Interim staff

Toronto’s pro-life community lost one of its most dedicated supporters with the October 3 death of Thomas McMorrow of Scarborough.

Mr. McMorrow, 83, died of cancer after a long illness.

Born November 4, 1912 in Dublin, Ireland, Mr. McMorrow came to Canada in 1931 and shortly thereafter began a small grocery store business in the Highland Creek area of Scarborough. The store expanded over the years and it became a popular spot for young people growing up in the neighbourhood.

Mr. McMorrow also worked as a contractor, builder, construction foreman and building inspector over the course of his working life. He was a key figure at St. Joseph’s Highland Creek parish in Scarborough, where he was active with the Holy Name Society and the Knights of Columbus.

Community involvement was also an important feature of Mr. McMorrow’s life. In 1949, he helped found the Centennial Community Recreation Association which provided leisure activity for area young people.

Mr. McMorrow’s daughter Maureen recounted her father’s unflagging support of pro-life efforts. She estimates he sold “thousands of dollars worth” of Christmas cake sales are an important fundraising activity for Campaign Life Coalition. Maureen also remembers her father offering prayers for single, pregnant women at Scarborough’s Rosalie Hall. “He was always praying for someone,” she said.

Mr. McMorrow participated in the annual Life Chains and in prayer vigils outside Toronto area abortions clinics. He was also on hand when the first issue of The Interim rolled off the presses in 1983. “Dad was pro-life to the hilt,” Maureen said.

Mr. McMorrow and his wife, the late Kathleen Shoemaker, are survived by sons Frank, Michael and Paul, and daughters Sheila, Kathryn and Maureen.

The funeral was Oct. 7 at St. Joseph’s Highland Creek.

UN food summit concerns

Rome – Pro-family groups and representatives of Third World countries are concerned that November’s global food summit may be dominated by population-related issues.

Population policies, including reproductive health and contraception, were major items of discussion during preparatory meetings in late September. Some pro-life observers believe Western delegations to the upcoming summit will aggressively pursue population issues.

Meanwhile, Jacques Diouf, the director-general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, said the primary focus of the summit is to fight hunger. He said population growth is just one component of global good supply concerns.

A Canadian observer at the preparatory meetings said Canada’s delegation ahs been uncharacteristically silent so far. At past UN conferences, Canadian and U.S. delegations have lobbied diligently for “population stabilization” schemes.