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| Above the Fraser River, yesterday |
I came across this article on my mobile phone, yesterday...
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Here were other academics assessing the shaping of Mr. Trudeau's thoughts by Catholic scholars Lord Acton, Cardinal John Henry Newman and the French Catholic philosopher Gabriel Marcel and his notions of Christian personalism emphasizing the value and dignity of each individual, the importance of dialogue and the notion of human solidarity.
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In all their years together, added Mr. MacEachen, he had never had a conversation with Mr. Trudeau about religion and God. Indeed, as University of Montreal theologian Solange Lefebvre remarked, to be a Christian in this country -- which more than 75 per cent of Canadians still nominally claim to be -- is to be "discreet."
to be a Christian in this country -- which more than 75 per cent of Canadians still nominally claim to be -- is to be "discreet."
A key difference between the Canada and the United States of America in regard to Christianity in the political realm, is that in Canada, Christianity will tend to be handled with more discretion. Less publicly, than in America.
I do not work within politics, and obviously on my websites, as I am quite public, direct, yet respectful, my approach would not be considered 'discreet'. But I think the quote in regards to former Prime Minister Trudeau, summarizes Christianity in the Canadian political realm, well.
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The contrast to contemporary U.S. public life is stark. George W. Bush, as governor of Texas, declared a statewide Jesus Day; Al Gore, his Democratic Party opponent in the presidential election, stated that he makes important decisions by asking himself: "WWJD?" -- What would Jesus do? John Ashcroft, the U.S. Attorney-General, told a university graduating class: "We have no king [in the U.S.]but Jesus."
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Which made me remember a conversation I once had with Mr. Trudeau. I quoted something that I said was from the Christian New Testament's Epistle to the Corinthians. Mr. Trudeau corrected me, saying it was from the Epistle to the Romans. I can't remember the quote, although I can remember we were eating spaghetti -- but until that moment, I had no idea he thought about such things.
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In the comprehension of meaning and coherence, a society approaches the sacred and the word, "God." The things about Pierre Trudeau that touched Canadians most deeply were things bound to his spirituality -- his affinity with Nature, for example, and the ideas he took from Christian personalism . . . the dignity of the individual, the will to human solidarity. These matters of Mr. Trudeau's soul bound him to what we know are Canadians' deep mythological attachments to the beauty of their land, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, collective equity, fairness, justice.
I offer no opinion on former Prime Minister Trudeau's, Christianity and Roman Catholicism.
