Quoted from messages read at mass in August, and published in St. Michael's bulletinA Message from the Archdiocese of Toronto
August 10, 2003
"Marriage is a union of a man and woman. They can, and usually do, conceive and bear children, whom they have the job and responsibility of nurturing and educating to adulthood. All persons deserve respect in accord with their human dignity. Trying to rename other kinds of relationships to call them "marriage", however, is inaccurate. It seeks to made the universal institution of marriage and the family into a tool, an instrument to be used for other objectives."A Message from the Archdiocese of Toronto
August 17, 2003
"The best interests of the individual child are the primary consideration in any question of adoption. The nurturing and rearing of children is a matter of their welfare, not of the claims of adults, however strongly felt. The full breadth of parenting by a mother and a father together is seen around the world as benefiting the child, as both play vital roles in the child's social, psychological and education development. Children who are being placed for adoption by new parents with whom they had no earlier tie, therefore, should grow up with a mother and a father."A Message from the Archdiocese of Toronto, Democratic Process
August 17, 2003
All Canadians have the right and responsibility to be active participants in any decisions about the most foundational building blocks of society, such as marriage. Courts have the essential and balancing role of interpreting law, not of making law. Governments lead, working with all the parties in the House of Commons, but ultimately all Members of Parliament are responsible to represent the people of Canada. This is the democratic process. In a free and democratic society, the definition and shape of core institutions and values are everyone's reponsibility.