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CIRCULAR TO PARISHIONERS WEEK 39 - FEB 26, 2005
KICK-OFF!
Last week’s double kick, the ShareLife “kick” and the bishop’s “kick”, has generated quite a
response. Many comments and questions were received regarding the appropriateness of contributing
to ShareLife in St. Martin of Tours. Last year’s contributions were reported to be circa $123,000
/124,000 - 10% below target. However, this has not been confirmed in any official communique or
Parish financial statement. As of 20th February, the Parish had still not provided us with the 2004
year-end Financial Statements. The absence of accountability is of grave concern. This is aggravated
by the tone of the bishop’s letter, dated The Second Sunday in Lent. Are we to understand from it that
we are too uneducated to have a Parish Council? What ability do we lack?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Letter to Cardinal Ambrozic from a parishioner: February 17, 2005
Dear Cardinal Ambrozic,
After being actively involved in the ShareLife campaign since its inception I wish to inform
you and director Arthur Peters that I will no longer support this organization. I regret taking
this position but the ongoing discord and unresolved issues at St. Martin of Tours only
solidifies my resolve to withhold financial support to ShareLife.
I along with many other concerned parishioners was expecting to see sound leadership from
the Archdiocese where all parties would meet and engage in honest dialogue to sort through
and solve the problems. To my disappointment the leadership did not materialize. Since last
Easter the situation quickly deteriorated and continues to this day.
By the summer of 2004 the church office stopped publishing the weekly collections, failed to
record the final results of the ShareLife campaign and to date Father Beltran has yet to issue
a financial statement on church activities for year 2004.
The campaign theme for this year is “… for God loves a cheerful giver…” There is nothing
to cheer about at St. Martin’s in Mississauga. The Archdiocese asks for money but many
parishioners question “where is the financial accountability, where is my money being spent”?
I believe that parishioners who donate willingly to the parish have a legitimate right to see
full disclosure of their contributions.
I shall continue to support recognized charities but my contributions will be sent directly to
both local and third world organizations working in poor developing nations.
Yours in Christ,
John Duncan Walker
c.c. Arthur Peters, ShareLife Campaign Director
Comment: There was additional feed-back on ShareLife. Many contributors agree with this
sentiment. Some others have indicated that they will continue to support ShareLife, but via another
parish, and certainly not by direct contribution which may be allocated back to the Parish by virtue of
the sender’s address, at the discretion of the director.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Caring and sharing
We have a Christian obligation to support and fund charitable endeavours. Today, many people are
making a change in their pattern of giving, to recognize priorities of needs and to identify with specific
registered charities. Here are examples of some worthy organisations:
1. Catholic Missions in Canada, 201-1155 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. M4T 1W2
2. St. Vincent de Paul Society, 240 Church St., Toronto, Ont. M5B 1Z2
3. Birthright Mississauga, 307-2600 Edenhurst, Mississauga, Ont. L5A 3Z8
4. Dr.Simone’s Canadian Food for Children, 40 King George Rd. Toronto, ON M8X 1L3
5. Ian Anderson House, 430 Winston Churchill Blvd. Oakville, Ont. L6J 7X2
6. Solidarite-Sud (Haiti), c/o Maison Alonzo Wright, 2425A St-Louis St.Gatineau,Que.
J8V 1E7
________________________________________________________
Letters to the Bishop
_____________________________________________________________________________
Letter to the Bishop February 22, 2005
Your Excellency,
It was with some relief that I read your letter for the Second Sunday of Lent, as I had began
to take your long silence as an indication that you had no interest in the problems of our
parish. However, my relief turned to dismay when I realized that you were obviously basing
your assessment of the situation at St. Martins on the reports of a small group of
parishioners.
To deal with your concerns about the handing out of flyers; we do not STOP any cars.
Parishioners drive up with their windows open, and their hands out, and we give them a flyer.
A few people do not wish to take a flyer and so do not open their windows. We wave and wish
them well. We do not “impede the flow of traffic,” the only hold up occurs if cars have to wait
for an opening in the traffic in order to enter McBride Ave. We are not responsible for the
amount of traffic using that street. Occasionally a police car will drive by and I am sure they
would stop and deal with us if we were causing “considerable danger.”
