Abortion, Rape, and the Sad Case of Cardinal Kazem

If you want to get an idea of just how much Stephen Harper's decision to re-open the abortion debate has fired up anti-abortion activists, consider the case of Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Because he's so giddy with excitement he's losing his bearings. Or losing his pedals as we say in Quebec.

Last Thursday he was in Ottawa thanking Stephen Harper for refusing to fund safe abortions for women in developing countries. And asking him to do even MORE.

"We support this stance of the government not to finance abortion in countries of the Third World. But we would like some more courage, to do something more in Canada in defence of the unborn."

And was warmly applauded, by eighteen Con MPs.

So on Saturday he went even further, but this time the shit hit the fan.

Politicians and women's groups in Quebec lashed out Monday at one of Canada's highest-ranking Roman Catholic officials for saying abortion is never acceptable, even in cases where a woman has been raped.

Quebec's status of women minister said Ouellet — who is also the archbishop of Quebec City — attacked decades of work by women who strived to get the right to abortions.

"We'll never go back to knitting pins. Never. This issue is settled," Christine St-Pierre told reporters in Montreal. "(Ouellet) added fuel to the fire by saying even in case of rape, (abortion is unacceptable). Women have fought and won that battle and it's settled."

Oops. I guess he forgot he was back in Quebec eh? Where women's rights are taken seriously. And ALL the parties in the National Assembly agree that after 300 years of being told what to think by the Catholic Church they're not going back to  La Grande Noirceur...or The Great Darkness.

Oh boy. How I wish the opposition parties in the Commons had the guts to stand up and say the same thing. LOUDLY. 

But I guess I'll have to settle for what Patrick Lagacé said in La Presse.

He calls the Cardinal Kazem Ouellet after the Iranian Mullah who claimed that scantily clothed women caused earthquakes.

He talks about the heroic work that many Catholic priests and nuns do, by ministering to poor people, gays, and other marginalized communities. Treating them kindly and making them all feel welcome.

It's these priests and nuns in Montreal or Kinshasa that Cardinal Ouellet is stabbing in the back.That's the real drama. The good deeds of churches are constantly sapped by the bastards of the Vatican like Ouellet.

And he ends this way:

The Cardinal is a fundamentalist. That thing is known. From now on anybody who shares a political platform with him, must be treated as an accomplice of the fanaticism of Kazem Ouellet.

Yikes. The Cardinal must be wishing he was back in The Great Darkness. 

Stephen Harper must be wishing he already had his Great Dark Majority. Because he ain't going to get one now.

But as for poor little Simon eh? He says no more knitting pins ever again. Tabarnac.

And he's just proud to be a Quebecer...