Editorial

An extraordinary man

By Fr. Gerald Curry, S.F.M.
January/February 2002

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A full century ago a young, newly-ordained Torontonian, Fr. John Mary Fraser, set out in mission for China. This first North American Catholic priest missionary to China opened a path that invited future Canadian missioners to follow. His China Mission Seminary, established in 1918 in Almonte, Ontario, evolved within a generation to become the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society, known today as Scarboro Missions.

Unprecedented change in the world during the 20th Century challenged the Church to proclaim the gospel in new ways. Today, the focus of mission includes human development, the liberation of peoples, and inter-religious dialogue as integral to proclaiming and living the gospel.

Today, in this new millennium, mission is seen to be everywhere, at home as well as abroad. Christians are being invited into a dialogue of life with members of other world religions. Our challenge also includes the promotion of justice and human dignity for all peoples, and the urgency of recognizing the sacredness of all God's Creation.

Our feature article, "Pillar of the Kingdom", is taken from a much longer autobiography of our founder. It appeared as a series of articles in Scarboro Missions magazine from 1959 to 1960. Monsignor Fraser wrote his autobiography when he lived in Japan. His story gives us an idea of the motivation of this extraordinary man who dedicated himself to the spread of the Church and to a life of prayer.

He travelled many times across the oceans to and from a missionary life in China that was difficult and at times dangerous. He has been described as single-minded, austere, a man of few words. He founded Scarboro Missions and was instrumental in founding four other missionary organizations.

He was 73 when he started out again, going to Japan to face a different culture and a difficult language. He laboured there until September 1962 when he quietly passed away in his sleep at Our Lady of Angels parish in Osaka. This was the 39th parish he was instrumental in building during his 61-year journey of priesthood.

He had gone to China in 1902 with the firm belief and conviction that baptism was necessary for salvation. He wrote from China: "Four hundred million souls, and 35,000 die each day unbaptised."

Monsignor Fraser loved to discuss issues relating to missionary life and work, and meal time was his favourite time for these exchanges. The late Scarboro missionary Fr. Rogers Pelow lived with Monsignor Fraser in Osaka during Monsignor's last years. While at dinner one evening, shortly before the Monsignor's death, the discussion centred on baptism.

"Do you believe," Fr. Pelow asked Monsignor, "that all those who die without baptism are denied Heaven?"

The Monsignor stood up from the table, paused for a while and said, "I don't think so," and slowly made his way from the dining room.

Monsignor Fraser's journey as a missionary began a century ago and ended as the Second Vatican Council began. Fr. Ray O'Toole, in his article on page 16, reveals that the young Fr. Fraser was a pioneer in his attempt to put the Church in China under the leadership of Chinese bishops and clergy. What is commonly held by missionaries today was visioned and sought for by this young diocesan missionary priest from Toronto.

Today, five Scarboro missionaries serve in China where they witness God's presence in their love and respect for the Chinese people. As they journey, they discover the many ways in which God is present in this vast nation of 1.2 billion people.

We hope you enjoy this anniversary issue in which we recall the memory and honor the person of our founder, Monsignor John Mary Fraser.

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