<![CDATA[DAVID BELLUSCI

<![CDATA[DAVID BELLUSCI - Blogs]]>Sun, 07 Dec 2025 01:47:35 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Flying international – unvaccinated]]>Sun, 17 Jul 2022 14:33:51 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/blogs/flying-international-unvaccinated

As an unvaccinated traveller
-- I thought I should share my experiences with others like myself who are not vaccinated for religious/ethical reasons. (10-20% of the Canadian population is not vaccinated depending on how you determine vaccination status. Figures change based on numerous variables: province/ vaccine series / doses/month…)

WestJet: Vancouver to Rome
-- WestJet, Lufthansa, and Air Canada are the airlines I have flown with to Italy in the summer months during Covid and the extensive restrictions on non-vaccinated individuals such as myself.

In June of 2020, I managed to fly to Rome on Air Canada via Toronto. And in June of 2021 to Rome via Frankfurt. Both summers had restrictions but not an outright ban on travel if you were unvaccinated. As most Canadians know, the Canadian Government introduced a travel ban in the autumn of 2021 for non-vaccinated travellers -- with few exceptions --flying out of Canadian airports whether domestic or international. I had my doubts whether I would be able to fly out of Canada this summer. A friend of mine, a Polish priest, wondered if he would ever be able to return to Poland. The fact is, we don’t know when the Laws will change or even if the Laws will change.

I wanted to book my June-August flights for this summer before the fares went up. WestJet appeared on my computer with an ad that they flew non-stop from Calgary to Rome, exactly where I wanted to go – Rome! And Vancouver was only a hop from Calgary. I went through the WestJet website and I noticed they had a section for non-vaccinated travellers, and a link, specifically for religious exemptions with an online form to complete. I thought of checking Air Canada, but their website sounded like they rarely give religious exemptions; I did not bother.

In April I immediately completed the necessary documents to request the religious exemption on WestJet. The airline that issues the religious exemption is the one you book and fly on. I prayed that my reasons justified the exemption. I also asked people to pray for me. I obtained the exemption, and I went ahead and booked my WestJet flights. Once I booked my flights from Vancouver to Rome via Calgary, following WestJet instructions, I discovered that my exemption would expire while I was still in Italy. Religious exemptions are only good for 3 months. I did not want to reapply; I asked if I could buy a one-way ticket since I also hold an Italian passport. Perhaps this didn’t make any difference, but WestJet did issue a one-way ticket based on my religious exemption.

The first major hurdle was over, I got the exemption. But the next hurdle, I was required to take a CPR test – not to enter Italy but to exit Canada. My PCR showed “negative.” On June 15th I was flying out of Canada! A few days later, June 20th, the travel ban on the unvaccinated travellers was lifted. But I was happy I booked as early as I had done; I did not want to wait to book a flight at the last minute with limited seats and higher airfares.

I’ve become somewhat of a neurotic traveller – even before Covid due to the “unexpected.” Probably because of my early travel experiences. When I was 16 years old I missed my Air Canada flight from Copenhagen to Toronto; managing with little cash I spent several days waiting for the next flight. And when I was 19 years old I slept on the floor at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv waiting for the next El Al flight to London. Mind you, given the number of flights between Vancouver and Harare (via Amsterdam), and Cape Town (via Singapore), and Bombay (via Munich), my travel experiences, thank God, have been excellent.

Travelling during Covid
-- has been a whole new experience, but I have succeeded going to Italy – following the rules -- travelling each Covid summer -- unvaccinated.

For my WestJet flight to Calgary, I arrived at Vancouver International Airport 4 hours before my departure. WestJet recommends 3 hours. I normally arrive 4 hours before departure even under normal circumstances – and even in for domestic flights! The truth of the matter: I enjoy being at the airport and with the free time, I can say my prayers, catch up on plenty of reading material for courses I teach, read on lives of the Saints, and also continue with my own writing. At airports – and train stations – I have even worked on research papers. I distinctly remember at Singapore International Airport working on my doctoral thesis; and at Santa Lucia train station in Venice doing readings for another graduate thesis

At the Vancouver International Airport the Special Assistance line up for WestJet -- this includes unvaccinated travellers because you cannot check in online -- the wait was one hour before I reached the check-in counter. I was told I might have arrived too early to check-in (not the first time I heard this). But it was good; the WestJet agent did check me in. All my documents in order: PCR-negative and Italian Passport – good to go!
Security at Vancouver International was not so bad, ½ hour to get through security. Arriving quite early meant there was no stress at all.

