Catherine
- Atyeo_

~ JUST ADD WATER

1 DON’T know how any par-
ents — Roman Catholic or
otherwise —- could be sur-

‘prised by the recent findings
of a Canadian study that .

- shows the values of Catholic:
school teenagers are similar
to those of public-school

“teenagers.

: Among other “revelations,” the
_ Survey, called Project Teen

~ Canada, revealed that 79% of
Cathotic-schoo! teens approve of

Vam writing in response to the
May 25° ‘article “Doc -Billing ©
Grilled. ”- Tam ‘one of the 12 Lions
Gate Hospital interns, who has’ just
completed the renowned internship’
year, (which will be,the last at LGH .-

“= but that’s another heated arti-
cle!). bee .

. Having spent virtually ali this
past year within the hospital, work-
ing. aloiigside “these ‘illustrious
‘opted-out physicians, and providing
a substantial amount of the health
care to the: residents of the North *
Shore, J believe we, as new physi-
cians, ‘are the best ones to comment
on the opted-out physicians. .

The opted-out physicians have -

: been erroneously criticized.

Yes,” under the ‘Canada Health
Act it is illegal to’extra bill. ;

However, these physicians are
not extr. billing, « or billing above

pre-marital sex, while 78% of pub-
lic-school teens thought it was OK.

Gee, is there actually anyone out
there who requires the spacious fir-

‘mament to part and a big, booming

voice to declare that reli-
gion, and its accompany-
ing values, are in decline?

The views of the
2,500 twenagers in the
survey reinforce other
studies that underline the
fact that Christianity has
become irrelevant, if not
_ quaint and old- fashioned,
*- for an awful lot of folks.
Only 37% of the
Catholic-school teens
said they were strong
Christians, compared
with 29% far the public-
school group.

Unlike many Catholic parents
wha sead the study results, [’m not
completely disillusioned by all of
its findings.

The fact that 76% of Catholic

. teens survey approved of abortion

in rape cases shows that a lot of
them aren't prepared to accept the
dictates of an aging, single male in
Rome who will never know the |”
agony of sexual assault (let alane
when it results in a pregnancy)..
This observation is made with-
out any sense of celebration at the

_ decline of the power of the Papacy,

"the schedule that opted-in pliysi-

cians are receiving. They are mere-

ly recovering some of the 10%, .

"shortfall ‘that they would normally |
get if opted-in, ‘along with some.
administrative costs incurred by
billing themselves: :

Hence, there are’ no extra
billings to the system. ;

In addition, it is markedly obvi-
ous that these physicians are saving
the health care system money by
‘weeding out trivial, _ burdensome
complaints. '

By: being confronted with the
issue of costs up front, patierits eas-
ily take some responsibility in their
_ own health care and its privileged
' costs...

Also,.on numerous occasions I ‘

have scen the physician'inimediate-
ly wave the 5%-10% fee if the
‘patient states any difficulty i in their
ability to complete payment. And

but with a recognition that these
tecnagers are thinking for them-
selves about a painful moral issue.
With 81% of Cathotic-schoal
teens approving of living together

$611 takes guts for any teenager to
stand out and lead a life infused
with Christianity (or any other belief
system which celebrates love and

generosity): 99

outside marriage (versus 80% for
the public schoolers), surely what
this study is telling us is that we can
forget about sending our kids off to
an independent school, praying it
will be a hermetically sealed envi-
ronment where all thoughts of act-
ing on basic, hormonal urges will
be swept from young Janic’s or
Johnny’s head.

I've known many parents
(including lapsed Cathatics and
apathetic Protestants) who believe
that sending their kids to a Catholic
school will somehow kecp them on
the straight and narrow and produce

J
emphatically, none of this has ever
been applied tc emergency visits!

Finally, having worked within .
the medical

training system
throughout Vancouver and parts of
B.C. for several years, 1 can confi-

dently state that these North Shore «

surgeons, cardiologists, and general
practitioners, are undoubtedly
amongst the best that I have come
across.

You, as North Shore: ‘residents,’

are fortunate to be part of the health

care system available on the North:

Shore, where it is truly still com-
munity based, and warmer than the
downtown’s harsh and crowded set-
ting. Likewise, you, as North Shore
residents, are owed the decency of
‘knowing the facts and the credit of
being able to make your own judg-
ments.

