Catholic shrine pulls plug on national pro-life conference

Montreal, Canada, Nov 16, 2005 / 22:00 pm

St. Joseph’s Oratory has pulled the plug on a national pro-life conference due to threats of protest from pro-choice and homosexual activists.

The announcement was made yesterday by the rector of the national shrine, Fr. Jean-Pierre Aumont, CSC, only one day before the start of the conference.

The rector’s irreversible decision comes as a shock to organizers, participants and members of the local Catholic community.

Organizers are scrambling to find another suitable location in Montreal as most conference participants and speakers have already arrived in the city or are en route, reported LifeSiteNews.com.

Montreal police Detective Sergeant Judy Poulin told LifeSite that police did not suggest that the conference be cancelled and that police could offer “adequate protection.”

The decision, she said, was taken by the oratory and the Holy Cross Fathers, who care for the world’s largest shrine to St. Joseph.The three-day national conference was organized by Campaign Life Coalition, Quebec Campagne-Vie and Life Canada. “This decision to cancel the contract at this last minute is a great capitulation on the part of the Catholic Church I the face of opposition to its pro-life, pro-family teaching,” Campaign Life Coalition president Jim Hughes told LifeSite.

The cancellation of the venue is a huge financial blow to the already cash-strapped pro-life movement in Canada, said Quebec Campagne-Vie president Luc Gagnon.