LONDON, ON, June 15, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As the University of Western Ontario (UWO) prepares to grant notorious Canadian abortionist Henry Morgentaler an honorary degree despite immense popular opposition, hundreds of thousands of students are gearing up to protest the event through whatever means are at their disposal.
Already the London Catholic School board has announced that each of its eight high schools will observe a minute of silence and prayer at the beginning of the day. “We do this as a symbol of our unity . . . to observe one minute of silence in recognition of the thousands of lives taken from this world by Dr. Henry Morgentaler,” said Joseph Rapai, the education director of the London District Catholic school board.
All the Catholic high school boards across the province, covering a total of as many as 200,000 students, have been asked to do the same thing. Elementary schools as well have been asked to join in the spiritual protest.
“To witness our values and beliefs in a prayer service—what more powerful means of protest can there be?” said Gerald Killan, the principal of King’s College in London.
Jake A. Cooke, a Grade 10 student Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School, in an open letter to Dr. Paul Davenport and many others, warned the university of the other more tangible means of protest which will be employed against the university by him and many of his friends if the degree-conferring ceremony goes ahead as planned.
“Some of my friends are coming out of grade twelve ready to go to university and now they will have to go elsewhere,” said Cooke. “I hope you do realize that you are about to lose a major amount of your income, graduates, and good reputation. I have some friends currently studying at Western who will immediately go elsewhere to a different university even if it means leaving their family to go and study.”
Cooke compared the granting of an honorary law degree to Morgentaler to awarding NHL player Todd Bertuzzi for the best sucker punch in the league. “It is unrealistic, right;” said the grade 10 student, “well why are you doing this then, honouring someone who is proud that he has killed more than one hundred thousand babies?”
JJ