A Montreal Cathedral with Echoes of St. Peters

The nave has a Bernini-like altar like in St Peters

In Montreal we went to one of the city's most famous landmarks, Notre-Dame Basilica, but we were dismayed to see the left tower covered in scaffolding, the telltale sign of renovation work.

We were also surprised to see a C$16 admission fee. My relatives, who are Catholics, said we should skip visiting the cathedral, so we carried on our walk and not too long later we stumbled upon Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilica, a massive cathedral, aptly situated on Cathedral Street, near the Bonaventure metro station.

Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilica in Montreal

Curious, we approached the entrance, where a security guard told us there was a service in session and we could sit in, but to be quiet; after it was over we would be free to wander the cathedral.

So we sat down and soon realised the service on June 2 was a memorial for two martyrs, Saint Marcellinus and Saint Peter.

The service was delivered in French, but towards the end, my relatives could sort of follow along with the prayers, and even received Communion.

What was most striking about this cathedral was the altar with its twisting columns that reminded me of the one in St Peter's Basilica in Rome that was designed by Bernini. 

And it turns out Marie-Reine-du-Monde Basilica was inspired by St Peter's. The Montreal cathedral was built slowly, from 1870 to 1878, and then 1885 to 1894. When it was consecrated in 1894, it was the largest church in Quebec. Today it is the third-largest in the French-speaking province.

An impressive space full of wonder

After the service was over, we wandered around the cathedral, first lighting a candle for $2 and then walking to the nave, where the elaborate altar is. We also saw a crypt, where bishops and auxilary bishops were laid to rest. 

Outside on the top of the cathedral is a statue of Mary, Queen of the World, who is flanked by the patron saints of 13 parishes of Montreal.

We enjoyed our contemplative visit, and even more so because it was free!

Francis, Pope of the People

Pope Francis spoke up for the oppressed and poor

This morning I woke up to the news that Pope Francis had passed at the age of 88. We had just saw him less than 12 hours earlier in news footage in his Popemobile blessing a baby. But when he addressed the crowd at St Peter's Basilica to say "Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter", his voice was very weak...

He was discharged last month after 38 days in hospital battling pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors didn't think he would make it -- twice. They advised him to isolate himself and get rest for at least two months to avoid infection, but Francis wanted to be with the people, one last time.

And he will be forever remembered as a pope with humility who advocated for the oppressed, the poor, migrants, refugees, and the environment.

He made a landmark trip to Canada in 2022

Francis criticised the Trump administration's mass deportation policy. In a letter to American bishops, he wrote: "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly."

In 2022 he came to Canada to right a wrong, apologising to the Indigenous people for how they were treated in residential schools. 

From the 1870s to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were taken away from their families and forced to attend church-run schools to get them to forget their language and culture. 

Many of the children were abused and neglected, thousands died of malnutrition, suicide and disease.

Pope Francis listened to the survivors and apologised, making him the first pope to do so, and asked for forgiveness.

Several times he has also called for a cease fire in Gaza, condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation," and expressed his "closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people."

He called Gaza nightly to check on people there

Every night at around 8pm Francis would call Father Gabriel Romanelli to check on how the faithful were doing in the last standing Catholic church in Gaza. The pontiff would ask Romanelli how the residents were doing in the midst of war, if they had enough food and what they had eaten that day.

"It was a singular expression of his love, his concern. A real concern for the good of all and a sign of the good shepherd," Romanelli said. "People feel abandoned, but the call of the Pope gave a very hard sign of hope."

When the bombings were bad, Francis would call three or four times that day.

Giving people hope is what religion does, and Francis embued this as the leader of the Catholic church who was on the ground with the people.

Following his funeral this weekend, bishops will be gathering to decide on the next pope. There are hopes he will also be liberal and continue where Francis left off. Someone like him is needed more than ever in a world that has become more authoritarian.

Hong Kong Activists Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Hong Kong activists have been nominated for the Nobel prize

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers have nominated several Hong Kong pro-democracy activists for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

They include Cardinal Joseph Zen, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, and Joshua Wong Chi-fung of the now defunct Demosisto.

New Jersey Republican representative Christopher Smith, and Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, nominated the group "because they are ardent champions of Hong Kong's autonomy, human rights and the rule of law", according to the statement by the lawmakers.

Smith and Rubio are part of the CECC

Smith and Merkley lead the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which advises the US Congress on policy towards China. Other members of the group include representative Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican.

They also nominated journalist-turned-politician Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, a lawyer for a disbanded civil society group, and labour activist Lee Cheuk-yan.

"The nominees are representative of millions of Hongkongers who peacefully opposed the steady erosion of the city's democratic freedoms by the Hong Kong government and the government of the People's Republic of China," said the statement.

"Through the nomination, the members of Congress seek to honour all those in Hong Kong whose bravery and determination in the face of repression has inspired the world."

All the nominees have been charged under the national security law that was imposed on Hong Kong in July 2020.

Wong and Zen are two of the Nobel nominees

This is not the first time Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize -- Rubio and other CECC lawmakers nominated the entire opposition movement in 2021 in response to the national security law.