Dr. Chris Cunningham

North Vancouver

Howe Sound’s battling seadogs

Dear Editor:
It may be ‘of interest to North

Shore residents that June 1 of this’

year. marked the bicentenary of a
famous’ navy battle that inspired
many of the place-names in the
‘Howe Sound area.
-In.1792 Captain Vancouver
“> mamed the sound after Admiral
“Richard Scrope Earle Howe,
known to his sailors as “Black
Dick,” who two yeais later was to
become the hero of a key naval
‘ battle; “The Glorious First of June
(1794), where a British fleet
resoundingly defeated a much
larger French’ fleet off the port of
Brest, a

_ Captain’ George Richards, who :
‘surveyed the area in 1859-60, fol-

lowed Vancouver’s lead by giving
the principal geographical features

-the names of ships and officers

participating in Howe’s celebrated
victory. ;

Thus the channel between
Bowen and West Vancouver was
named for Howe’s flagship.

The Queen Chartotte, under the
command of Rear Admiral James
Bowen. Mounts Brunswick and
Harvey were named for the HMS
Brunswick and her captain, John
Harvey, who lust a leg in the bat-
tte and dicd a month later.

Montague Channel was narned

‘for Captain James Montague, who

was killed in the action, and for
his ship, also catled the Montague.
Also killed was Captain John

Hutt, after whom Hutt Island was
named. :

Gambier Island, Mt. Gardner,
Bowyer Island, Collingwood
Passage, Thornbough Passage,
Pasley Istand, Domett Point,
Halkett Point, and Cape Roger
Curtis were named after other vic-
torious captains and admirals.

Latona Passage, —
Passage, and the Defence Islands
were named affer participating
naval vessels.

Hood Point was named for
Admiral Alexander Hood, Howe's
second-in-command, a member of
an ilJustrious British naval family.

R. Sanford ;
West Vancouver

Barfleur

a higher calibre human being.

I respond to that belief with this:
are you prepared to tell your teen
she can’t watch Beverley Hills
90210) Are you ready to forbid him
from cruising Robson
Street on a Friday night?

Are you ready to sug-
gest a teenager engage in
some regular volunteer
activity to give some-
thing back fo the com-
munity? Are you ready
to talk about the impor-
tance of values that go
decper than aspiring to
own a Mercedes and a
condo in Maui?

If Lwere a Catholic
parent, 1’d be just as
concerned about some of

Society, particularly the media,
must bear some responsibility for
the fact that the importance of feac-
ing a life that includes daily acts of
gencrosity doesn’t seem to make a
big impression on many teens..

American social critic and New
York University professor Nei!
Postman commented recently that

“students have their own gods ...
The gods include technology, con-
sumerism and tribalism.” —*

Television that trivializes almost
everything, and a cynical, largely
uncontrolled movie inCustry are
having a profound effect on the val-
ucs of teenagers, whom the mass
media has made an even more
hosnogencous, uncritical tribe.

. It takes guts for any teenager to
stand out and lead 2 tife infused

the findings in this study that aren't é with Christianity (or any other

as overtly political as abortion.

“' Only 45% of Catholic-school
teens (and 46% of their public-
school counterparts) place a high

value on generosity. And only'67% |

of the Catholic group (compared
with 71% of public school teens)
place a high value on catt cern for
others.

These findings confirm the
behavior most of us ‘see daily on the
roads, in the malisand at public
events — behayior that leads one to

conclude that these are.indeed sclf-

centred times we're living in.

belief system which celebrates love
and generosity). It also takes con-
sistent guidance and encouragement
from parents to encourage those
values.

We can declare that schools are
failing young people, and we can
engage in endless debates about the
effects of media on the values of -
our kids.

But if we can’t offer up and live:
some other values ourselves, then ©
we can expect a generation which
will never be inspired by St. Francis
of Assisi or Mother Theresa.

Atheists not athletes.

A TYPOGRAPHICAL error in
the Wednesday, June 1, North
Shore News resulted in an
intended reference to atheists in a

letter to the editor written by

West Vancouver reader Beverly

Holman Oswald appearing ins

print as “athletes.”

The correct ‘sentence. reads:..

“Surely, even many. atheists

would roll over dead at this state- ’,
ment, knowing full well how | |
many years of their ‘life: they. ,
spent thinking about God, befote’

they 7 arrived at their ir present con- |.
> srasions.” :

Invites you to their :

3rd Anniversary

Celebration.

Stop by for light

refreshments.

May 28 to June 10.

ESS

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