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Friday August 20, 2010


Cardinal Ouellet Leaves Canada with a “Thank You” to Campaign Life Coalition

By John-Henry Westen

QUEBEC CITY, August 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As he completes his hectic preparations for his departure for Rome next week, the new head of the powerful Vatican office which helps select bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, took time to thank Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) and impart his blessing upon the organization and all pro-life activists in Canada.

In May when the cardinal, who has served eight years as the archbishop of Quebec City and the primate of Canada, came under fire for having defended the Catholic Church’s teaching against abortion even in the case of rape, CLC launched a petition to support him. That petition was signed by nearly 6,000 individuals, many of whom also wrote personalized messages for Ouellet, all of which were forwarded on to the cardinal, accompanied by a letter of thanks from CLC President Jim Hughes.

“I wish to thank you for your recent letter and for the very numerous messages of support in favour of life that were addressed to me through your initiative,” Ouellet wrote in an August 16 letter. “The long and difficult battle to bring about a true culture of life in Canada needs to continue. More and more Canadians are beginning to understand that the respect of life at all stages of life is a key issue in our country.”

Cardinal Ouellet used the extreme criticism which he received as a teaching opportunity; at the very height of the controversy he held a press conference together with his friend and colleague Ottawa Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, to, as he said, “launch the abortion debate” in Canada.

He reflected that sentiment in the CLC letter, saying, “Although we are confronted with social measures that want to stifle this important reflection in our society, we need to continue to defend life and promote a true culture of life to ensure that every human person will be respected from the moment of conception to natural death.”

“The commitment and the perseverance of all those who believe in the culture of life is essential to bring about true changes in legislature and in the mentality of our fellow Canadians,” he added.

Ouellet closed his letter imparting his blessing upon CLC and the whole of the pro-life movement in Canada. “May the Lord bless you and may he bless all those who share the mission of promoting the culture of life.”

CLC National President Jim Hughes, to whom Cardinal Ouellet’s letter was addressed, told LifeSiteNews that the letter came as a delightful surprise. “It is reassuring to know that his Eminence appreciated the support we were giving him through the time of his tenure here in Canada, and especially when he was under attack,” said Hughes. “We wish him well in his future task which is of great importance to the Church and the pro-life movement.”

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