Pope Benedict sparked a debate about the place of religious beliefs in Canadian politics today, telling Ontario bishops Canada has excluded “God from the public sphere” with laws supporting same-sex marriage and abortion.
The pontiff told a group of seven visiting bishops in Vatican City that Canadian Catholic politicians are ignoring the values of their religion, yielding to “ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls.”
“In the name of tolerance your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of freedom of choice it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children,” the Pope said.
A representative with the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops who was travelling with the bishops in Italy said the group was busy with engagements and unable to comment immediately on the Pope’s message.
Alfonse Ainsworth, general secretary of the organization, said he expects the bishops will take the Pope’s words into consideration when planning their strategy for the next provincial and federal election.
“I’m sure they’ll be studying the comments and the context and making sure they follow through,” he said. source
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