Canada: Archbishop of Montreal calls for national debate on homosexual “marriage”

Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte is calling for a national debate on homosexual “marriage”, which was endorsed at the beginning of December, in an advisory capacity by the Supreme Court of Canada. He would like a general discussion before the federal government makes any proposals .

 According to the archbishop of Montreal, society must be able to gauge all aspects of an eventual federal law, which would permit this new type of union. He admitted that the legal aspect of the question had been clarified by the Supreme Court, but Ottawa must now start listening to the people. Cardinal Turcotte emphasized that most countries had not legalized gay marriages. He said that the Canadian citizens coming to the defense of traditional marriage were very courageous, given that they ran the risk of being thought of as individuals who refuse to “progress”.

 For quite a long time now, the Catholic bishops of Canada have publicly voiced their opposition to the federal plan for recognition of same sex marriages. The Bishops Conference considers that the deputies would be making a grave error by legalizing gay marriages. They believe that equality should not be confused with uniformity, and that it is not discriminatory to treat different realities differently. They are calling for a “free vote” allowing all the deputies to vote according to their conscience.

 In a declaration published at the beginning of December, the Canadian bishops maintained that marriage was an alliance of love between a man and a woman, a relationship capable of generating new life. The fundamental objectives, they said, faithful to the spirit of Vatican II which inversed the order, “are the good of the couple, the procreation and education of children, and these two things are necessary for the survival of society.” They concluded that marriage between a man and a woman was a fundamental element of the stability of society and of family life. “As a social institution, marriage was ordained for the common good and not for the rights of the individual.” - Their defense of the institution would be far stronger if they went back to traditional doctrine, which puts the procreation and education of children in first place in the aims of marriage.