‘Grave scandal’: CLC calls on Canadian bishops to respond to Mark Carney’s abortion support
Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, publicly declared on March 23, 2025, his “unreserved” support for abortion, stating he “absolutely supports a woman’s right to choose” and will defend it “proudly and consistently.”
“I find this statement not only deeply troubling, but spiritually scandalous, especially given that Mr. Carney presents himself as a practicing Catholic who regularly attends Mass,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition.
“A Catholic politician cannot, in good conscience, claim to be a faithful member of the Church while simultaneously pledging to uphold and expand access to abortion, which the Church unequivocally condemns as the deliberate killing of innocent human life,” said Gunnarson. “Mr. Carney’s position is not only in direct opposition to the clear and consistent teaching of the Catholic Church, it is an outright betrayal of the weakest and most vulnerable among us – the preborn child.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life” (CCC 2272).
Gunnarson said that Mr. Carney’s comments cause confusion among Canadian Catholics and Christians from other faith traditions, adding that they are a source of grave scandal and can lead others into error while wounding the Body of Christ.
“I call upon Canada’s Catholic bishops to respond with pastoral clarity and moral courage,” continued Gunnarson. “At the very least, Mr. Carney should be denied Holy Communion until he publicly repents of his support for abortion.”
Canon 915 of the Church’s Code of Canon Law instructs that those “obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”
“Given the gravity and public nature of Mr. Carney’s defiance, Canada’s bishops should prayerfully consider whether formal excommunication is warranted,” stated Gunnarson.
“I urge Canada’s bishops not to remain silent. This is not about politics; it is about truth, life, and the integrity of the Catholic faith. If the Church does not speak now, it risks scandalizing the faithful and undermining its own witness to the sanctity of every human life.”