LONDON, Ontario, February 11, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Jack Layton, the militantly pro-abortion, pro-same-sex “marriage” leader of Canada’s federal NDP Party, will be addressing students at the King’s University College, a Catholic college at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario tonight.
When contacted by LifeSiteNews for comment, King’s College principal, Dr. Gerald Killan, was unapologetic about giving such a speaker a forum in a Catholic school. Apparently star-struck by Layton’s position, Killan laughed and said “We’re talking about the head of a national party.”
When asked by the interviewer if students were expecting a Catholic education, Dr. Killan interrupted saying, “Nobody does that.” When pressed further about the catholicity of his position, he replied: “Don’t tell me ‘Catholics think…’. The Catholic Church’s position is this (pro-life, pro-traditional marriage). But Catholics are listening to a lot of things.”
While Killan placed the blame for the invitation on the political science association, he still claimed “I can’t think of a better speaker to come this evening to talk about the demilitarization of space.”
Killan had no qualms about his position, when asked about it. “Even if I got 200 calls, I wouldn’t intervene to stop a legitimate speaker on a legitimate topic.” Faithful Catholic institutions generally consider that pro-abortion speakers are not “legitimate speakers,” no matter what topic they are speaking on.
“I think what people miss is that this is not a private citizen with a private opinion we are worried about. This is a public figure, whose political action is in direction opposition to the Church’s teaching,” commented Cyril Bagin, a concerned King’s College alumni. “And who are they kidding? If a white supremacist wanted to come and talk about the environment, I don’t think Dr. Killan would allow that under a banner of ‘free speech.’”
Dr. Killan can be contacted with comments at: 519-433-3491/ 1-800-265-4406 or [email protected]
gl