The pro-abortion New Democratic Party has denounced the Harper government’s appointment of an active pro-life Catholic as Canada’s new ambassador to the Holy See, but the government is defending the appointment.
The Conservative government’s Friday announcement of top-ranking Knight of Columbus Dennis Savoie as envoy was immediately slammed by NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, who said remarks Savoie made in 2009 comparing abortion to the terrorist attack on 9/11 were “outrageous” and made him unfit for the position.
In a 2009 keynote speech at a Knight of Columbus “culture of life” dinner in Quebec, Savoie compared the roughly 3,000 deaths from the 2001 terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Centers to the roughly 3,000 daily deaths of pre-born children by abortion.
“Why were we so stunned and bewildered by the 3000 deaths on 9/11 when we're so silent about the 3000-plus deaths that occur each day in North America from abortion?” he said, reported Campagne Quebec-Vie at the time.
Savoie, who served as Deputy Supreme Knight from 2006 to 2013 and has attended several March for Life events, stressed in his speech that all Knights must engage the battle to defend the Christian faith and to defend life, from conception until natural death.
According to Dewar, “We want to appoint diplomats who are skilled, capable and ready to represent our country. We have now a candidate who has crossed that line. He is someone who has taken his personal opinions and used inappropriate comparisons.”
But Jonathon Van Maren from the Canadian Center for Bioethical Reform told LifeSiteNews Dewar is wrong.
“Children being torn from their mother's wombs in the most grotesque fashion across North America day in, day out, is very comparable to a ‘terror attack,’” he said.
At the same time, Van Maren said he prefers not to use such comparisons when speaking about abortion because they distract from the point.
Savoie did not respond to LifeSiteNews’ request for comment by press time.
The Conservative government is defending its choice in Savoie while at the same time reiterating its position to not reopen the abortion debate.
“We’re confident in Mr. Savoie’s ability to do his job capably and objectively,” said Adam Hodge, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, reported Ottawa Citizen. “He’s highly accomplished. He’s got a wealth of experience in a number of sectors and he was appointed to advance the government of Canada’s interests, values and positions at the Holy See.”
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
“The government’s position on abortion is clear. We have no intention of reopening the debate,” he added.
The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada called Savoie a “hardline anti-choice fanatic” on its Facebook page.
Van Maren said it was ironic that abortion activists would complain about Savoie’s appointment when they would “obviously consider the Vatican to be teeming with ‘anti-choice fanatics,’ starting with the pope himself.”
Campaign Life Coalition National President Jim Hughes said Savoie would represent the country “extremely well” as a Canadian ambassador. “I think he’s a great choice by the Prime Minister,” he told LifeSiteNews.
Hughes criticized the NDP for claiming to be a party that stands for the little guy while ignoring the deaths of a hundred thousand little guys by abortion every year in Canada alone. “Their comments on this are worthless,” he said.