The resolution, announced at the end of the prelates’ annual meeting, calls on the bishops of Canada «to continue to involve all members of the Church in deepening their appreciation for marriage as the lifelong commitment of a man and a woman, which is basic to the stability of society and family life, and necessary for the survival of society and culture.»
It also invites «all Catholics and other Canadians … to continue calling on government and society to protect marriage as the unique and stable partnership of a man and a woman and thus rightly deserving of specific and categorical legal recognition by the state.»
Meanwhile, the bishops selected four delegates who will represent them at the next Synod of Bishops in Rome, to be held in October 2005, on the Eucharist.
The Canadian delegation will be made up of Bishop Gerald Wiesner, of Prince George; Bishop Paul-André Durocher, of Alexandria-Cornwall; Archbishop Thomas Collins, of Edmonton; and Bishop Clément Fecteau, of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière.
