Our Distorted 20/20 Vision

Our fragile world seemed to be on a path of destruction, from day one of this new year, this new decade. Raging fires continued to ravage large parts of Australia. As if that inferno wasn’t enough, three days into 2020, the killing of Qasem Soleimani resulted in Donald Trump pushing the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war. If that isn’t starting a new decade with a bang, then I don’t know what is. Isn’t it ironic that with our supposedly 20/20 vision we are displaying such impaired, myopic vision?

Then, merely eight days into this new year, the Ukraine International Airline Flight 752 crashes over Iran shortly after take-off. There are no survivors. Among the 176 people whose lives were abruptly ended there were 57 Canadians. There were also 82 Iranians, 11 Ukrainians and nationals from Sweden, the UK, Afghanistan and Germany. After days of denial, Iran has claimed it unintentionally shot down the Ukrainian plane, attributing the crash to radar activity and fear of U.S. retaliation. 

What a fragile world we live in! While still shaken by this horrendous tragedy, and reeling with heightened fear of war, a further tragedy unfolded. Two earthquakes hit Puerto Rico and several islands. Now, we could argue that all these tragedies happened far away, and do not touch our lives here in Canada.  Not true.  Canada is mourning the tragic death of the Canadians who died in the plane crash.  Across Canada, flags have been lowered to half-mast to honour those who died, and vigils are being held in many cities.  Several Canadian universities, among them Western here in London Ontario where I live, are grieving for the faculty members and students who died in the crash.  

As disturbing as the beginning of 2020 has been, there has also been a great deal of good. There are, for example, the myriads of caring, generous people, like the many Canadian and American firefighters, who travelled to the other side of the world to help curtail the raging inferno ravaging Australia.  These people are shining examples of what the fox told the little prince about the ability to see, namely that “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye” (Saint Antoine de Exupery; The Little Prince).  Though this year unfolds so painfully, instead of cursing the dark, these amazing people set aside their own agendas to reach out to those in need.  These people warm our hearts, fill us with hope and encourage us to believe in the good which resides in our broken world.  I am writing this blog on the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, when God called Jesus his Beloved.  While pondering those words, I turned to Henri Nouwen’s book, Life of the Beloved, in which he assures his reader that all of us are the beloved of God. He writes, “Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.”

As 2020 continues to unfold day by day, let us pray for 20/20 vision, looking at everyone through God’s glasses. This will ensure that we see with the heart, since “what is essential is invisible to the eye.”  Let us pray for each other, for our friends, our enemies, for world leaders, that they, too, may see with the heart, and peace can envelope all peoples.

- Sr. Magdalena Vogt, cps

 

Listen my people, your hopes are answered.

Listen, and hear my voice: your hopes are answered.

God waits for his people to cast off their cloak of fear,

And to walk upon this earth. God is so near.

(Paul-Andre Durocher in the Catholic Book of Worship III; No. 309)

 

Restorative Justice

Recently I listened to a radio interview in which a high school principal described the beneficial outcomes of her school’s restorative justice approach to problems such as conflict and violence in her school.  She reported that when students and their parents gain an understanding of each other and grasp their differing perspectives, then reconciliation and community building replace divisions.  The interview caused me to reflect on my observations of community justice practiced in northern Canada, and of some situations I encounter as I speak with inmates at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in Ontario.

In the small, isolated communities in the Northwest Territories and in Yellowknife, I observed how some criminal offenses were diverted from the courts to community justice committees.  In Yellowknife I frequently sat as a member on such a committee.  An offender considered eligible by the crown prosecutor and others would appear before the Justice Committee. Prior to the hearing committee members would review the police statement describing what had occurred and consider how we would proceed.  Proceedings would then begin; the offender and persons whose lives he or she had impacted such as parents or friend of a teenager may be present.  A police person, store owner, employer, property owner, or other person victimized by the offender might also attend the session.

In the hearings, members of the Justice Committee questioned the offender and all others present. The goal of the restorative justice program was to restore unity in the community. Attitudes of offenders changed as they learned of suffering their actions had caused for parents, employers, home owners and others. The attitudes of committee members and victims often softened as they observed changed perspectives in the offender, circumstances of his or her life, and regret for having caused hardship for others.  The Community Justice Committee would then decide on whether to send an offender back to court to face charges or develop a plan for restitution and learning.  This may include assigned reading and an essay, community service, or other remedy.  When the offender completed the assigned actions charges would be dropped and the offender would avoid having a criminal record.  

Prior to the advent of airplanes, electricity, phones, snowmobiles, RCMP, etc. in the far north, community was essential for survival; No one could survive alone, especially in the long winter months. Community members actively worked to bring about reconciliation and peace when harm occurred.  Offenders who failed to change their ways were banished from the community and thereby rendered at risk of death.  It is not surprising that restorative justice flourished in the north and evolved in modern times to community justice committees.

I wonder what it would take to change the focus of our justice system, to adopt restorative justice in appropriate cases in place of retributive justice.  Is it possible for us to find ways of building unity and peace rather than using methods that deepen divisions among us?

