Excerpt from historian Roberto de Mattei's commentary:
The researchers of the commission, despite the 71 million dollars they received, worked for seven years without finding the time to consult the archives of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the religious order which began to manage the residential schools at the end of the nineteenth century. Based on these very archives, the historian Henri Goulet, in his Histoire des pensionnats indiens catholiques au Québec. Le rôle déterminant des pères oblats (Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2016), showed that the Oblates were the only defenders of the traditional language and way of life of the Indians of Canada, unlike the government and the Anglican church, which insisted on a form of integration that uprooted the indigenous people from their origins. This historiographical tack finds confirmation in the works of one of the leading international scholars of Canadian religious history, Prof. Luca Codignola Bo of the University of Genoa.
Meanwhile, the accusation of “cultural genocide” has been turned into that of “physical genocide”. In May of 2021, the young anthropologist Sarah Beaulieu, after examining the land near the former residential school of Kamloops with ground-penetrating radar, launched the hypothesis of the existence of a mass grave, without ever having done even one excavation. The anthropologist’s statements — reported by the mainstream media and endorsed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — have been spun into various narratives, some of which claim that “hundreds of children” were “killed” and “secretly buried” in “mass graves” or in irregular mounds on the grounds of “Catholic schools all over Canada."
The loaded terms 'genocide' and 'terrorism' have become political weapons for people. Every large act of violence, every large act of injustice is either genocide or terrorism.
In Canada, only one side of the story has been widely presented; the whole business has been monetized and politicized to the point of fraud, slander, and libel. Neither the bishops nor the pope have stood up against the misrepresentations to the degree they should have. The use of the word 'genocide' is not a sign of humility and contrition (for which there was and is need) but of capitulation to a false narrative. So why did I decide to err on the side of generosity? Because I think there's more chance of bringing some people around to a proper examination of the matter by being generous, while encouraging them to dig deeper.
Fair enough, though 'capitulation' is still not quite the measure of all this active complicity in fraud, slander and libel, nor of the wilful, sly cancelling of evangelization implicit in the 28 July Vespers papal homily's kicker: 'never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others [l'idée qu'il existe une supériorité d'une culture par rapport à une autre]'.
The Jesuit martyrs took the Christian gospel and the ecclesial 'culture' to the Huron and embedded it within their culture, which (when after their martyrdom this succeeded) did a great deal of good, and not only among the Huron. That is the right way to do things. Nevertheless, it is simply untrue that all cultures, with or without the gospel embedded within them as a corrective and a quickening influence, are equal in value for human flourishing. I dare say that the Huron culture was already superior to the Mohawk culture, for example, or at least less violent, and similar distinctions can be made between cultures around the world.
Excerpt from historian Roberto de Mattei's commentary:
The researchers of the commission, despite the 71 million dollars they received, worked for seven years without finding the time to consult the archives of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the religious order which began to manage the residential schools at the end of the nineteenth century. Based on these very archives, the historian Henri Goulet, in his Histoire des pensionnats indiens catholiques au Québec. Le rôle déterminant des pères oblats (Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2016), showed that the Oblates were the only defenders of the traditional language and way of life of the Indians of Canada, unlike the government and the Anglican church, which insisted on a form of integration that uprooted the indigenous people from their origins. This historiographical tack finds confirmation in the works of one of the leading international scholars of Canadian religious history, Prof. Luca Codignola Bo of the University of Genoa.
Meanwhile, the accusation of “cultural genocide” has been turned into that of “physical genocide”. In May of 2021, the young anthropologist Sarah Beaulieu, after examining the land near the former residential school of Kamloops with ground-penetrating radar, launched the hypothesis of the existence of a mass grave, without ever having done even one excavation. The anthropologist’s statements — reported by the mainstream media and endorsed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — have been spun into various narratives, some of which claim that “hundreds of children” were “killed” and “secretly buried” in “mass graves” or in irregular mounds on the grounds of “Catholic schools all over Canada."
Read more at https://www.patreon.com/posts/70049042
The loaded terms 'genocide' and 'terrorism' have become political weapons for people. Every large act of violence, every large act of injustice is either genocide or terrorism.
To get a glimpse into 'genocide' Canadian- style, check out the short doc by CBC on the Kamloops residential school (late 50s/early 60s?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ex4rv5kixY
Too generous.
In Canada, only one side of the story has been widely presented; the whole business has been monetized and politicized to the point of fraud, slander, and libel. Neither the bishops nor the pope have stood up against the misrepresentations to the degree they should have. The use of the word 'genocide' is not a sign of humility and contrition (for which there was and is need) but of capitulation to a false narrative. So why did I decide to err on the side of generosity? Because I think there's more chance of bringing some people around to a proper examination of the matter by being generous, while encouraging them to dig deeper.
Fair enough, though 'capitulation' is still not quite the measure of all this active complicity in fraud, slander and libel, nor of the wilful, sly cancelling of evangelization implicit in the 28 July Vespers papal homily's kicker: 'never again can the Christian community allow itself to be infected by the idea that one culture is superior to others [l'idée qu'il existe une supériorité d'une culture par rapport à une autre]'.
The Jesuit martyrs took the Christian gospel and the ecclesial 'culture' to the Huron and embedded it within their culture, which (when after their martyrdom this succeeded) did a great deal of good, and not only among the Huron. That is the right way to do things. Nevertheless, it is simply untrue that all cultures, with or without the gospel embedded within them as a corrective and a quickening influence, are equal in value for human flourishing. I dare say that the Huron culture was already superior to the Mohawk culture, for example, or at least less violent, and similar distinctions can be made between cultures around the world.
Indeed. Needs saying.