Catholic church leaders in Manitoba told the faithful that if Attorney General Roland Penner won’t act, it is up to them to make it clear to Henry Morgentaler that his Winnipeg clinic is unwanted. The action followed Penner’s refusal to seek an injunction to stop Morgentaler’s Winnipeg abortion clinic from reopening, after being closed for 18 months.
Abortion-related charges against Morgentaler in Manitoba are on hold pending the outcome of the Ontario court case. Morgentaler has announced he will reopen his abortuary at the end of March. It was raised in the summer of 1983 and, since that time, has acted only as a referral service.
The church declaration was made in pastoral letters read from pulpits on Sunday, March 3 and written individually by the three Winnipeg church leaders, Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk of Winnipeg’s Ukrainian Catholic eparchy, and R.C. Archbishops Antoine Hacault of St. Boniface (French) and Adam Exner of Winnipeg (English). A news conference was held on Monday, March 4.
The Winnipeg Free Press (March 4) quoted Archbishop Exner as saying that “our attorney-general appears to be unwilling to stop the reopening of the Morgentaler clinic and to uphold the law…” The lives of many unborn babies are at stake. They look to us for help. We must not fail them. We must act now.”
On Monday evening, March 4, Archbishop Exner was interviewed by Elizabeth Grey of CBC’s radio programme “As It Happens.” Grey pressed the Archbishop to admit that the church was interfering in politics. But the Archbishop kept pointing out – as Metropolitan Hermaniuk had done the evening before — that the abortion question is a human-rights issue, and not a question of partisan politics. “I don’t think it’s a political question, I don’t think it is a religious question, it’s certainly not a Catholic question. It’s a basic human rights question and we approach it from that angle.”
Archbishop Exner’s pastoral letter asked parishioners to set Thursday March 7, aside as a day of prayer and fasting and then join him, the other bishops, and various pro-life groups for a March for Life, proceeding from St. Mary Cathedral to the grounds of the Legislature. The Manitoba Legislature was scheduled to open its new session on that day.
On Thursday the weather was mild and sunny and thousands showed up (Can Press: 1,500, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star 2,000; the Winnipeg Free Press reported that police and protest leaders estimated 3,000). Led in the march by the three archbishops and joined by Pro-Life groups from across the province, the demonstrators circled the Legislature’s west entrance. Among those who address the crowd was Pat Soenen of the League for Life of Manitoba.
Inside the building, the Speech from the Throne contained little news and was silent on the issue which had brought the protesters outside.
At a news conference, Premier Howard Pauley affirmed the right of people to voice “their views” and said he does not feel the issue will be damaging to him politically. The NDP holds 32 seats in the 57 seat Legislature. Mr. Filmon’s Progressive Conservatives hold 23 seats and there are two Independents. The government has until late 1986 at call an election.
AdeV