If anything this announcement brings attention to the plight of these nominees, almost all of them still in jail for around two years with no chance of bail, except for Zen. The 91-year-old was recently allowed to attend former Pope Benedict's funeral in the Vatican; after Zen returned he was in hospital for a few days because of breathing difficulties.

Vatican Caught in Bind with Cardinal Zen

Zen holding mass at Holy Church Cross in eastern Hong Kong

Hours after retired Cardinal Joseph Zen appeared in court to answer to the charge of not registering the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund with the government, he held mass at the Holy Cross Church in Sai Wan Ho.

Many who came to see him dismissed the charge against him.

"We of course must respect the rule of law but wielding law as a weapon to oppress is by no means the goal of rule of law," a woman named Louise told AFP.

Zen along with four others pleaded not guilty

In his sermon, Zen again criticised a deal between China and the Vatican in 2018 which allows Beijing to nominate bishops for the pope's approval, calling it "unwise" despite being made with "good intentions".

The agreement was renewed in 2020 just as China was accused of suppressing Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Christian believers of underground churches.

At that time two years ago despite the pandemic, Zen traveled to Rome in the hopes of speaking to Pope Francis and persuade him not to renew the deal, but was not even granted an audience with the pope.

Vatican analyst and papal biographer Marco Politi says: "The Holy See does not want this thread of dialogue and communication [with China] to be broken. "It is clear that China is in a position of strength and the Vatican in a position of weakness."

After Zen's arrest on May 11, the Vatican has been relatively silent, and Pope Francis said he was "attentively" following the "often complex" life of Catholics in China without directly referencing Zen.

But up until this point, veteran Vatican commentator John L Allen said Zen had become "increasingly marginalised" in the Francis papacy.

Zen was rebuffed by Pope Francis in 2020

"Had China done nothing, Zen likely would have remained inconsequential," he wrote on the Catholic website Crux.com.

"Now, however, Francis can't afford to ignore Zen, because his arrest -- and whatever may come next in terms of a prosecution and even possible incarceration -- is destined to generate sympathy and activism on Zen's behalf all across the world."

Pope Francis may have wished he had granted Zen an audience, but it's too late now.

Either way he cannot ignore the seriousness of the situation Zen is in and pray that the rule of law will have mercy on him...

90-Year-Old Cardinal Zen Arrested for NSL

Cardinal Zen was arrested and released on bail hours later

I woke up this morning to the terrible news that 90-year-old Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun was arrested by the national security police along with three others on the charge of colluding with foreign forces for operating the now defunct 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund.

They were trustees of the fund that was set up during the 2019 protests to give financial, legal and psychological aid to those who had been arrested, and or injured during clashes with the police. In July 2021 the fund had over HK$250 million in donations.

The fund had to be disbanded last October

A few hours later Zen was released on bail, along with lawyer Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Chinese-Canadian Canto-pop singer Denise Ho Wan-sze, and professor Hui Po-keung who had been arrested at the airport a day earlier. He was on his way to Germany to be a visiting scholar.

Another trustee is Cyd Ho Sau-lan who is already in jail for taking part in unauthorised assemblies.

Last September the police said the fund had violated the national security law and served a court order, requesting information on its operations and financial transactions. That would include bank details, donor and recipient information.

The fund's trustees had announced it would stop operating by October 31 last year, after directors of the fund's holding company -- The Alliance for True Democracy Limited -- said it would soon disband.

As a result people whose trials are still in the system (and there are many) may not have enough financial means to pay their defence lawyers.

The fund was made of donations

China legal expert Jerome Cohen says the arrests were calculated to take place after incoming Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's position was secured.

"Cutting off legal defense funds is a logical step in the systematic attack on the criminal justice system that has been under way since imposition of the National Security regime on HK," he writes on Twitter.

"We should recall that measures have also been taken to curb the availability of Legal Aid assistance. How many highly-paid HK barristers will be courageous and concerned enough to offer their services on a 'pro bono' basis?"

Meanwhile Human Rights Watch's Maya Wang condemned the arrests, describing them as "shocking".

"Arresting a 90-year-old cardinal for his peaceful activities has to be a shocking new low for Hong Kong, illustrating the city's free fall in human rights in the past two years. Human Rights Watch calls on the Hong Kong government to immediately release the five and drop all charges against them. The arrests, which comes days after the Chinese government's anointment of former security chief John Lee as the city's chief executive, is an ominous sign that its crackdown on Hong Kong is only going to escalate." 

Cyd Ho currently in jail

These people arrested this morning are not young people who some from the older generation may consider naive or rebellious for throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails are police. These are people in their 40s to 90s who tried to help protestors get the legal, medical and mental health support they needed.

The Vatican's response: "The Holy See has learned with concern the news of Cardinal Zen's arrest and is following the evolution of the situation with extreme attention," said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni.

Usually the Vatican is low-key with responses when it comes to anything related to Hong Kong and China, and perhaps Cardinal Zen is not surprised, after having warned the Pope many times about China's modus operandi.

While it is thankful all four (minus Cyd Ho) were released on bail, Hui Po-keung won't be able to go to Germany, and they will have to prepare for trial. 

How much longer can they avoid revealing the donors and beneficiaries of the fund?