Archbishop Gervais condemns abortion.

Ottawa--On May 31, the feast of the Visitation, Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa addressed nearly a thousand people at an outdoor Mass in Vanier, Ottawa. He pointed out that the feast commemorates two women who were pregnant under trying circumstances--Mary, who was unmarried, and Elizabeth, who was considered too old to have a baby. Many can identify themselves with the problems these two faced, Gervais said, but abortion is never a justified response. He went on to criticize Prime Minister Chretien for his statement to the Liberal Party convention on March 17, that one of the great accomplishments of his party was "the right of women to choose."

Chretien had said, "Canadians do not want a right-wing party in this country. They do not want a party that does not support a woman's right to choose." The Archbishop deplored the Prime Minister's pro-abortion stance, saying that he had written him about it but had not heard back from him.

Comment:

To our knowledge, this is the first time that a Canadian bishop has publicly criticized a prime minister by name, for his pro-abortion position. Catholic Insight has done so many times.