MELBOURNE, December 5, 2005 (CWNews.comLifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia, has cancelled a prestigious annual lecture, after pro-life activists complained that the government official scheduled to give the talk was a supporter of legal abortion.
The archbishop announced on December 7 that he was calling off the “Rerum Novarum” lecture, which was to have been delivered just two days later by Jon Stanhope, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. The archbishop made his announcement after energetic protests by pro-lifers, who argued that Stanhope, who supports abortion, should not be allowed a prominent Catholic forum. Stanhope has also been an avid supporter of granting adoption and other marriage rights to homosexuals.
The Rerum Novarum lecture is sponsored by the Melbourne archdiocesan Commission for Justice, Development, and Peace. Organizers of the event said that they had been unaware of Stanhope’s stand on abortion. While apologizing for the late notice, Archbishop Hart said that he felt he had no choice but to cancel the lecture. “The Church’s teachings on sanctity of life and the rights of the unborn in particular are not matters for debate in a Church-sponsored lecture,” he said. “I am obliged to ensure that there is no ambiguity or confusion in respect to the Church’s teachings on these matters.”