I was also quite happy to be flying through Calgary as it did not sound as chaotic as Toronto or Montreal. I dislike both Toronto’s Person International and Montreal’s Trudeau International. If possible, if I have to connect in eastern Canada to go to Europe, I prefer flying through Ottawa’s Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

I was perfectly content flying within western Canada and very grateful for WestJet’s flights from Calgary to Rome. Calgary went very very smooth. WestJet agents were friendly and they had the WestJet humour that made interactions pleasant. They even thanked me for checking in to make sure my documents were in order (and all my docs were in order). I was thrilled to fly out of Calgary to Rome -- and freedom!

Arriving at Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport in Rome, and with an Italian Passport, I exited through the electronic gates in 2 seconds!!!

But before booking my return
-- My original plan seemed straightforward: return to Vancouver on WestJet, Rome-Calgary non-stop with a connection to Vancouver. I checked the Government of Canada website to find out what the requirements were for unvaccinated Canadian travellers entering Canada from international destinations. As of today, July 17, 2022, It’s almost the same requirement as last summer, August 30, 2021, as I had already gone through this: Covid pre-testing before leaving Rome; testing on arrival in city of entry; self-test after eight days, and self-isolation plan. And of course, no Covid symptoms. Only one thing that changed simplifying the journey: an Antigen Test leaving Rome instead of the CPR Test. Antigen Test results take about 10 minutes while the CPR test can take up to 48 hours (if not longer). The CPR Test is good for 72 hours, while the Antigen Test is good for only 48 hours. We know how quickly requirements can change; by my departure at the end of August I may have to do a CPR test like last year. Yes, checking on requirements at least 72 hours before departure is a must. This gives you enough time to book CPR testing if needed.

Lufthansa: Rome to Vancouver
-- So, where does this leave me with my options? I realised flying to Canada via Calgary was not a good idea after all because a self-isolation plan means that the first city I land in from an international destination, I need a self-isolation plan – in this case, Calgary. A plan also means it needs to be specific: Where are you staying? Can you self-isolate? Do you have someone to take care of your meals? For me, landing in Calgary essentially means booking a hotel. There are specific government approved hotels for self-isolation; to be sure you have a place to self-isolate you will need to reserve a room; so, a deposit/credit card is needed unless the hotel does not require any advance payment. Since unvaccinated Canadians need to take the Covid test upon arrival, and are required to self-isolate, you could be asked to wait in the booked hotel until you have the Covid test results. And what if you are positive? For how many nights will you have to stay in a hotel? The Government of Canada website for unvaccinated international travellers landing in Canada who are Canadian citizens have to pay hefty fines for violating Canadian law. So, this is the disadvantage of arriving in a city where a hotel is your self-isolation plan.

I realised then that I am better off to fly from Europe directly to Vancouver where I can self-isolate for the fourteen days (or more) as required whether my tests results are negative or positive – as I had done last year. In my residence we have self-isolation facilities that meet all the Government of Canada requirements.

So, I booked my return to Vancouver on Lufthansa. I travelled on Lufthansa last summer through Munich Airport on a connecting flight to Vancouver. Munich is a great airport and easy to navigate. One good thing about Munich for unvaccinated travellers is they have two clinics where you can get tested for both the Rapid Test and the PCR test should it become necessary.

This raises another crucial point: give yourself plenty of time to check in for your flight/connection – at least a couple of hours -- ideally, as WestJet states, 3 hours. Use your airport time to catch up on spiritual reading; or corresponding with people you have been out of touch with. If you are travelling with children most decent airports have a play area for children; both Calgary and Munich have play areas for kids. Many airports also have chapels where you can have silent prayer. The only Catholic airport chapel I know with the Blessed Sacrament is in Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport. Many airports have downsized their Catholic chapels to interreligious/ecumenical space. Usually they look and feel like carpeted boxes – also known as “spiritual minimalism.”

At this time (July 17, 2022), if you’re travelling from Italy to Germany -- within Europe -- you won’t need an Antigen Test even if you’re unvaccinated. But you should know by now, you need to check the travel requirements before departure based on the latest “science.”

