Governor General Michaëlle Jean

Ottawa, Canada, Jul 19, 2008 / 06:57 am (CNA).- Mr. Natale Gallo, President of the Canadian Association of Knights of Columbus, has called on Canada’s 230,000 Knights to voice their opposition to the awarding of abortionist Henry Morgentaler with the Order of Canada and written a letter to Governor General Michaëlle Jean asking for the decoration to be “immediately rescinded.”

Gallo, the Canadian Knights of Columbus president, accused the Governor General of forgetting the hundreds of thousands of “links” in the “human chain” that have died from abortion in Canada and he urged all Canadian knights to contact their government officials to demand the revocation of the honor.

Twelve of Canada’s 88 bishops are known to have also publicly criticized the honoring of Morgentaler, LifeSiteNews reports. The critical bishops often exhorted their flocks to witness to the value of human life, to help those tempted to abort their unborn children, and to love and forgive those who have experienced abortion.

Bishop Fougere said the decision "belittles" the Order of Canada and those who have received it in the past. He asked Catholics to meditate on an important question, saying: "In your prayer, ask yourself the question: have we reached such a stage of moral and ethical bankruptcy?"

In a July 16 letter to Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Natale Gallo referenced her Canada Day comments referring to each Canadian making a “human chain” for the benefit of all.

“Yet, shortly after your remarks, in a list published through your office, we learned that one of the nominees for the Order of Canada award was Henry Morgentaler. Somewhere in between, you forgot the hundreds of thousands of ‘links’ that over the last forty years have been disposed of, thus breaking that ‘human chain’ of which you proudly spoke.”

Gallo said the bestowal of the award upon Morgentaler “denigrates” the Order of Canada to the point that it becomes “meaningless, futile and divisive.” He also wrote that he expected the award to be rescinded immediately.

Writing in a separate letter to Canadian Knights of Columbus, Gallo noted that the Order of Canada motto, from the Letter to the Hebrews, reads “desiderantes meliorem patriam,” meaning “those who desire a better country.”

“Indeed it is a sad day when this honor is bestowed upon such an individual as Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who has brought destruction to the helpless and defenseless unborn,” Gallo wrote.

He exhorted Knights of Columbus state deputies and the more than 230,000 Canadian knights “to stand united with our bishops” and to contact the offices of the Prime Minister, the Governor General, and their respective Members of Parliament to express their “revulsion” at presenting the award to Morgentaler.
“It is imperative for us to urge our Canadian government leaders to ensure that this act of dishonor against our country and our families is revoked,” Gallo wrote.

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