OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor ([email protected]). The following poem, reflecting on the role of the Catholic church in residential schools and other issues, is from Rama First Nation artist, Dazaunggee, Paul Shilling.
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I am wondering how you will deal with this monstrosity
The pain and suffering you have inflicted on our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children
Damn you!
At the same time, I’m amazed at how persistent you have been
How you managed to fool the people of the world
"If you haven't accepted Jesus, then you are a sinner"
Who is the sinner?
The Catholic church
The house of sin, corruption
Sinister
Lost completely from your essence
And naturally separated from God and Jesus
The Ten Commandments designed for me
Not for you or your organized religion
Greed and control is your motive, your sickness, your illness
You raped, molested and murdered our children
Tortured the life out of their small bodies and their sacredness
A poor excuse to feel superior
There is no place in this world now for those dark teachings
Every culture in the world were given instructions how to live their lives
Tools, instruments, songs, dances, language, ceremonies, skills for hunting, clothing, medicines
And the honouring of life — the sacred life we were given
And our women, the gift of bearing children — bringing spirit into this world
You gave yourself the right to steal them, to kidnap, to sexually please yourself with them and then to murder them
Selfish-greed creates mental illness, creates emotional illness as sickness disguised as “I am here to save you”
Belief is in the head
Knowing is of the spirit
This is the difference between Christianity and Spirituality
If you were of the spirit, you would not have allowed yourself to commit these terrible crimes
In your quest for saving people, you’ve created a lot of fear and a lot of sickness, suffering, misery and death
These instructions did not come from God or the “saviour” you call Jesus
Reverse psychology — the birth of the highest dysfunction the world has ever experienced
An apology I cannot accept
The people of the world need to see you acknowledge your selfishness, your sickness, your greed, your guilt and shame
All people born into this world are beautiful
All people have the right to be who they are
It is corruption and fear that causes prejudice and hatred — systemic racism
It’s easy to cultivate
Let’s all move now into who we truly are
Beautiful, beautiful people of the world
Dazaunggee (Paul Shilling)
Rama First Nation
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