Canadian bishop writes prime minister about political concerns

April 23, 2014

The president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has written Prime Minister Stephen Harper about several domestic and international issues.

Referring to the plight of Syrian refugees, Archbishop Paul-André Durocher of Gatineau urged the prime minister “to find ways to simplify and speed up immigration processes for refugees wishing to come to Canada, and for ensuring health and other benefits for those who have succeeded in getting here.”

Turning to Latin America, the prelate said that “many South American communities today despair that their natural resources are exploited by foreign interests which fail to respect the environment, Aboriginal Peoples, and the needs of surrounding communities, resorting instead to lawlessness, intimidation and unfair advantages. Bishops from Latin America over past months have told my confreres and me that their criticisms are especially directed against international companies registered in Canada.”

Archbishop Durocher thanked the prime minister for “speaking out so firmly about the sovereignty and rights of Ukraine” and also referred to abortion and euthanasia:

We also continue to worry about the devaluing of human life that marks our country when we consider both life’s beginning and ending. The way our society cares for those who are waiting to be born and those who await death is a powerful sign of our appreciation for the sanctity of human life itself. The lack of such care can only lead to the denial of the intrinsic dignity of every human being. We need as a country to look again at the directions we have taken and are taking in this regard.

 

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Further information:

• CCCB President writes to Prime Minister Harper (CCCB)