Fr. Bob's Corner

On the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time I included a quote that statistically painted a picture of what the world situation was like in terms of quality of life for all. It portrayed the world in terms of a small village of 1000 people, and showed the great disparity between the rich and the poor. It really isn’t a very pretty picture. There is one small thing that all of us can do to make a difference, however, and that is take a look at the Development and Peace initiative and participate. Each one of us can make a difference, if we use our gifts and talents to give a voice to those impoverished by the behavior of others. Please take a look at what some of our Canadian Mining Corporations are doing to the land and the life of others, and join Development and Peace in trying to end this tragedy for some of our poor sisters and brothers who live in our global village. DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

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In a powerful little booklet (pastoral letter) entitled, The Need for Conversion, the ‘Social Affairs Commission of the ‘Canadian confidence of Catholic Bishop’s’ challenged Canadians this March 2008 to take a hard realistic look at the way that we, as Canadians, are treating our planet. “Are we not like the prodigal son”, they ponder, “who asked his father for his inheritance and then left home and proceeded to waste it (Luke 15:11-32)?” Commenting on our excessive need for more and more, the Bishops observe that we are mismanaging the Garden of Eden: “In our drive to earn more, to possess more, to consume always more, we have sacrificed a great deal to the economic almighty, which has become like the substance of modern life. We have mismanaged the Garden of Eden entrusted to us.”

Stating that we have the knowledge and know-how to protect the environment, they compare our present attitudes and behaviors to those of selfish ‘spoiled children’. “We have yieled to the innate selfishness that marks each of us like a scar.” “We have tarnished the image of God that is within us.”

The letter is a personal and communal call to conversion, and a timely and forceful reminder to our elected representatives. The Bishops conclude, The Need for Conversion, by offering us a choice between death and life: “Our faith in Christ, offers us a radical choice: To choose between life and death (Deuteronomy 31:15). This could not be a timelier invitation. Only genuine conversion will help us mend the ruptures and re-establish our life relationship with nature, our sisters and brothers, and the Creator of Life. For this St. Francis of Assisi presents a beatuiful model of renewed humanity and rediscovered harmony.

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This is just a quick update* on what’s happening regarding the Canadian mining company wanting to come into the area where the Scarboro priest, Pat Kelly Lives. (near our Sister Parish) Here is a link to two letters that were published in the Prairie Messenger regarding the issue: Link Please note that there is an update on the web site that I mentioned before: www.insidemindanao.com My understanding from our sister parish (Sister Christine) is that the company has started to build a road into the area… certainly bad news, and that various pieces of equipment have been air-dropped into the area. The Sisters serving at our Sister Parish have not heard of any concerted effort being made (such as a petition or campaign coming out of an NGO like Development and Peace, etc.). Hopefully that’s coming… in the meantime, the first step, they believe, is to let the Canadian people know what a Canadian company is doing there.

May 29th update

*Previous Posts on this site related to Canadian Mining

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With all the problems we have in this world, one would hope that governments and corporations would all be struggling to advance justice. When people are exploited and used for the sake of financial gain the very peace of this world is strained and undermined. And, I don’t think planet earth will be able to tolerate much more without dire consequences for all of us. (Why can’t the pain of the oppressed be recognized and alleviated?)

This year Development and Peace is attempting to raise the Canadian populations awareness of some of the practices of Canadian mining corporations. When I heard that the the people of the Province of Mindanao in the Philippines (location of our Sister Parish) were being exploited by mining corporations, I wondered if any of them were Canadian. Anyway, it’s just sad that we don’t seem to be learning, and that this world can’t be more fair and commpassionate: (Update: I was informed a day after this was posted that there is considerable conern about a Calgary based mining corporation in the general area of our sister parish.)“A Philippine bishop has condemned the damage done by mining to the environment and indigenous people, as reported recently by an international fact-finding commission….”

The bishop (in this part of the Philippines) reported feeling the people’s “anger against the game” that “power-hungry national and local government officials” have been “playing” in “alliance with greedy corporations.” Read full story:

UCAN: Philippine Catholic bishop condemns reported mining havoc – Catholic Online