2012

2012-09-03 John W John W's previous articles

Standing up to bullies, in society and in the Church

38 million messages were posted on Sina Weibo (China's Twitter)
expressing anger at the government-orchestrated hoax of unfit hurdler Liu Xiang taking part in the London Olympics. HK's South China Morning Post commented: they did it because they thought they could get away with it....because they have the power to control information and are used to manipulating facts

Last Saturday more than 10,000 Hong Kong teachers, parents and children took part in a rally to oppose "National Education" ...a program starting today in HK schools to brainwash children to love the Communist Party even if it makes mistakes. In fact, only a handful of schools are running the program. The vast majority are refusing to use the program.

All over the world, a basic tactic of bullying totalitarian regimes is to control education. HK people are aware of this, and are taking a brave stand for the sake of their children and society

Sadly, there are numerous examples in recent times of bullying tactics being used by the Catholic Church

The way the "new translation" has been imposed on the English-speaking world is nothing short of Machiavellian: people who might oppose it were disposed of, and a small group with a special agenda used underhand tactics to impose their views on the vast majority. The whole process reads like a Who-done-it? novel

Likewise the most unjust dismissal of Bishop Bill Morris.
See the 10 articles on lower right side of this website's main page
to make your blood boil and your heart sad. How could this happen in today's Church? Then read the "official" version of what happened to see how the facts are manipulated. Classic bullying tactics...lots of spin before, during and after the deed, to hide the truth

Then there's the way the Vatican has tried to bully groups like the Irish priests and US nuns into submission. Not to mention the tactic of re-interpreting the documents of Vatican II in order to avoid changes called for by the Council - collegiality, subsidiarity etc

The lesson of history is:
speak up and stand up to bullying...or get steam-rolled

HK people are giving a brave example of standing up to bullying in the case of "National Education"

People in the Church are doing likewise: many priests and parishes throughout the world are refusing to use the new translation. Some bishops are encouraging their priests to use the Apostles' Creed instead of the new translation of the Nicene Creed. Many bishops are unhappy about the new translation and are turning a blind eye to its non-use by their priests and parishes....especially in places where English is not the first language of most people who attend English Masses (e.g. large groups of Filipinos) ....and the new translation's almost poetic-type English goes way over the head of the congregation

Let's take courage from Tank Man who stood in front of the line of tanks in Beijing in 1989. One man brought a column of bullying tanks to a halt!