Latest news
-- flying July/August 2022 apparently is chaos in Heathrow, Schiphol, Munich and Frankfurt. These countries have had to reduce flights due to shortage of workers, whether it’s baggage handling, security, or airline agents. This means even after having thought out the best solution to fly back to Canada, I am left with the possible cancellation of my flight from Rome to Munich with Lufthansa. Apparently, Lufthansa’s long-haul international flights are not affected but the shorter domestic and regional flights are the ones being cancelled. Having checked the Lufthansa departures on the same day and day before my flights, there are plenty of flights between Rome and Munich. I only hope if there are changes/cancellation Lufthansa will rebook me on one of these earlier flights. As a back up plan, in the worst-case scenario, I will take the train from Rome to Munich.

Travelling during the Covid era we especially need to pray for perseverance and patience, to relax and to breathe, and know that our Guardian Angel with the Saints in heaven are with us.

]]><![CDATA[LOVE OF RUSSIA & UKRAINE]]>Sun, 01 May 2022 06:09:32 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/blogs/love-of-russia-ukraine

Is love between Russia and the Ukraine not possible? Between Putin and Zelensky? Between brothers? Between the Russians and Ukrainians?

From a Christian perspective we always believe a change of heart is possible, even the most hardened hearts. This is what conversion is, turning around, looking at your “enemy” differently. Seeing in the other a child of God, whether he speaks Russian or Ukrainian. The other is another “me”: a human being created in God’s image and likeness. The culture may be different, the religion, the language, and yet we are united by a common bond of being children of God.

We have the same desires, don’t we? To be happy. To live in peace. To seek what is good for ourselves and others. To build community based on justice, namely, mutual respect, what is fundamental in human nature.

Where do humans go wrong? We should ask ourselves this because it happens all the time. Since we know what we desire as individuals, can we not build our communities on such desires? Ultimately, truth, goodness, and happiness? Is this asking for too much. Where do we break down?

When something goes wrong, we want immediate answers. A rupture in relations, whether personal, communal, transnational, “Whose fault is it?” We hear a story and repeat it. Or we kick off our shoes lie back on our lazy-chair and allow the news to feed us. And as we nibble and bite and swallow the news, daily habits of being informed, we realise who is at fault, who needs to be punished. We realise who the enemy is. We understand. Right? It’s repeated daily as I sit back and drink beer or wine or coffee and get the updates. We have the answers and explanations. That’s intellectual laziness.

And we convince ourselves, yes, the enemy needs to be punished, blown up to smithereens if possible. That’s what they deserve, him/her, them, “those” people, “that” country. Let them have it!

Certainly, if we look hard and honestly, we will discover how many of “those” countries in the world have a history of horrific crimes of genocide, of massacres, dropping Atomic bombs, blowing up abbeys, responsible for regime changes leading to exodus of refugees or migrants. Exporting/imposing the option of baby-killing, unnatural sexual unions, trans rights -- forms of neo-colonialism: telling others what is good for them, or what they must to do belong to a community, even if it violates God’s laws and nature.

Moral differences are reflected in cultural differences shaped by religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on. If we go back to our earlier premise that communities are built on mutual respect, then we need to be aware that imposing the Western agenda of bankrupt morality would be the cause of resistance by many nations. Even in the European Union Poland and Hungary have been sidelined and punished by Brussels because these two nations continue to defend and preserve traditional Christian values.

The Canadian PM displayed "democratic irony" when he travelled to Europe to express solidarity with NATO defending liberal democracy just after he refused to meet with truckers, failing to listen to the grievances his own citizens. Instead, he invoked an Emergency Act to clear out the convoy. Or the same Canadian PM refusing to lift travel ban on the unvaccinated in the name of “science” denying unvaccinated Canadians the right to even fly within their own country. When the Canadian PM preaches about democracy, what does it mean? Do people have a voice? Or does only the mainstream media decide what people think, how they feel, and how to vote?

Experience in human relations teaches us that conflicts in friendships and marriage, between communities and nations, the stories are never that simple. Listening is needed. Listening that seems to be difficult nowadays because people already have explanations, answers, and solutions, without even having listened to the “other side.” We are not expected to listen but just repeat the mainstream narrative. How can you have different perspective whether it’s Trump, vaccination, truckers in Ottawa, or Russia-Ukraine? There is only one way to react – without thinking or understanding: repeat what the main stream media repeats reinforced with social media supplements. Beyond that, shut your mouth.

