The Quebec media are rarely eager to speak about abortion. However, they were glad to do so this week, seizing an opportunity to condemn Marc Cardinal Ouellet over comments he made at a conference held in Quebec city on Saturday, May 15. The event, entitled A Fight for Quebec’s Soul: Competing Visions of Marriage and the Family was organised by Campagne Québec Vie (CQV).

            Cardinal Ouellet, who two days earlier had attended the March for Life on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, explained simple Catholic teaching: abortion is a “moral crime.” When questioned by a journalist about abortion and rape, he explained that the crime of rape should not be compounded by another crime, that of abortion. The press pounced on this statement and continued to polarize the debate rather than foster rational discussion on the moral and societal causes and consequences of abortion.

            Most Quebec media used this opportunity to point fingers at the Archbishop and Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Quebec, the Catholic Church, and the Conservative Party of Canada, rehashing the tired notion that the three have worked in a covert manner to take away Canadian women’s  "right" to abortion.

            The political elites were quick to respond to Cardinal Ouellet with utter outrage that he dared to get involved in matters of state. Françoise David, co- president of the self- proclaimed left wing feminist party Québec Solidaire appeared on the 6 o’clock news on TVA stating that Msgr. Ouellet’s comments showed "a complete lack of empathy and compassion for women who were victims of rape and incest".

            The Quebec National Assembly adopted an all-party motion by 109-0 on Wednesday, May 19. It read: “That [Quebec’s] National Assembly reaffirms the right of women to free choice and to free and accessible abortion services.” It also asked the Prime Minister “to put an end to the current ambiguity on this issue,” and again “reaffirms that the fact of supporting women’s right to an abortion should not in any case be used by the federal government to cut funding to a woman’s group” (Globe, May 20).

            Quebec Liberal Premier Jean Charest told The Globe: “Today’s motion sends a clear message to the federal government on the need to protect an essential right for all women.”

             “Quebec has fought and won its battles over abortion rights, he said. “That battle is over and is no turning back” (Globe, Ibid).

            Pauline Maurios, leader of the provincial Bloc Quebecois, declared the Cardinal’s statement “unacceptable.”

            As someone who is "openly pro-choice" (her words), federal Conservative Minister Josée Verner joined her voice to the critiquing choir. If there is collusion between the Cardinal and the Conservative Party, it appears Minister Verner did not get the memo.

            On May 17, Patrick Lagacé from the daily La Presse compared Cardinal Ouellet to an Imam from Teheran who stated that earthquakes could be attributed to women who dressed immodestly. According to Lagacé, the Cardinal and the Imam "are both religious fundamentalists that attack women". Lagacé mentioned that the only member of the Quebec clergy who "came up to the plate to publicly denounce Quebec is (again) Raymond Gravel." Gravel is a self-excommunicated priest and former Bloc Québécois MP. Lagacé himself stated that he hopes "Cardinal Ouellet dies of a long and painful death" so that he understands why some people might want to get legal help to die.

            Alain Crevier, host of the Radio Canada’s Second Regard provided a more nuanced perspective.  On the show’s blog page, he acknowledged that Cardinal Ouellet is simply doing his job.   According to Crevier, "it should not come as a surprise that Cardinal Ouellet endorsed the position of he Vatican which has always put life above everything else". Crevier mentions that it was also the unequivocal position of Pope John Paul II who often spoke publically about the sanctity of human life.

            In a media release, the Assemblé des Évêques Catholiques du Québec asked for mutual respect to be restored to the public to allow for a rational discussion about abortion. As reported by Yves Therrien in Le Soleil, other bishops are unlikely to comment any further because each bishop is only "free to speak his mind on issues in his diocese".

            An unnamed source told Le Soleil that during his address at the CQV conference, Cardinal Ouellet spoke about the need to support women who are considering abortion, a fact omitted by most of Ouellet’s critics who insist his declaration lacked compassion and pastoral vision.

            In English-Canada the uproar created a kind of amusement. What else do people expect a Cardinal to say but to straightforwardly explain Catholic teaching, asked Toronto’s National Post in its editorial “Is the Pope Catholic?” (May 19) It added: “For years now, this newspaper and other conservative outlets have been warning Canadians that the trend toward liberal dogmatism among much of Canada’s political class—buttressed by an out-of-control human-rights constabulary—is serving to muzzle religious Christians who are doing nothing else than giving voice to their cherished beliefs. The appalling reaction to Cardinal Ouellet’s speech demonstrates how serious the problem has become.

            One can only hope that Cardinal Ouellet’s selfless defence of the unborn will be enough to bring the Quebec pro-life movement back to life.

            Campaign Life Coalition had set up a petition in support of Cardinal Marc Ouellet. To sign the petition, please see: http://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Hot+News&id=10.

            P.S. On May 20^th, LifeSiteNews reported that a woman conceived in rape thanks Quebec’s Cardinal for making his statement. She said, “I am extremely grateful to and proud of Cardinal Ouellet for speaking up to defend the lives of those of us conceived in rape,” says Deborah Morlani, a wife, mother of five children, pro-life speaker, Catholic writer, registered nurse and grad student working on her Master of Theology degree.