OTTAWA, April 22, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The National headquarters of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada has been receiving many complaints from faithful members around the country who were scandalized that the leaders of the organization demanded from parliament the legal recognition of homosexual civil unions. As LifeSite reported April 11, CWL President Marie Cameron made a presentation before the Justice Committee hearings on same-sex ‘marriage’ in which the CWL, while asking that the term ‘marriage’ be retained for heterosexual couples, asked that registered same-sex civil unions be allowed “with all legal implications and responsibilities including separation, divorce, maintenance, etc.” Several members who emailed CWL headquarters with concerns about the official CWL presentation were responded to by a letter signed by CWL President Cameron. Cameron’s “Clarification Statement” suggests that the CWL was merely following the lead of the Catholic Bishops on the matter. However, the statement is misleading. In her clarification statement, Cameron quotes selectively from the February 13 presentation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Organization for Life and Family to the Justice Committee. She quotes the Bishops’ presentation out of context failing to note that when they discuss “legislation allowing for domestic partnerships or civil unions” they are doing so in response to the government suggestions, rather than demanding such recognition of their own accord as did the CWL presentation.
Moreover, Cameron clips the quote from the CCCB presentation just prior to the very sentence in which the CCCB warns against extension of benefits to homosexual couples. “Those of us who have participated in the discussion and legislation about extension of benefits to same-sex partners have always been concerned about the impact on the definition of marriage,” the CCCB presentation noted in a quote Cameron chose to exclude from her clarification letter.
The CCCB presentation asks that if the government chooses to grant benefits to couples other than those in a marriage relationship that they do so in a way “that does not radically redefine or thus void the vital and irreplaceable social institution of marriage.” See related LifeSite coverage: CATHOLIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE OF CANADA ENDORSES LEGAL SAME-SEX CIVIL UNIONS https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/apr/03041103.html CATHOLIC WOMEN’S LEAGUE PRESIDENT OBJECTS TO FAITHFUL PRESENTATION ON HOMOSEXUALITY https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/apr/03041604.html See the CCCB Feb 13 presentation to the Justice Committee: https://www.cccb.ca/PublicStatements.htm?CD=&ID=1297 See Cameron’s Clarification Statement: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/apr/030422a.html
To send in comments to the Justice Committee marriage hearings: M. Partice Martin, Clerk Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights House of Commons Room 622, 180 Wellington Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 or by e-mail at [email protected]