Listening to RT (Russian Television) I heard a woman from the Donbas (southeastern Ukraine on the Russian border) speaking Russian, asking rhetorically, “Why should we join the European Union? Just so we can have LGBTQ activists on our border?” The woman lives by her Christian religion. And by her Russian culture. The eastern regions of Donbas which includes two independent states, Donetsk People’s Republic and Ludansk People’s Republic, are inhabited by a majority of people who speak Russian. When Vladamir Putin spoke of de-nazification of the Ukraine to justify the “special military operation” February 24th of this year, it was the people of the Donbas region whom he intended to defend and protect from “Ukrainian nazis.” The Soviet Russians had pushed the Nazis out of the Ukraine from the last Nazi-Ukrainian stronghold in early 1944. When I had visited Auschwitz I found it difficult to understand how an educated, cultured, and civilised people, could embrace Nazism with its brutal agenda. The Russians Soviets rid the Ukraine of the Nazi presence. But with radical nationalist military movements – namely the Azov Battalion -- “nazis” – continue to threaten the Russian-speaking presence on Ukraine’s eastern borders. Creating independent states of DPR and LPR was an attempt to bring some peace and security to the local population.

Ukrainians who are a Slavic people with the majority being Orthodox share a cultural resemblance to Russia far more than with the rest of Europe. Why would the Ukraine want to be part of the European Union other than US/EU meddling in Ukrainian affairs? Ukraine and Russia are brothers. When Pope John Paul II visited Kiev in June, 2001, in the prayer to Our Lady of Zarvaniza, the Pope thanked her for his visit to the “Kyivan Rus.’” The act of thanksgiving alludes to this historical relationship between Kiev/Ukraine and Rus’/Russia.

NATO is another way to provoke the Russians. Why is NATO even necessary? After all, with the “fall of the Soviet Union” the Soviet Pact countries no longer exist. Do we still need NATO forces? If the Soviet Union accepted the reality of the collapse of their “Empire” with the Fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989, leading to former Soviet bloc countries joining the EU, why the need to have a military alliance? And NATO membership has been increasing along with the EU. Is the Russian concern for regional security not legitimate? How did the US feel having Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba? That was enough to spark the Cuban Missile Crisis. The British PM, Boris Johnson, seems to forget that while countries have a right to their own future as he asserts with reference to Ukraine, neighbouring countries also have a right to their security as history teaches us. (Ironically, the British PM overlooks his back yard where Ireland had to fight a bloody war to achieve independence, and Scotland is still working on independence.)

Should the “respectable” democracies of the West not set an example of dialogue to achieve brotherly harmony. Instead, the Maydan protests in Kiev starting in late-November 2013 were backed by western interests to motivate the election of a pro-western/EU government. The Russian-backed president, Viktor Yanukovych, had been conveniently voted out of power. During the crucial political transition in Ukraine one is left to wonder exactly what role Victoria Nuland had to play, the US Secretary of Sate for European and Eurasian affairs, in Ukraine's new government.

There can never be justice without truth. Nor can we love our brother without seeking the truth. That is what we are lacking. Truth. The fight between the brothers could have ended long time ago. But when a stranger comes along and says, “I’ll back you up with lethal weapons to blow up your brother and so you can defend yourself,” well, the butchery drags on. In this battle I wonder who the real demons are. I respect both Putin and Zelensky. I love the Russian and the Ukrainian people. God has created us all in His image and likeness. But there are also fallen angels who have followers and will carry out the work of Satan. The great deceiver wins followers because people fail to use their intelligence.

At the end, truth will triumph and will have the last word. We live in hope, that goodness will prevail. And Christ gives us that hope.

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Zarvaniza,
I thank you for the gift of my visit to the Kyivan Rus’
from where the light of the Gospel spread through this whole region.
Here before your miraculous icon,
kept in this church of Saint Nicholas,
I entrust to you, Mother of God and Mother of the Church,
my apostolic journey to Ukraine.
Holy Mother of God,
spread your maternal mantle over all Christians
and over all people of good will
who live in this great nation.
Lead them to your Son, Jesus,
who is for everyone the way, the truth and the life.

