Priest’s refusal to perform wedding for PP employee raises media storm

Fr. John Maes, pastor at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic church in Medicine Hat, informed Celina Ling that he would not preside over her wedding, after her name appeared in a Medicine Hat News article about Planned Parenthood. He later told the paper that, “Once I learned that Celina Ling was employed by Planned Parenthood and her position on this central issue was contrary to the church, I had to discharge my duty to the church.” Planned Parenthood is an international conglomerate with franchises in Canada that offer pregnancy tests, birth control and, often, abortion.

Fr. Maes’ bishop, Fred Henry of Calgary, publicly supported the priest’s courageous decision, saying Ling’s job as a co-ordinator at Planned Parenthood is “a source of scandal” and that “she may very well be in a position were she would fall under the automatic excommunication … of the Code of Canon Law.” Bishop Henry said, “I don’t know the extent of her counselling activity, but anyone involved in the deliberate and successful effort to eject a non-viable fetus automatically incurs that excommunication.”

Fr. Maes, who was scheduled to marry Ling and her fiance Robert Symmonds on Sept. 21, said he would have never agreed to the wedding if he knew of her position at Planned Parenthood. He said the issue didn’t come up during pre-marriage interviews earlier this year.

He said, “Celina is in a conflicted position. On the one hand, she’s saying, ‘I want God’s blessing on my marriage. I want to celebrate this sacrament and do it in the house of God.’ Yet, she is suffering a fundamental disconnection from her church and her faith by continuing to work as a co-ordinator for Planned Parenthood.”

Predictably, the media went into a frenzy.

The Medicine Hat News covered the ensuing story with gusto on the front page, as it should have for a local story. It presented Bishop Henry’s defence of the pro-life position and explanation of why the Catholic Church doesn’t extend the sacrament of marriage to someone who contradicts important teachings such as abortion. The News juxtaposed the bishop’s view with quotes from Planned Parenthood Alberta and the dissident group, Catholics for a Free Choice, which calls for, among other things, the Catholic Church to abandon its teaching against abortion.

But many papers, including the Toronto Star, ran the Canadian Press story, which presented quotes from just one side of the debate. Frances Kissling, the Washington D.C.-based spokesperson for CFFC, issued typically hostile comments toward the pro-life position and the Catholic Church. She predicted that there would be a backlash against the church.

The Globe and Mail’s coverage was sympathetic to Ling, noting that she will miss out on “some memories expected since childhood,” such as having pictures of her walking down the aisle. However, the paper did allow Maes to defend his decision: “I support the teachings of the church and I’m not going to go against that.”

Despite the media fury, Bishop Henry was adamant Fr. Maes made the right decision. “There are certain basic tenets (of the church) and if someone disagrees with those, they separate themselves from the body of believers.”

Bishop Henry was unequivocal. “No Catholic can responsibly take a pro-choice stand when the choice in question involves the taking of innocent human life.”

Catholic Civil Rights League president Thomas Langan applauded Fr. Maes for “refusing to marry a person whose professional life violates fundamental teachings.” He said Christian teaching supersedes “simple selfish needs of the moment.”

Melanie Anderson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Alberta, said the Catholic Church is making a mistake by taking issue with parishioners who support abortion. She claimed many of her organization’s 200 volunteers and employees in the province are Catholic.

The Canadian Catholic News service reported Ling has said she will “not return to her parish, and not likely any Catholic Church, in the future.”