_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________CANADA___________________
Provinces must pay for abortions
Health minister pressures local governments
Canadian health minister Alan Rock, who has put heavy pressure on the province of New Brunswick to subsidize abortions in private clinics (although they are already subsidized in public hospitals), has now extended his campaign to the nation’s other provinces.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has revealed that Rock—who identifies himself as Catholic, and has been known to selectively quote from the Catechism in his addresses to the House of Commons—has threatened three other provinces with penalties if they refuse to fund abortions at private clinics. Manitoba, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island all received the warning from Health Canada. The government has threatened to withhold funds from the provinces if they refuse to fund abortions at taxpayer expense. Currently the Ottawa government is penalizing Nova Scotia some $58,000 since it refused to pay a “facility fee” at private abortion clinics.
Private clinics are often preferred by those seeking to end the life of their unborn children since later-term abortions are allowed in the clinics, fewer questions are asked, and the abortions are usually performed much quicker than in hospitals. The notorious abortionist Henry Morgentaler, who controls most of the private clinics in Canada, was a leading supporter of the successful Liberal campaign in last year’s national elections.
Sacraments without priests
Bishop will appoint lay ministers
Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa has said he will appoint lay people, and nuns as well as deacons to begin providing the sacraments of baptism and marriage and to oversee burials in the absence of French-speaking priests. [For another perspective on the archbishop’s announcement, see the Essay in this issue of CWR, on page 54.]
Archbishop Gervais told the Ottawa Citizen that the idea is “not just solving a problem, but [implementing] a new model of Church.” He said, “We want to move away from the consumer model, where the priest supplies all the needs of the consumers, to a model of participation.”
While part of the plan is to appoint pastoral administrators to parishes that do not have a priest in residence—a common occurrence in many dioceses around the world that have a shortage of priests—the granting of permission for laymen to baptize, marry, and bury parishioners is new.
Sister Jeannine Gauthier, who has been working at the parish of Notre Dame de Lourdes in Vanier for four years, is responsible for the maintenance and administration of the parish, and has now been given permission to baptize, marry, and bury parishioners, when no priest or deacon is available. “This is a totally new mode of functioning. The bishop is excited and I’m excited,” she told the newspaper.
Many of the parish openings will be filled by permanent deacons, who have the authority to marry, baptize, and officiate at funerals by virtue of their ordination. There are now 50 deacons working in parishes in the Archdiocese of Ottawa, with another 17 in formation.
Warning to Pope
Homosexuals bracing for World Youth Day
Toronto City Councilor Kyle Rae has issued a warning that Pope John Paul II should not speak about homosexuality in Toronto during his upcoming World Youth Day (WYD) visit in 2002.
In September, Rae, who describes himself as “openly gay,” had told Toronto’s controversial NOW magazine that he hopes to meet with Father Thomas Rosica, the WYD coordinator in Toronto. Contacted by the LifeSite news service in December after that meeting had taken place, Rae renewed his claims that the Pope’s statements about homosexuality have been “hateful.” He said that voicing such “hateful and hurtful” opinions “is not permissible in our society.” He commented, “I don’t think religion should be used as a shield against hate.”
Rae said the delegation from the city of Toronto that met with Father Rosica to discuss WYD plans had raised the issue. He reported:
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They discussed that in recent times the Pope has made very controversial and hurtful comments about the gay and lesbian community and that it would be a problem given that Toronto is not a monotheistic city . . . . With the Pope coming here, his continuing negative comments about gay and lesbian people would make it very difficult.
Back to Catholic World Report February 2001 Table of Contents