Toronto, Canada, Jun 30, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The archbishop of Toronto has pledged that the archdiocese’s Catholic schools and social services “are committed to upholding Catholic teaching on marriage” after parliamentarians passed the same-sex marriage bill Tuesday.
Carinal Aloysius Ambrozic made the pledge in his June 29 to the passage of the bill.
“The Archdiocese of Toronto will continue to offer and to insist upon, the Sacraments in accord with the Catholic belief of two millennia,” he said.
His statement reiterated the message issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on the same day the bill was passed, June 28.
The CCCB statement pointed to a “dangerous deterioration” in Canadians’ communal values. It also commented on the “continued refusal by certain political parties and their leaders to recognize and respect freedom of conscience and religion.”
In the CCCB’s estimation, several amendments to the bill do not diminish significant concerns about the protection of freedom of conscience and religion.
“Members of Parliament were forced to follow a political deadline and to vote along party lines [is] an ominous sign of what can be expected in future debates on the application of Bill C-38,” the bishops warned.