Zurich Citizens News, 1974-02-14, Page 10PAGE 10
ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 19'74
Obituary
MARTIN J. MOMMERSTEEG
A well-known resident of the
Grand Bend area for some years,
Martin Johannes Mommersteeg,
R,R.2, passed away suddenly
at his home on Wednesday,
February 6, in his 72nd year.
Surviving besides his wife,
the former Antonia Vanesch,
are five sons, Fred, R.R.2,
Zurich, Edward and Luke, both
of R.R.2, Grand Bend, Mich-
ael, R.R.6, St. Thomas, and
Martin Jr., of R,R.3, Bayfield;
six daughters, Mrs. L. (Anny)
Boutte, Mrs. S. (Joanne) Swarts,
Mrs. A. (Tina) Lisabeth, all of
London, Mrs. N. (Bertha) Pau-
wels, Brantford, Mrs. J. (Tony)
VanderHeyden, of Forest, and
Mrs. J. (Cobi) Totten, of Win-
nipeg. There are also 38 grand-
children. There are also two
sisters, Mrs. Willem (Rieka)
Kuis, Mrs. Dien Vugts, and two
brothers, Frie and Hubb, all of
Holland, and another brother,
Anton, of Alberta.
The body rested at the T.
Harry Hoffman Funeral Home,
Dashwood, until Saturday morn-
ing, when funeral mass took
place at Immaculate Heart of
Mary Church, Grand Bend, at
11 a.m. Interment was in the
Forest R.C, Cemetery. Rev.
Father Boyer officiated.
0
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If you don't know enough
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The International Scene
ANOTHER REQUIEM FOR THE
CHURCH
I recently went to see a play
entitled "Requiem for the
Church" written by the contem-
porary German dramatist,
Breitbach. The play was of
interest to me for two reasons.
First it was translated into
English and produced quite ably
by a colleague of mine, Martin
Wittman from Tillsonburg, to
whom I once taught French whei
I was at Tillsonburg Secondary
School. Second, I ani interest-
ed in what dramatists, among
others, are attempting to say
these days about the church., its
strengths and weaknesses,
My first impression of the
play as I was watching it was a
1 confusing one. I couldn't make
up my mind whether young
Clemens, the rebel of the
piece, represented the anti -
Christ or was just a forerunner
' of the liberization movement
that took place in the Catholic
Church, mainly on account of
Pope John. I finally decided it
was more of the former but to
me the play asks a vital quest-
ion which all of us have to face
who acknowledge acceptance
of some religion, be it Catholic,
Protestant or even Bahai.
It is this. As a believer do
you accept the teachings of
your Church entirely or just
partly! If the answer is partly,
which parts do you reject and
why? If the Church preaches
one thing and does another, how
do you react? The more dogma-
tic a church is in its beliefs,
the more serious this question
becomes.
I have had enough personal
experience with regard to this
question to last me a lifetime.
When I was living and going to
school in Spain, that most
Catholic of countries, Iran
into all sorts of problems. It
was in the pre -Pope John period
and in the Catholic Church there
was very strict teaching going
on. The same teachers who said
one thing in private used to get
up in front of the class with
such claptrap as "All the prog-
ress achieved in Europe over the
past 400 years has happened in
spite of the Reformation, not
because of it." Even Pope John
I am sure, would have shudder-
ed at that sort of nonsense.
Because of such attitudes, I, as
the only Protestant in the class,
had to put up with a great deal
of nonsense from the same
people who mouthed the golden
rule as if it were the cornerstone
of their beliefs.
The situation becomes even
more serious, as we see in Breit-
bach's play, when it is a quest-
ion of the representatives of the
Church failing to live up to the
standards the church proclaims,
with resulting tragedy. Morally
REDI MIX
CONCRETE
(ALSO FORM WORK) �}
McCann Const. fid.
DASHWOOD
237-3422
( BY RAYMOND CANON)
they are on very weak ground
indeed.
It is from starting points as
this that we run into such weird
theological ruminations as the
"god is dead" movement that
was all the rage a few years
back, If God's word is not truly
represented by those in the
church that act in his name,
then God is theoretically dead.
For a while we heard a great
deal of this sort of stuff from
theologians or theological writ-
ers who had nothing else to do
at the time. In this connection
I am often reminded of the
following scribbing on a wall;
"God is dead." Signed, John
Doe. Shortly afterward there
appeared postscript. "John Doe
I is dead." Signed, God. Any
John Doe who cannot accept
the reality of God must be
spiritually dead.
At the present time it is also
interesting to note that the
famous Russian writer, Solzhen-
itzyn, whose book Gulag Arch-
ipeligo is giving the Kremlin
fits, is himself a Christian and
is giving his church hell for the
same sort of behaviour that we
find in Breitbach's play. A
church that claims to believe
one thing but, when it comes to
the crunch, cannot live up to
its belief.
In Denmark I was told that
only about 3% of the population
goes to church on Sundays.
The same low figure also holds
true for Sweden. This is suppos-
ed to mean that religion is dy-
ing and if you are going to
equate religion with going to
church, I suppose it is. I really
don't know how many requiems
there have been for the church
throughout its history but one
thing I believe, it has shown
a remarkable ability to change
and renew itself throughout
the years.
It can overcome the vacillat-
ions of the people like the priest
in Breitbach's play, and grow
anew. Perhaps it takes such
people as the priest to shock it
into making the necessary ref-
orms so that it returns with ren-
ewed vigor and meaning. This
renaissance may take place at
different times in different
countries but take place it does,
• 0
SOYBEAN NUTRITION
Consumers' Association of
Canada reminds grocery shop-
pers that soybeans are an econ-
omical, nutritious source of
protein, vitamins and minerals.
Soybeans increase three times
in volume when soaked and
cooked for use in casseroles,
soups or anywhere that navy or
kidney beans are normally used.
CAC National Office is located
at 100 Gloucester Street, Ott-
awa.
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