Object to marriage congratulations letter sent to Toronto gay couples
OTTAWA, Jan 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Bishop Gerald Wiesner, President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, has written Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson on “behalf of the Roman and Eastern Catholic Bishops of Canada”. He wrote to “criticise and protest the greetings and congratulations that were sent from the office of the Governor General of Canada to Messrs Kevin Bourassa and Joseph Varnell and to Mmes Anne Vautour and Elaine Vautour, on the occasion of a service held 14 January 2001 in the Toronto Metropolitan Community Church purportedly to recognize their relationships as legal marriages.”
A copy of the letter was also sent to Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
“The decision of your office to send a message of congratulations is controversial and offensive to most faiths, and will inevitably be perceived by Canadians as divisive and political,” said the letter. The bishop reminded Clarkson that “The role of the Governor General as our acting head of state is to be one that represents all the people of Canada and respects its laws.”
For copies of the letters sent to Clarkson and Chretien see: https://www.cccb.ca/english/fullpublice.asp?ID=66 https://www.cccb.ca/english/fullpublice.asp?ID=67