Thursday, November 24, 2005
THE CANADIAN PRO-LIFE CONFERENCE WENT ON AS SCHEDULED
thanks to the generosity of a Baptist church that provided the facilities at the last moment after the Holy Cross Fathers pulled the plug on their Oratory.
As a result of this change of venue under pressure, press coverage for the conference was favorable and the new facilities worked well according to the story at LifeSite. Now the Holy Cross Fathers may be sued for damages by the pro-life group.
Distinguished CQV lawyer Emile Colas is the consummate professional and he immediately went into overdrive, contacting representatives within the Catholic Church to save the conference at its original venue. When it was obvious that wasn’t possible, he determined that there was no cancellation clause and therefore the Holy Cross Fathers who run the Oratory are responsible for moral, legal and financial damages. The day after the conference concluded, CBC radio featured the event as one of its main hourly stories.
As expected, the pro-aborts and anarchists claimed a great victory, by having us banned from the Oratory. Their focus had been to “abort the conference” as they shouted and proclaimed on their signs. But conference spokesman Richard Bastien countered on CBC Radio saying that their actions resulted in good media coverage and brought the abortion issue once again before the public.
CLC National President Jim Hughes summed up the conference by saying that despite the many challenges caused by the change of venue, the results were overwhelmingly positive. Speakers did an inspiring job and the participants were grateful and delighted to have come to the Montreal conference.
Pro-life gets positive publicity. Catholic priests get negative publicity. This is a mixed blessing at best.