- Sister Patricia McKeon, csj

Some related articles: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/opinion-eggleton-saint-germain-restorative-justice-1.4884839

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/restorative-justice-system-criminal-cases-youth-1.5213583

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/racist-facebook-posts-restorative-justice-1.4982510

https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2008-03-lmrj/2008-03-lmrj-eng.pdf

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

The phone rang as I crawled out of bed on January 1^st.  On the line was my brother wishing me a Happy New Year.  The previous evening, he and my sister-in-law had spent a night on the town, taking in dinner and a movie, the recent flick, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”.  Gord’s encouragement to see the TIFF-premiered story of Mr. Fred Rogers found me on an early morning hike to secure the two remaining tickets for the late afternoon showing.

My friend Yvonne and I settled into the SilverCity recliners to watch the famous Mr. Rogers, a preschool icon of the best in children’s television for over 30 years.  I was eager to hear his message.  As a young adult in the ‘60s, I had glanced at Mr. Rogers’ program and dismissed it as juvenile, even saccharine.  How wrong I was.

As “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” unfolded, I was pulled into the amazing talent of this intelligent, faith-filled artistic, caring man who understood children and treated each one with the utmost kindness and respect.

Through his mantra, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” and the activities of life in an onscreen cartoonish neighborhood, Mr. Rogers taught children about the tender virtues of love, patience and respect while living and loving in their own neighborhood.

The huge swath of Mr. Rogers’ influence was demonstrated when a group of young adult passengers on a subway recognized Mr. Rogers and launched into a spontaneous and rousing rendition of his theme song.  Without doubt, I realized that Mr. Rogers’ work had left an indelible mark on lives that spanned several generations.

Mr. Roger’s life was devoted not only to children but also to his employees and everyone whom he met.  In fact, the movie’s focus was seen through the eyes of journalist Tom Junod, a young husband and father whose life and the lives of his family were changed radically due to Mr. Roger’s influence.

I hope you can make time to see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”.

A documentary on the life of Mr. Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”  is currently on Netflix.

Submitted by Sister Jean Moylan

Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Honoured

A recent post on the   Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto   website shares three stories of God’s compassionate love in our world: http://www.csj-to.ca/…/01/sisters-st-joseph-toronto-honoured

Sisters Catherine Marie Macdonald, Anne Schenck and Sue Mosteller recently received special tributes.

Remembering Sister Catherine Marie 

Sister Catherine Marie Macdonald, who passed away in the summer of 2019, was featured in the   Toronto Star   via an editorial by Vinay Menon on December 21, 2019, entitled   She Was The Best Cheerleader a Child Could Ever Have.  You can read the article on the Star's website.

Sister Anne Awarded the Sovereign's Medal

In recognition of her founding Furniture Bank, Sister Anne Schenck was awarded the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteering.

Her entry can be found on the   Governor General of Canada's website. 

 

Sister Sue  Appointed  to   the Order of Canada

Sister Sue Mosteller was appointed to the Order of Canada which honours people who have made extraordinary contributions to the nation.  She was interviewed for a  Globe and Mail   article on December 27, 2019 which can be read on the Globe & Mail website here.    

We appreciate the celebration and recognition that has been shown to these three Sisters. 💗

Let Goodness Prevail

On the sixth day of creation, God, the Creator, ”looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!” Gen. 1:31 (from The Message)

Such a message of hope for us in these days of fake news, the violence of wars, natural disasters, racism, verbal abuse at so many levels and even genocide: goodness is inherent in all of creation. It is in our DNA, and it is now that we as a species are called to live that reality of being a force for goodness in this world.

In my personal experience of facilitating and co-ordinating Kairos Blanket Exercises, I, with the facilitators and participants have the privilege of seeing how truth, when revealed and received by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, is freeing. For the Indigenous peoples, their story is told: of the impact of residential schools, of being given Hudson Bay blankets as “gifts” that were full of the small pox virus, of the seizure of lands that were sources  of food, of the murdered and missing indigenous women and children…boys and girls, of the Indian Act that reduced whole nations to being put on small isolated reserves and forbidden to practice their spirituality or cultural practices, and who were “assimilated” into the white society to be made “civilized”, as the settlers defined the meaning of the term of being “civilized”.   The non-Indigenous participants hear this same story as told by an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous facilitator. If the participants come with an open mind, heart and will, they are INformed, TRANSformed, and empowered to work together to seek ways of “Returning to Harmony” (see Richard Wagamese’s article: https://teacherlauragroome.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/returning-to-harmony.pdf

For ALL participants, the telling and hearing of this story together is the beginning education of the truth of Canadian history: painful to tell and to hear but nonetheless a vehicle for further dialogue, leading to sowing initial seeds for reconciliation, or restoring a relation of collaboration that once existed. See Murray Sinclair speak about reconciliation in this 4-minute video https://www.csps-efpc.gc.ca/video/ssontr-eng.aspx

Senator Murray Sinclair, the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was issued in 2015, quotes:"It is education that got into this and it is education that will get us out of it.”

Being a retired teacher and educator, I am convinced that education is a beginning to living in right relationship, if we work together toward this. We are ALL inherently GOOD: we can choose to live out of that belief in all our interactions.

Submitted by Kathleen Lichti, CSJ