Opinion
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July 2, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — If you are not aware, there has been a recent controversy about the Residential School saga in Canada. I will not go into too much detail here, as LifeSite has — in my opinion — covered the issue the best. As with all things that have to do with history and injustice, the story is more complex than political correctness allows us to discuss in a public arena. But suffice it to say, there are moments in Canadian history where grave offenses against First Nations people did take place. There is no room in Catholic theology for abuse or anything even approaching legitimate ethnic cleansing, and wherever a Catholic cleric or religious took part in any grave offense, it was wrong and cannot be justified.

Canada has worked hard over the past couple of decades in order to come to terms with what happened, and people of good will, both from in the Church and in the Native communities, had reached a point of reconciliation. There was a Commission for many years, and Pope Benedict XVI met with Indigenous leaders in 2009, offering an apology on behalf of the Church. There have also been numerous specific apologies from the religious orders that were based in Canada, and who oversaw any of the schools where abuse took place. All things considered, the way that my country and the Church in Canada was able to move forward was — I thought — a great example of true reconciliation in the Christian sense.

However, due to a media spin-cycle and an anti-Catholic federal government, old flames of rage are being stoked for political gain. Recently, the Prime Minister called on the Church to apologize (seemingly forgetting this already took place), and he has remained silent as numerous Churches have been burned to the ground by vandals.

We are witnessing a marxist-inspired class-struggle that is a tool of elitist political actors who seek to keep the people at odds with their neighbor. All of this is happening because we have forgotten Christ and His Holy Cross.

Among other things, to be Christian means to be like Christ; to be like Christ means to act like Christ. If we are to act like Christ, then we must forgive offenses. Not only must we forgive offenses that we deem forgivable, but must even forgive the unforgivable.

Certain actions are so egregious and heinous that we, as fallen human beings, cannot fathom how we could possibly forgive the persons who perpetrate such actions. People have lived through unspeakable tragedies throughout world history, often at the hands of a particular group for ideological reasons. Across the Earth we see the vestiges of tribal hatred and ethnic animosity in virtually all cultures.

The only lasting solution to any of this has been the Holy Cross. As we contemplate what happened to Christ on Good Friday, we recognize the greatest sin possible has happened; the murder of God, the Innocent Son of Man. Christ did not deserve that punishment, yet He forgave us anyway! Only with the saving grace of the Passion and Death of Our Lord could we be forgiven for our sins that we could not reconcile on our own.

This mentality has historically engendered in Christian society an understanding of mercy and forgiveness as necessary for social cohesion. Furthermore, the saving waters of Baptism incorporate every baptized person into the adopted family of God Almighty, thus overcoming any natural barrier; be it race, ethnicity, or class.

It is no surprise that as our cultures edge further and further away from Christ, that we now find ourselves in a position where we are not able to forgive. Without the context of supernatural forgiveness and reconciliation with God, we are not able to forgive our neighbours, our countries, or anyone else if we deem their sins to have transgressed some impassable border.

Politicians, who are often nothing more than race-hustlers, promote a blood-thirsty rage among the populace, as they control their damaged temperaments like puppet-masters. Rather than accepting true contrition and apologies, they clamor for more and more, never accepting as a fait-accompli that reconciliation has taken place. It is because we live in a godless state that we are now acting toward one-another like angry zealots, who seek destruction of all things sacred as a way to appease our historical anger. There is no way forward for a society that acts like this, and there will only be more destruction if we do not change course.

No amount of official “apologies” will satisfy the mob that desires more “social-justice” and the violence will, sadly, only increase over time. We are without a natural solution at this point, and there is only one way forward; remember the Holy Cross so that we may forgive the unforgivable.