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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-04-06, Page 16Page 4—Crossroads—April 6, 1983 The ongoing debate be- tween the Catholic Bishops and our federal politicians over what is Caesar's and what isn't, is hampered by each sides' unwillingness to face some basic truths. One such truth is that if you translate the spirtual values of the Christian church, particularly those derived from the New Testament, into political values, they are more nearly socialist than anything else. And so if the Bishop's economic argu- ments had a Marxist flavor, that was only to be expected. Another truth, perhaps, is that if the Christian church continues to make that translation, continues to tell Caesar that he's not running things in a Christian way, more and more church -goers are likely to be alienated. This country is traditionally less than a quarter NDP, and the more the church takes sides in matters conceived to be temporal, the more church -going Conservatives and to a lesser extent, Liberals, tend to get fed up with what the church stands for. The admonition by five Roman Catholic Liberal MPs to the Bishops is only partly political, as I see it. As Roman Catholics, they are also vi7orried about what is best for the church itself. Its difficult to establish a pre- cise point at which the Chris- tian church in this country began to change. Let's say for argument's sake, that it was about 25 years ago. The church began to perceive that it was becoming irrele- vant to much of its congrega- tion, particularly its young- est members. Some younger Protestant ministers began to court the young, speaking to them in a vernacular (as they perceived it) and dressing and behaving in that youthful vernacular as well. In so doing, they be- came not sympathetic figures, but slightly ridicu- lous. The next substantive step in the pursuit of rele- vance, was a more active in- tervention in politics. It was remote, at first, the Cali- fornia grape growers for example, and then it got closer to home: Canadian corporations in South Africa; the peace move- ment. In political terms, issues that, not surprisingly given the dictums of the New Testament, are left of centre. And so it isn't just Liberal politcians who feel the church might be better off if it returned to a more traditional role: teaching Christian ethics but leaving the political applications of those ethics to the individual. But was that ever the church's traditional role, and does that suggestion really address the problem? It seems to me that thegmore socialist that governments become in a Christian society, the more the role of the church is diminished. The real problem may be not that the churches are messing with what is Caesar's, but that Caesar, be developing a moral con- science, is increasingly messing with what was the church's. TELESCOPE RETURNS TO CBC TELEVISION Telescope is back. And with it, some pearls. Thirty shows, from 1965 to 1972, make up Telescope Revi- sited, weekdays from 3:30 to 4 p.m. beginning Monday, April 11 and going to Friday, May 20 on CBC Television. Basically, the series can best be described simply as entertainment — stories of famous and fascinating Canadians living all over the world. Features returning include profiles of Marshall McLu- han, Gordon Lightfoot, poli- tical cartoonist Duncan Macpherson, Glenn Gould, World War II flying ace Ray- mond Collishaw, Pere Athol Murray, Chief Dan George, Gerald Durrell, Doug Hen- ning, Paul Anka and bush pilot Punch Dickens. Or how about a look at comic books from World War I, a re- enactment of Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone, the story of the founding and training of the RCMP, theories on how humans can relate to fish, a tribute to Lucy Maud Mont- gomery, a voyage on the Queen Elizabeth II liner or a visit to a Swiss watch- maker? • West Brand 1 litre jar 100%. Vegetable Oil 1.69 Mother Brand 907 gr. pkg. Long Spaghetti or Macaroni .88 Pantry Shelf 19 oz. tin Pineapple-Tidbits.69 Paramount 6.5 oz. tin Chunk Light Tuna 1.29 Welch's 500 gr. jar Grape Jam or Grape Jelly 1.69 Kellogg's 475 gr. box Special K Cereal 1.99 Christie's 250 gr. pkg. Triscuits 1.19 We sell. fresh Maple. Syrup!! Kraft 225 gr. Macaroni & Cheese Dinners Kraft 500 gr. jar Cheez Whiz 2/.88 2.88 Burn's 6.5 oz. tin Tenderflake Ham 1.4 9 Fry's 500 gr. tin Pure Cocoa 4.6 9 Cadbury's 500 ga. tin Hot Chocolate ... 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