Friday March 5, 2004
Toronto Diocese Serious About Defending Marriage: Disciplines Dissident Priest
TORONTO, March 5, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a press release yesterday, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto reported that it has suspended the faculties of Father Tim Ryan. The Toronto Scarboro Foreign Mission Society priest who, in August 2003, filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court of Canada in support of homosexual marriage.
Attention was brought to the affidavit when it appeared on LifeSiteNews.com on February 3. Rev. Ryan told the Toronto Star that he received a letter from the Archdiocese announcing his suspension on February 12.
With the press release the Archdiocese is sending a clear message about the sanctity of marriage and the seriousness with which the Church remains committed to truth. The release began, "It is the clear teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that marriage is a life commitment between a man and a woman. Marriage is a social and personal relationship with both a public and a private dimension, having foundational importance in society."
The release explained that Father Ryan's actions were "contrary to the clear teaching of the Church which ordained him, making him, like all priests, its representative." It continued, "Since he has contradicted the teaching of the Church, the Archdiocese of Toronto has suspended his faculties. This means that Father Ryan is no longer able to preach or celebrate mass publicly in the Archdiocese."
Father Brian Clough, judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of Toronto, met with Father Ryan to explore his views. He concluded that Father Ryan's opinions were not consistent with the teachings of the Church. "The Archdiocese of Toronto does not want Father Ryan to be considered a priest in good standing who can use a pulpit to expound his personal views," said Father Clough.
The release concludes: "A priest in good standing is entitled to be registered under the Marriage Act of Ontario to legally register marriages that he celebrates. Father Ryan was not registered under the Ontario Marriage Act and now would not qualify for registration. The Archdiocese has thus ensured that Father Ryan would not be able to try to act on his views by performing a civil marriage for a same-sex couple."
See the former LifeSite coverage which includes a link to the full affidavit:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04020308.html
See the coverage in the Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T...
Latest Headlines
- Cardinal Rigali: You Can't Claim to be "Reducing Abortions" but Publicly Funding them in D.C.

- General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase out Lab Rats

- Ohio Supreme Court Allows Planned Parenthood to Conceal Abortion Records in Sexual Abuse Case

- LifeSiteNews Canada Day and Independence Day Message. Taking a few days off. LSN returns Monday July 6

- Heroically Pro-Life Brazilian Archbishop's Resignation Accepted Under Cloud of Vatican Newspaper Misrepresentation

- Pro-Life Groups Announce New Colorado Personhood Initiative

- Judge Puts Kibosh on DC Gay "Marriage" Referendum

- Al Franken Win Hands Supermajority to Senate Democrats

- Group Funded by Canadian Bishops' D&P Joins with Others to Denounce the "Natural Family" and "Family Rights"

- Financially Troubled Planned Parenthood of El Paso Closes Doors

- Abortion Linked to Subsequent Pre-Term Births, New Research Again Confirms

- New Orleans Homosexual Couple Ask Fed. Court to Overturn Marriage Amendment

- Slim Hope Of New Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader Promoting Pro-Life, Pro-Family Issues

- Pope Accepts Resignation of Bishop Caught Involved in Homosexual Encounters

- Young Children Removed from UK Schools for "Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour"

- Northern Ireland Politician Cleared of Wrongdoing after Reiterating Christian Teaching on Homosexual Acts

- UK Conservative Leader Speaks at Gay Pride Fundraiser

- More Letters to the Editor on Canadian Catholic Development and Peace Scandal (July 1)

- Letters to the Editor - Readers Respond to Development and Peace Scandal

- Watch This Dramatic New Video on Catholic Bishops Conference Funding of Pro-Abortion Groups

Most Read this Week
- Homosexual Duke U. Director Charged with Offering Adopted 5-Year-Old for Sex
- Famed Fr. Corapi Calls Canadian Bishops' Dissent from Humanae Vitae "Catastrophic"
- Pope: It is a Childish Faith to Oppose the Church Teaching on Life and Family
- Heroically Pro-Life Brazilian Archbishop's Resignation Accepted Under Cloud of Vatican Newspaper Misrepresentation
- LifeSiteNews Detailed Response to Canadian Bishops' Whitewash Report on Development and Peace
- General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase Out Lab Rats
- Young Children Removed from UK Schools for "Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour"
- Is Pro-Choice the New Pro-Life?
- Swedish Parents Won't Tell if Child is Boy or Girl as Gender Experiment
- Cardinal Rigali: You Can't Claim to be "Reducing Abortions" but Publicly Funding them in D.C.
MORE NEWS:
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page
Last 10 Days
Archives
Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.







Back to Top