Cardinal Collins Rebukes Canadian PM for “Reproductive Health” Funding

Source: FSSPX News

Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, wrote to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on March 10, 2017, condemning the Liberal government’s decision to allocate $650 million in international aid to support “sexual and reproductive health programs” worldwide.

Open Letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

On March 10, 2017, Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, wrote to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express “his deep concern and disappointment” at the Liberal government’s “decision to provide $650 million to support ‘sexual and reproductive health programs’ globally.” He criticized the Prime Minister’s comments to the effect that “unless a woman has access to abortion or contraception, she is not empowered or able to realize her full potential."

He told the Prime Minister and his colleagues:

We have no rights at all unless we are afforded the right to life. That decision was made for you…by a woman, determined and committed to bring a new life into this world.

He also questioned whether wealthy nations ought to “dictate what priorities developing countries should embrace.” Pope Francis, he pointed out, “has cautioned the rich and powerful West against the danger of ‘ideological colonization,’” according to which funding is offered “to help further a particular social agenda….Do we empower women by making sex selective abortions more accessible?” the Cardinal asked, adding that “[m]oney spent on promoting abortion and contraception could be spent” on vaccinating women and girls against disease or building educational institutions for them.

The Cardinal encouraged the Trudeau government to learn from “faith-based, non-governmental organizations,” “the first to arrive and the last to leave any area of crisis or need.” He emphasized that such organizations are well-placed to “understand the reality of the local situation, and respect the dignity of the people who live there.”

The Missing Reason

Cardinal Collins’s letter fails to mention the fundamental reason for defending the unborn: the fact that abortion is an offense against God and the natural law He enshrined in the Fifth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill! A right to life that is founded entirely on the dignity and rights of the person, separating him from the authority and protection of his Creator and Savior, can only be defended to a certain extent. Why is this fundamental principle so rarely cited by Catholics in their defense of the rights of the unborn?

Under the influence of liberalism, many pro-life Catholics set out in a misguided attempt to reach common ground not only with their pro-choice opponents, but also with their fellow non-Catholic pro-lifers, by establishing principles on which everyone can supposedly agree. For instance, Cardinal Collins refers to the anti-woman discrimination inherent in sex-selective abortions, and quotes Pope Francis on “ideological colonization” in an attempt to enlist the anti-colonialist stance favored by modern liberals on his side. But in seeking out this common ground, far more important principles such as the existence of God and His inalienable rights over life and death are set aside. In abandoning Catholic principles to fight with the enemy’s own weapons, not only do we act as if the social kingship of Christ is impossible, but we risk endorsing secular constructs founded on socialist principles—in this instance, feminism and anti-colonialism.

What refreshing Christian boldness we find in Cardinal Pie’s words to Napoleon III in the 19th century:

If the time has not come for Christ to reign, the time has not come for governments to last!

For the full text of Cardinal Collins’ letter