You state that the flyers contain “exaggerations and statements taken out of context,” but
you do not want to deal with these accusations on a “point by point basis”. Surely, such a
sweeping condemnation should be backed up by quoting examples. Of course the flyers
represent one side of the issues, and if you are fair you will admit that your letter also only
represents one side of the issue.
We all realize that there has to be a reconciling of these one sided points of view if there is to
be peace in the parish. Your mention of the formation of a Parish Council, and that may be
helpful in advancing the reconciliation process. However, I was dismayed to note that in this
letter you do not mention that it should, “represent all the members of the parish
community”, as you stated in your letter of 23 June, 2004. I hope this was an oversight,
because a council that only represents one side of the parish divisions will only exacerbate
the problems of St. Martins.
You ask that we stop handing out flyers, the formation of a truly representative Parish
Council, will I hope make it unnecessary for us to continue.
There is one other issue which I wish to mention. In your correspondence and in Father
Beltran’s announcements, stress is placed on the idea that a priest is worthy of respect by
reason of his ordination alone, and by his ordination he represents Jesus. While I certainly
respect the powers bestowed on a priest at his ordination, the idea that all priests are
representative of Jesus, is difficult for a community which has previously had a priest who
was accused of sexually abusing children of this parish. This occurrence destroyed the
automatic respect which used to be accorded to a priest, and now when we are asked to
believe that God assigns our parish priest, the natural reaction is to cynically inquire whether
we are to believe that God also sent Fr. Wallace to us?
I write about this sad event because I think it is relevant to our present situation. The
hierarchy has never acknowledged this problem, nor offered us any apology; they seemed to
have taken the attitude that if the problem wasn’t mentioned it would go away. It hasn’t gone
away, the hurt has festered.
The two previous pastors were able to contain the resentment of the parishioners because
they were both priests who spent themselves in our service. They provided spiritual
leadership of the sort described by St. Peter in today’s reading, (1 Peter 5: 3) “Do not lord it
over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.” In addition they were always
available to visit our sick, counsel the confused and comfort the afflicted; they took a
genuine interest in our families and our lives, so they both earned our respect as true
examples of “good” priests.
Healing for this parish is further complicated because there has been no explanation of Fr.
Beltran’s motive in disbanding the St. Vincent de Paul Society, changing the agreed upon
contract for the Choir Director, exiling the Knights of Columbus and dismissing many faithful
volunteers who had given long service to this community. Was Father’s only motive hurt
pride because we were not respectful enough?
I send this letter in the hope that you can explain our position to Father, as I believe that the
more the conflicted groups in this parish understand each other, the greater the chance that
we will, with prayer and good will, reach a resolution.
Let us pray for one another,
Yours sincerely,
Patricia Russell.
________________________________________________________
Letter to Bishop Boissonneau 19 Feb. 2005
(Most Rev.) John A. Boissonneau
I read with much interest your ‘Second Sunday Of Lent’ letter to the Parishioners of St.
Martin of Tours. I would hope that your letter was not an attempt at blackmail veiled under
Christian unity. One might interpret your letter as saying that if you want the parish council
that you promised almost a year ago then you had better stop passing out flyers.
Have you seen these people? They are not “stopping cars” and are not causing danger “in
impeding the flow of traffic”. Rest assured if this were the case Fr Beltran would have called
the police (again), which is a common practice of his.
I do congratulate you in recognizing that the “group dissatisfied with the decisions ---” is no
longer a “small group”. As well you appear to acknowledge that there is truth in some of the
statements in the material being shared with St Martins community each week. Perhaps if
you would have visited the parish, as you said you would, much of the turmoil could have
been resolved. Admit it or not, you and the Church have a serious problem with the
leadership in St. Martins.
Last Saturday my wife and I attended a fund raiser Dinner Dance that was organized by the
exiled Knights of Columbus and the exiled St. Martins Choir. Initial results indicate that
approx. $10,000 was raised far a charity. In looking around the room I saw a group of people
who have been the backbone of St Martins for the past many years as well as new members
to the community and people of all ages. These were a group of intelligent community leaders
who resent being treated like parishioners of a third world country in their own church. A
church that they built and have supported prior to the current leadership.
