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Friday November 24, 2000



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CANADIAN CATHOLIC LEADERS DECRY CLARK AND CHRETIEN'S "CATHOLIC AND PRO-CHOICE" MOTTO


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OTTAWA, Nov. 24 (LSN.ca) - Catholic leaders in Canada have spoken out against repeated statements by Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark and Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien who have proclaimed themselves "Catholic" while at the same time "pro-choice."

On CBC radio's Canada AM Nov. 20, when Clark was asked if his pro-choice position and Roman Catholic religion were contradictory, he responded: "I am a Roman Catholic, I am pro-choice. ... Anyone who knows anything about the Roman Catholic Church knows that [abortion] has been an issue of division for quite sometime."

Chretien, while speaking at St. Joseph's Catholic High School in Barrie, Ont. Oct. 30, said, "For me, I'm a Roman Catholic. Personally, I don't have to, you know, I'm not at the age anymore to have my wife have abortion, but the reality ... is that it is the choice of not the husband to decide in my judgment, it is the judgment of the woman according to the values that this person have."

A close collaborator of Pope John Paul II remarked that Mr. Clark's and Mr. Chretien's comments were "absolutely ridiculous" coming from people who claim to be Catholic. But many local Canadian Catholic leaders have also objected.

Ottawa archbishop

Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais criticized Chretien for his statements in Barrie. In a statement to LifeSite Nov. 3, Bishop Gervais said, "I was very disappointed in the Prime Minister's statement. He was in a Catholic school. One would hope that he could have provided a better answer."

He continued, "We are called to respect life, that of our own and that of others. We are called to a greater dignity and a greater responsibility and this must be addressed by our politicians if our nation is to be truly great." The Archbishop conceded that "our political leaders do not have an easy life. It's hard." But he added: "They need to make difficult choices if they really want a country which will be worth living in."

Toronto auxiliary bishop

Bishop Pearse Lacey, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Toronto, was interviewed by LifeSite today. He said for Joe Clark and Jean Chretien "to publicly acknowledge on the one hand being Catholic and in the same breath pro-choice (a clever pseudonym for pro-abortion) just doesn't sit with millions of Canadian Catholics and peoples of other religious faiths."

He said that "compromise, moral relativism and political convenience too often nourish the smorgasbord of choices of religious beliefs and practices. Not only are they destructive to our political leaders, but sadly gravely damaging for those who look to them for integrity and example." Addressing the Catholic leaders he said, "My friends, you can't have it both ways - be true to yourself and the One who gave you your life."

Canon lawyer

Toronto canon lawyer Monsignor Vincent Foy reacted to the leaders' statements, saying, "The truth of the matter is, of course, that you cannot be a faithful Catholic and pro-choice." He said, "Our Catholic prime ministers have been in the main a disgrace to the Church."

Catholic Civil Rights League

Thomas Langan, president of the Catholic Civil Rights League, told LifeSite that "Prime Minister Chretien and Joe Clark" have issued "ringing declaration(s)" of their Catholic faith, but "one who affirms in the public square that he is a Catholic while dissenting publicly from essential Catholic teaching shows a fundamental ignorance about the Church."

Prof. Langan explains that by dissenting in essential matters, Catholics "automatically by canon law excommunicate themselves," and thus these "politicians should cease using their status as Catholics until they clarify this issue."

Catholic Insight editor

Fr. Alphonse de Valk, editor of the Toronto-based monthly magazine Catholic Insight repeated the words of the 1977 pastoral letter of the late Bishop James Mahoney of Saskatoon: "Anyone who is pro-abortion/pro-choice disqualifies him or herself from public office. No Catholic may vote for such a candidate."

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URGENT PRAYER ALERT FOR NOV 27 CANADIAN ELECTIONS


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OTTAWA, Nov 24 (LSN.ca) - Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition Canada told LifeSite this week a massive prayer campaign is urgently required for the upcoming Canadian elections on November 27. Hughes said, "There are major issues of faith, life and family at stake in this election and I beg for prayers not only from Canadians but also from our American counterparts still praying over their own election and from pro-lifers throughout the world." For the first time in many years, one of the major political party leaders in Canada is willing to allow the rights of unborn children to be discussed. Some have also suggested fasting may also be appropriate.

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IMPORTANT LIFESITE ELECTION 2000 PAGE UPDATES


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The LifeSite Election 2000 candidate evaluations are regularly updated as new information is received. Article are also being added and revised. The latest major file update was at 6:00 p.m. today. This will continue until election day.

As well, the election page is now posted on another server at another location. This is a backup should there be any problems with the main server. Please bookmark this duplicate election 2000 page which is at:
http://lifesite.vservers.com/interim/2000/election2000/index.html

See the Canada Family Action Voter's Guide at:
http://www.familyaction.org/currentissues/2000%20Fed%20VG.htm
CFAC surveyed the candidates on a wide variety of family and moral issues

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NATIONAL PRO-LIFE CONFERENCE TAPES CAN BE ORDERED


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Excellent quality audio cassette recordings of the 17 presentations given at the National Pro-life conference in Toronto can be ordered via LifeSite. The talks by Joe Scheidler, Peter Kreeft (4 talks), Charles Rice, Michael Coren, Joel Brind, and the other speakers are some of the best, if not the best, ever heard at a pro-life conference (according to participants who have attended many such conferences in Canada and the U.S.)

See the conference web page for the titles of talks given and speaker bios.
http://www.lifesite.net/clc/conference_2000/

There will be a link to order information and other details on the LifeSite home page:
http://www.lifesite.net/ by Saturday evening.

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