now is the time for the Catholic Church in Canada to seek absolution. And the Catholic Church in Newfoundland has set a framework for all churches to reclaim its lost moral authority. Sell your land that was taken without due process and pay the proceeds to the local native councils.
Further, remember that the idea of a church sanctuary contained the idea that it was a place of refuge for the oppressed. We have in our society, souls that are newly arrived in the country, victims of family abuse and casualties of our drug infested society. The churches are large shelters that for six days a week could offer solace and refuge to those in need. Jesus Christ would be proud to see his teachings embodied in this way.

Ted McGovern,

Stayner.