(Ottawa Arch)Bishop tells (Canadian)PM: You've lost your way

National Post ^ | July 30, 2003 | Janice Tibbetts

[Loyalist]

Bishop tells PM: You've lost your way If true to his faith, a Catholic must not support gay marriage, Gervais warns

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa has written Prime Minister Jean Chrétien a personal letter warning that he has lost his way as a Catholic if he supports same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Marcel Gervais would not discuss the details of his confidential reprimand to the prime minister, the second in two months.

In May, Archbishop Gervais took Mr. Chrétien to task for his pro-choice stand on abortion.

Archibishop Gervais wrote his latest letter after learning that Mr. Chrétien's government intends to rewrite the traditional definition of marriage to include gays and lesbians, a change that the Catholic Church strongly opposes.

"If he's a Roman Catholic, and he believes what the church teaches, he should be with us," said Archbishop Gervais.

"I'm not really free to say the content of the letter, but it certainly wasn't in agreement with the position of the government."

The Vatican intends to issue new instructions to Catholic politicians around the world tomorrow, calling on them to make their politics consistent with their faith by opposing same-sex marriage.

Mr. Chrétien has already said he intends to vote for a bill that would make Canada the third country in the world to allow gays and lesbians to wed.

"For me, we have a Charter of Rights, there is evolution in society and according to the interpretation of the courts, they concluded these unions should be legal in Canada," the prime minister said when he announced his Liberal government would not appeal an Ontario court ruling that struck down a federal ban on gay marriage.

In the past, the prime minister has described himself as a "good Catholic," but he has said that he firmly believes that politicians should not use government to impose their religious beliefs on others.

"We are a country where there is a division of church and state," he said in a 2000 interview with CanWest News Service.

Mr. Chrétien has never revealed to his staff his own personal views on same-sex marriage, Thoren Hudyma, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, said yesterday.

Archbishop Gervais said Mr. Chrétien has not acknowledged his letter. Two months ago, the archbishop took the prime minister to task for telling reporters that, unlike U.S. President George W. Bush, "I am Catholic and for abortion."

Archbishop Gervais could not predict whether the Vatican's directive will influence MPs in the House of Commons, where Catholicism is by far the dominant religion, just as it is in Canadian society as a whole.

"You're asking me to be a prophet," said the archbishop. "Your guess is as good as mine ... but I certainly think there will be some who will be influenced, I definitely believe that."

When the gay marriage bill comes before Parliament, MPs will be instructed to vote according to their consciences, rather than along party lines. The proposed legislation is expected to pass, mainly because it has the support of the federal cabinet.

Archbishop Gervais' letter to the prime minister is one element of a larger campaign against gay marriage that is being waged by major religious institutions in Canada.

The draft federal bill contains a clause that absolves them from being forced to perform ceremonies for same-sex couples.

Archbishop Gervais said he wrote Mr. Chrétien because the prime minister, whose principal residence is in Ottawa, is one of his parishioners.

For the same reason, Archbishop Gervais has not written other high-profile Catholic politicians, including Montrealers Paul Martin, who is expected to be the next prime minister, and Justice Minister Martin Cauchon.

The archbishop of Montreal, Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, could not be reached yesterday to say whether he has issued personal warnings to Mr. Martin and Mr. Cauchon, both of whom have said they will vote for the gay-marriage bill.

Although Quebec is predominantly Catholic, the church has a loose grip on the province's largely liberal society.

In the last census, 43.2 per cent of Canadians identified themselves as Catholic. United Church membership was the next biggest group -- the declared faith of 9.6 per cent of Canadians.

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

[Loyalist]

Pingus ad omnes.

[Jim Noble]

I have never understood why this presents such difficulties.

In New England at least, politicians get a boost out of being Catholic. It seems to me that, if the Church believes what it teaches, that support for abortion (especially) is incompatible with being a Catholic.

Yet, pro-abortion Catholics, whether they are politicians or not, appear to be welcome in the Church.

What gives?

[eastsider]

In the past, the prime minister has described himself as a "good Catholic," but he has said that he firmly believes that politicians should not use government to impose their religious beliefs on others.

The natural order of the world is now a matter of faith, not reason? LOL : )

[Snuffington]

I wrote about the same thing here. What gives, indeed!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Good for the Archbishop. I hope this is followed up with further action (worldwide).