Stephen Lewis has long record of outspoken opposition to Catholic moral principles
OTTAWA, Nov 23 (LSN.ca) - The Catholic Health Association of Canada (CHAC) has once again chosen an unsuitable keynote speaker for its annual convention. Last year the CHAC was criticized by a bishop over the choice of abortion proponent David Suzuki as keynote speaker at their April 2000 convention. This year they have selected Stephen Lewis, a former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations and Former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, for their April 28- May 1, 2001 convention at the Hotel Newfoundland in St. John's Newfoundland.
Prior to the passage of the Omnibus Bill in 1969, which legalized abortion in Canada, Lewis was an outspoken abortion rights promoter. As Ontario leader of the socialist New Democratic Party he influenced the party to a hard line position on abortion, stifling all pro-life protest. Moreover, while Lewis was executive director of UNICEF when the Vatican pulled its funding from the UN Children's Fund for its deliberate association with projects and other organizations that promoted abortion and contraception. Moreover, this July Lewis was at the United Nations asking for the Catholic Church in Rwanda to apologize for supposed complicity in the Rwandan massacre. As a prominent advocate of NDP Party policies Lewis would also be in active disagreement with Catholicism on other moral issues. Lewis' wife is Toronto Star columnist Michele Landsberg, an extremely outspoken critic of orthodox Christianity and a vitriolic abortion supporter.
Last year Bishop Roussin of Victoria, where the convention was held, commented on the Suzuki selection saying that had he been on the selection committee for the speaker he would have raised objections over the choice of the controversial figure. Reacting to the controversies surrounding Suzuki, Bishop Roussin said "obviously I deplore some of his stands." Suzuki, is one of the best known promoters of population control. His TV show Nature of Things has lauded the use of brain tissue from aborted babies as a treatment for Parkinson's disease. And less than six months before speaking at the convention Suzuki appeared nude on the cover of a TV guide magazine to promote an upcoming show on the "penis."
The CHAC may be contacted to respectfully request that they rescind the invitation to Lewis who is a totally inappropriate speaker for a Catholic health association conference. Contact them at: chac@web.net