BARRIE, ON, February 3, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canadian International Cooperation Minister Aileen Carroll is a Roman Catholic. She has let it be known publicly that she will be voting for the government’s gay ‘marriage’ legislation which all Canadian Catholic bishops have opposed.
Moreover, Ms. Carroll is the Minister who, during U.S. President Bush’s recent visit to Canada, embarrassed many Canadians by announcing that Canada would boost its funding of the UNFPA , the UN population control arm.
Prior to this, an investigation by the US Department of Justice had found UNFPA was still complicit in China’s coercive abortion program. The Bush administration was therefore once again compelled to withhold its annual funding for the organization.
The Catholic Church has been insistent that Catholic politicians may never vote in favour of legislation such as the Liberal government’s same-sex “marriage” bill.
The Vatican document “Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons,” released on July 31, 2003 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, forbade any Catholic politician from voting for even gay civil unions, let alone gay ‘marriage’.
The document said emphatically, “When legislation in favour of the recognition of homosexual unions is proposed for the first time in a legislative assembly, the Catholic law-maker has a moral duty to express his opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against it. To vote in favour of a law so harmful to the common good is gravely immoral.” (See the complete document)
But that hasn’t stopped Carroll’s parish pastor, Rev. Francis McDevitt of St. Mary’s Parish in Barrie, Ontario, from calling her a faithful Catholic.
“Aileen Carrol is a member in good standing of this parish,” Fr. McDevitt told LifeSiteNews.com in an interview.
LifeSiteNews.com mentioned the Vatican direction on same-sex unions and that Calgary Bishop Fred Henry had explicitly taken issue with references to Prime Minister Paul Martin as a ‘devout Catholic,’ based on the PM’s un-Catholic support for homosexual ‘marriage.’ Rev. McDevitt retorted, “Quoting one reactionary bishop out in Calgary who wants to spew off about everything under the sun because he’s a short man who needs to get lots of press – that’s not the basis of how the church works in Canada.”
The pastor claimed to have spoken with Martin’s bishop – Ottawa Archbishop Marcel Gervais – who according to Fr. McDevitt said that the Prime Minister “is in good standing.”
However, when LifeSiteNews.com contacted Archbishop Gervais’ office, communications director Gilles Oullet told LifeSiteNews.com that the Archbishop could not confirm the conversation and had “no comment” on the allegation around the Prime Minister.
Fr. McDevitt also seemed very upset with one or more members of the parish Knights of Columbus who had apparently been asking questions about Carroll’s role in the parish considering her serious contradiction of Catholic moral teachings.
LifeSiteNews.com has received unconfirmed reports that Carroll is a lector at the parish.
The pastor was emphatic that he be quoted saying that he considered the Knight or Knights in question to be “shit disturbers.” He told LifeSiteNews.com, “They are a shit disturber, did you get that down, did you get the quote properly, they are a shit disturber.”
While Fr. McDevitt says Carroll, despite her public positions on abortion and same-sex ‘marriage’, is in good standing, he is “appalled” at “a certain element floating around this parish that wants to demonize her.” He added, “We’re not going to take Aileen Carroll out of the 5 o’clock mass and burn her in the parking lot.”
Asked if he himself had encouraged the Minister to vote against the legislation, (as the Bishops of Canada have requested of all Catholics), Rev. McDevitt was incensed.
“You are asking a pastor to ask about a relationship with his parishioner. I think that’s grossly inappropriate, even the Toronto Star wouldn’t ask me that. Honestly, the Toronto star wouldn’t ask . . . they would know that’s way beyond boundaries.”
Asked again for his position, the pastor ended the interview saying, “Read the bulletin this weekend and you’ll see where I stand.”
A comment on the matter from the Archdiocese of Toronto was not available by press time. To express concerns to Minister Aileen Carroll: House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Phone: (613) 992-3394
To contact Fr. McDevitt: [email protected] The Archdiocese of Toronto: [email protected]