Re: [CGN] Funeral Mass for Pierre Trudeau

[Anthony de Souza <desouza6@sympatico.ca>]

Hi John
Thanks for the posting on Trudeau. He sure was a great man. He did however,
legalise abortion and homosexuality and contributed to making divorce easier in
Canada. Might this be because he was slow to condemn-some might say just as
Christ did not condemn the sinner but the sin?


John D'Souza wrote:

> MONTREAL October 3, 2000
> Nearly 2,700 Canadians, from the powerful to the penniless, sat
> side-by-side in the 171-year-old Notre-Dame Basilica during the two-hour
> funeral mass for Trudeau, who died last Thursday at age 80 of prostate
> cancer.
>
> One of the remarkable scenes from the Mass shown on TV, was seeing the
> Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien come up to take Communion followed
> by three  former Canadian Prime Ministers, Joe Clark, John Turner and Brian
> Mulroney.
> Reveals what Canada is all about, and why it is home to many of us.
>
> Justin Trudeau's eulogy, a towering tribute at father's funeral
> can be view at:
> http://www.thestar.com/editorial/news/20001004NEW01_NA-MAIN.html
>
> In Justin we have a leader in the making -there is a good chance that a
> decade or so from now he will be PM of Canada. If we wish to see Goan faces
> at his cabinet table, we had better wake up now and get the brightest of
> our youth involved in serious issues affecting the well being of the nation
> and the community - leave the organizing of social dances and black-tie
> events to others.
>
> Excerpts From:
> Eulogy to Pierre Trudeau from  his friend lawyer Roy Heenan.
>
> 'We have been touched by greatness'
>
> I'm told that Pierre Elliott Trudeau died last Thursday. The man may be,
> but his ideas live on. I speak not as a politician but as an ordinary
> citizen.
>
> Over the last few days, citizens by the tens of thousands have turned out
> to bear witness of their love and admiration for Pierre.
>
> We saw it in Ottawa on Parliament Hill. We saw it on the train that brought
> him back home to his beloved city. And we saw it again here in Montreal in
> the last two days.
>
> And why? Why do the citizens respond so spontaneously. Because he was a
> remarkable leader? That's true but it's not because of that. It is because
> he created and articulated a vision of this country which resonates in the
> hearts and minds of millions of Canadians. He defended that vision both
> rationally and passionately, both at home and abroad.
>
> And what is that vision that is shared by so many? First, of peoples living
> together in harmony in a single state and that brother not be turned
> against brother. Second, that we aspired to a just society, one that offers
> equality of opportunity. A vision of understanding of and charity towards
> others, particularly the less fortunate. That the two cultures of Canada
> flourish and be nurtured across this great land.
>
> And that other cultures enrich us. That bilingualism is an asset not a
> liability. And, of course, that the fundamental rights and freedoms be
> ensured and enshrined for all Canadians. This vision has changed forever
> the sense of ourselves as a society.
>
> This is his legacy to us. This is the testament of Pierre Elliott Trudeau,
> who left it to all Canadian men and women that he loved so well.
>
> We will also remember that on a deeper and more personal level he
> challenged us all to be the very best that we could be.
>
> We have been touched by greatness. Today we say au revoir to Pierre and we
> bury the body. But the vision continues. The vision lives.''
>
> - From Canadian Press
>
> JJD'S