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California regrets its past China syndrome

26 Jul 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord is just in all his ways, the psalmist tells us this Sunday. Humanity, however, often falls short on the justice meter. Last Friday the California legislature approved a landmark bill to apologize to the state's Chinese-American community for racist laws enacted as far back as the mid-19th century Gold Rush. The laws, some of which were not repealed until the 1940s, barred Chinese from owning land or property, marrying whites, working in the public sector, and testifying against whites in court. The new bill also recognized the contributions Chinese immigrants have made to the state, particularly their work on the transcontinental railroad. "It's symbolic to recognize that the state made mistakes," said assembly member Paul Fong, who cosponsored the legislation with assembly member Kevin de Leon. "These laws reverberate to this date because racism still exists." Said Donald Tamaki, a San Francisco-based attorney who helped overturn wrongful World War II-era convictions of Japanese Americans: "Part of what a humane society does is recognize past injustices and address them." Fong now plans to take the issue to the U.S. Congress, where he will request an apology for the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only federal law ever enacted to deny immigration based exclusively on race or nationality. Passed in 1882, the law was not fully repealed until 1943, after China and the U.S. became allies during the Second World War. The apology is the latest in a wave of official acts of remorse around the globe. In 2006 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a similar apology, expressing regret to Chinese Canadians for unequal taxes imposed on them in the late 19th century. Last February Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to his country's Aborigines for racist laws of the past, including the forced separation of children from their parents. Source: An article by Ling Wood Liu for TIME

california aborigines kevin rudd chinese canadians stephen harper chinese exclusion act donald tamaki paul fong chinese americans apologies

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The Land Down Under uplifted by news of first saint

28 Feb 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord is "my life's refuge," says the psalmist this Sunday. Mother Mary MacKillop, who founded a religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, that offered refuge, shelter, and education to impoverished children across the Australian Outback in the 1800s, will become that nation's first Catholic saint in October. Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement this week and set the formal canonization for October 17 in Rome. With vows of abstinence from owning personal belongings and dedication to helping the poor, MacKillop is credited with spreading Roman Catholicism in Australia and New Zealand. But she was a strong-willed advocate who sometimes got into trouble for challenging orthodox thinking within the church. In 1869 she was excommunicated for inciting her followers to disobedience, though the bishop who punished her recanted three years later and she was exonerated by a church commission. "This is a great, great tribute to the Catholic Church and a great, great tribute to her hard work in education," Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Friday. "This is a great honor for Australia. I offer a heartfelt expression of appreciation to the wider Catholic community." "Today it has been recognized that a woman can become a saint in the Australian environment with all its complexities and challenges," Postulator for the Cause of Mary MacKillop, Sister Maria Casey, said in a statement. "Mary MacKillop is to be listed among the saints of the Catholic Church. I look forward to the celebration of her goodness when many pilgrims from all over the world come to Rome for the ceremony." MacKillop died in 1909 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Sainthood was also approved for Stanislaw Soltys, a 15th-century Polish priest; Italian nuns Giulia Salzano and Battista Varano; Spanish nun Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola; and Canadian Holy Cross Brother André Bessette. Source: An article by Victor L. Simpson for the Associated Press

Saints kevin rudd mary mackillop sisters of st joseph of the sacred heart australia maria casey

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Grounded ship brings grief to reef

18 Apr 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The "living creatures," including those in the sea, "were countless in number" in the vision recounted in this Sunday's second reading. Australia's Great Barrier Reef will need decades to recover from the damage caused by a grounded Chinese coal carrier that spent nine days gouging a three mile zone of the treasured reef, said experts. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the accident, which also leaked about two tons of fuel oil into the pristine seas, an "absolute outrage." He added, "We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to finding out how that happened." Officials have promised to investigate allegations that ships have been taking short-cuts through the world's biggest reef, which covers 137,600 square miles off the east coast of Australia. David Wachenfeld, chief scientist at the body overseeing the heritage-listed marine park, said the Shen Neng 1 coal carrier had been grinding against and crushing the reef after it veered off course and smashed into it on April 3. The reef was also left plastered with toxic anti-fouling paint from the ship's hull. Divers "have found significant scarring and coral damage. They've also found quite a lot of anti-fouling [paint] spread across the reef," said Russell Reichelt, chairman of the marine park authority. "It is a concern because it's designed to be toxic and stop things growing on ships. We've already seen observations where anti-fouling paint that's been scraped off onto the reef is killing corals in its vicinity." Conservationists say the incidents highlight the risk to Australia's environment posed by rocketing resource exports to Asia, which are fuelling a strong recovery from the global financial crisis. The reef, which is visible from space and is one of the world's foremost ecological treasures, has already come under pressure from rising sea temperatures and pollution. Source: An article by Talek Harris Agence France Presse

accident kevin rudd australia great barrier reef david wachenfeld shen neng 1 russell reichelt coral anti-fouling paint

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