]]><![CDATA[Why i'm not vaccinated]]>Sun, 06 Feb 2022 07:02:28 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/blogs/why-im-not-vaccinatedWhen the vaccines became available as “protection” against Coronavirus-19 in the Spring of 2021, I needed to think about whether I should get vaccinated or not.
A friend of mine, a micro-biologist and devout Catholic, was the first to bring to my attention that the vaccines were the product of test/development/experimented on aborted fetal cell lines. My immediate reaction was “negative”: I could not take these vaccines. I also inquired with a couple of priests.
I continued to study the subject of aborted fetal cell lines reading the findings from the Charlotte Lozier Institute; I listened to a video conference given by Janet Smith, The Morality of Covid Vaccines; I also read the work of the Catholic microbiologist, Pamela Acker, Vaccination: the Catholic Perspective.
As more and more of my network of Catholics contacts were getting vaccinated including clergy, I wondered whether I should not be doing what others were doing given the strong push for vaccination, Pfizer, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson. I held nothing against those who decided to get vaccinated. They had their reasons. But what would be mine?
I heard about the “charity” argument; indeed, as Christians, charity is central to living out our faith. Vaccination as an act of charity towards our community, the common good, not just to protect ourselves but to protect others. The focus on charity was appealing, but the arguments did nothing for me. I simply was not convinced by the “common good” reasoning.
If Canadians were concerned about the common good, we would not have the abortion industry that we have. And if we had the collective determined effort to end abortion in Canada, we would be saving more lives from abortion than from Covid. In 2018 there were 83,576 abortions in Canada (Government of Canada Statistics); in 2021 there were 30,331 “Covid-related” deaths (Public Health Agency of Canada). Certainly, we can protest and demonstrate against abortion; but what personal measures can we take to defend life of the preborn baby, the most vulnerable of our community?
Am I to believe that the common good is to be taken seriously, as an incentive to get vaccinated, while we do not have any laws to protect the unborn?
I have heard the “remote material co-operation” of moral theologians which almost gives legitimacy to abortion-tainted vaccination since there is no “formal co-operation” where the person is directly implicated in the abortion. This means someone who gets vaccines that have been either tested/developed/ experimented with aborted fetal cell lines – would not be directly or “formally” participating in sin which is why the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (December 21, 2020) gave its approval under the Covid-19 pandemic conditions.

There is now one last hurdle; my conscience. My conscience simply tells me, “you cannot get vaccinated.” I have a moral duty to listen to my conscience knowing that it is guided by both Natural Law and Revelation, my intelligence and Sacred Scriptures, to be vaccinated would violate fundamental Christian ethics, and thereby, offend God.
The moral duty to follow one’s conscience is taught in the Catholic Catechism (CCC #1776-1777) and we find this in St. Thomas Aquinas as well (Summa Theologiae, I, 79, 13). My moral duty is to listen to the voice of God in the light of what I know and this is what “conscience” means: “with knowledge.”
The one who gives us human dignity is not the Queen nor the Pope, not the Prime Minister and not even the Medical Health Officer, but God who created us with the dignity to be created in His image and likeness. After the Fall, Christ restored this dignity at or Baptism. We are freed by Christ. Nobody else. The exercise of our freedom and intelligence is what makes us human, by choosing good, a higher good, or evil; and such decisions require informed consent, not coercion, and not bullying, otherwise, we are no longer treated with the dignity of human beings.
When I went to see my medical doctor for a consultation I told him I would not get vaccinated. And I asked him what kind of health treatment I would get if I got Covid. Fortunately, my medical doctor is a practising Roman Catholic, he dealt with numerous Covid patients, none died, and he said he would give me the best care he could. We had a discussion on alternative non-vaccine treatments such as Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and Monoclonal Antibodies. I was thinking of the extensive treatment of Covid patients and findings of Dr. Peter McCullough. My doctor simply told me he was not authorised to prescribe any of these for Covid treatment .
I am aware I may put my life at risk; whether I put the life of others at risk only the latest scientific research can answer that. I try to follow the “science” but when voices of science are ridiculed and kept out of the discussion, I lose my trust in science. And when I see in Ontario a university student handcuffed and removed from a classroom, and a professor of philosophy losing her faculty position because neither were vaccinated, I lose my trust in democracy. And when our society passively accepts segregating laws that that look like apartheid South Africa, I am tempted to lose hope in humanity.
We shall all die, vaccinated or not. Our life on earth is temporary. We are made for God and ultimately to be united with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. I would like to die with my conscience at peace, knowing I strived to live by the truth of my Catholic faith with some coherency.

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