Bishop Boissonneau, when are you going to show the leadership your office should provide
and deal with this issue? I really cannot believe that you fully appreciate what is going on at
St Martin of Tours. If you really want a “balanced and calm environment” at St Martins
please take what you have been hearing seriously. This is not a contest of a group of
dissidents at variance with the church. Quite the contrary.
J. Duff Shaw
________________________________________________________
VOICES
St. Martin in the Woodlands Chorale (formerly St. Martin of Tours Choir), participated this week at
the Kiwanis Festival of Greater Toronto. Choirs were present from the GTA, from Oshawa and
from Orillia. Our Choir performed in the Religious Choir class and in the Mixed Voice (secular) class,
and in both performances achieved first place with the highest marks of the evening. A choir member
remarked, “ We have been crippled, but our voices have not been silenced. We pray that our
Parish, also crippled and suppressed, will find a voice truly representative of all parishioners.”
And so we all pray.
The Choir will next sing in public on Sunday, 13 March, at a location in Vaughan. Venue details to
follow.
_____________________________________________________________________
MISSED A CIRCULAR?
In response to many requests for back issues of our Circulars, we have a limited number of complete
sets. But also, please remember that each week’s Circular is published on the web site.
For more information, contact: Aisling Egan 416 671-4710
Pat DeAngelis 416 809-1819 Duncan Walker 905 277-9825
Lucy Pires 905 273-6093 Dunstan Bazely 905 275-3946
Judy Byrnes 905 275-1536 Patricia Russell 905 279-9205
________________________________________________________
Email: bishop.boissonneau@rogers.com Fax: 416 207-4984.
ambrozic@archtoronto.org Fax: 416 934-3452.
________________________________________________________
We join Christians everywhere in praying for the health of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II
________________________________________________________
SEEING IS BELIEVING!
Here is a detailed accounting of the recent Valentine’s Dinner Dance at The Waterside Inn, Port Credit.
Ticket Sales …………….......................................$8175.00
Silent Auction ……………………………….........$3350.00
Raffle ……………………………………….........$1160.00
Donations …………………………………...........$3979.44
Total Receipts ……………………………..........$16664.44
Less Total Costs of Dinner ……………….......... $6164.44
Forwarded to Solidarite- Sud (Haiti) …..............$10500.00
The event commenced with cocktails, and each lady was presented with a red rose. A wonderful
buffet dinner in an intimate and elegant ballroom followed. After a fanfare by the Bell Choir, guest
speaker Fintan Kilbride spoke eloquently about the urgent needs of impoverished countries, with
particular focus on Jamaica and Haiti. The evening continued with dancing till the wee hours, enjoyed
by young and old alike. The display of comraderie and generosity is proof indeed that the spirit of the
parishioners of St. Martin of Tours remains alive and well.
________________________________________________________
Thursday, 24 Feb. 2005
Dear Parishioners of St Martin of Tours,
On behalf of the children of Haiti's Central Plateau for whom you worked so hard to raise
$10,000 for a new school, please accept my deepest gratitude.
Everyone who attended your dinner/dance in honour of St Valentine had a most wonderful
evening. The event was made even more enjoyable by the thought that your fundraising
will provide a secure structure for hundreds of Haitian children who otherwise are taught
under the trees or in often leaking and unsafe mud huts.
The new two-room school housing 100+ elementary school children from 7am to 12noon,
and from 12.30 to 5.30pm will be built by the competent Fr Guy Casseus with whom I
stayed for several days last September as he showed Benoit Begin, Helena Kelly and
myself the future needs of his extensive parish, and what had been accomplished since
our 2003 visit. (Benoit, a recently retired sociology professor at St Paul University in
Ottawa, and his wife, Helena, started Solidarite-Sud seventeen years ago to address
Haiti's educational needs. Having charitable status they will give tax exempt receipts to
many of your very generous donors.)
Without a doubt your incredible generosity will make a huge difference - immediate as
well as long term - in the children's lives. In their name I once again thank each and every
one of you.
Yours sincerely,
Fintan Kilbride
