By David Curtin
The Interim

The divisions among Catholics in Canada are deepening over official church support for the pro-abortion World March of Women in the Year 2000.

In a May 9 letter to priests of the archdiocese of Toronto, Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic said that the involvement of the Canadian bishops' Development and Peace agency in the March was "unfortunate," and that "we need to make a clear and definite statement to dissociate our archdiocese with this movement."

The cardinal enclosed a copy of a letter to Development and Peace informing the agency that the archdiocese would reduce its contribution this year "by an amount equivalent to our proportionate share of the $110,000 Development and Peace has given to the [March] over the past three years."

Reports indicate that that reduction amounts to about $15,000. A statement by Development and Peace representative Mary Corkery indicates that the agency actually donated $135,000 to the March since planning began in 1996.

Cardinal Ambrozic's decision came a few weeks after Hamilton's Bishop Anthony Tonnos expressed his opposition to Catholic involvement in the event.

The March became the subject of controversy this spring when The Interim's on-line service, LifeSite News, revealed that the event is partly aimed at promoting legalized abortion and gay rights. In addition to the Development and Peace donation, the March has also received the endorsement of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Women's League, and the Canadian Religious Conference.

All of the Catholic groups involved are on record as being pro-life and as rejecting any pro-abortion aims of the March. They are participating in order to support other aims of the event, such as the eradication of poverty and violence against women.

However, Diane Matte, the head of the March coordinating committee, said in a letter March 29 that "the anti-choice [sic] position ... is in clear contradiction with the objectives pursued by the March and specifically one of our world demands, namely ... "that all states must recognize a women's right to ... exercise control over her body and reproductive function."

In spite of the controversy, in a joint statement May 16, the Catholic groups involved re-affirmed their endorsement of the March. Contrary to Ms Matte's letter, the joint statement says that "the World Demands contain no reference to abortion," and that while the Catholic groups agree with the demand that a woman must have "control over her body and reproductive function," they do not interpret that to include abortion.

Catholic involvement in the March has received strong support from Calgary's Bishop Fred Henry and London's Bishop John Sherlock. In a speech to the Alberta Pro-Life Alliance conference May 6, Bishop Henry explained that the Church must decide whether to withdraw from society, to try to overturn the present order, or to get involved to work for change from within. He argued that in the case of the March of Women, "I think that it's better to be there than not to be there."

Bishop Henry also criticized pro-lifers who have objected to Catholic support for the March, saying that "the rudest letters I receive are from pro-life activists." He has also implied that pro-life objections are based on misinformation.

The Calgary Herald reported May 20 that some prominent Catholics in Calgary have vowed to boycott Bishop Henry's Annual Bishop's Appeal because of the bishop's comments.

In a statement May 31, London's Bishop Sherlock echoed Bishop Henry's support for the March, but stepped up the attack on pro-lifers. "If the pro-life people had their way," he said, "we would all be living in a ghetto, and crying about how unclean the rest of the world is. That is not the way to convert the world. There are people who have their own particular agenda and unless the whole Church follows them they sit in negative judgment."