An Ontario Catholic organization has returned the Order of Canada medal given to its founder to protest awarding abortionist Dr. Henry Morgentaler with the same distinction.
"We carried out a simple, symbolic gesture of returning (Catherine Doherty's) medal and citation to a representative of the governor general at the Princess Gate of Rideau Hall," Susanne Stubbs of Madonna House told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday.
Doherty founded Madonna House in Combermere, Ont. in 1947, but it also operates in the U.S. and other countries. She received the order in 1976 and died in 1985.
The community is "dedicated to loving and serving Christ through promises of poverty, chastity and obedience" by offering services ranging from soup kitchens to places of retreat, it said in a news release issued Monday.
Rideau Hall is the official residence of Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean. On July 1, she named Morgentaler for what is considered to be Canada's highest civilian honour.
Stubbs said they returned the medal publicly because the awarding of the honor is a very public affair.
"Dr. Morgentaler is a very public and symbolic figure. We were moved in conscience to make a public gesture of disappointment and sadness for our country," she said.
The organization felt it could make a decision because Doherty once told them the award went to all members of the Madonna House community, Stubbs said.
"That's why we think we're free to do with the medal what we think she would have done," she said.
Pro-life and religious groups have been incensed by Morgentaler's naming to the order.
Father Lucien Larre, a Catholic priest in Coquitlam, B.C., has reportedly sent back his order, awarded 25 years ago.
Larre had two criminal convictions for related to incidents involving youth in his care at group homes he operated in Saskatchewan, but was pardoned in 1997.
Morgentaler, 85, has been a controversial figure for decades, playing a key role in striking down Canada's abortion laws in 1988.
The Holocaust survivor had been openly performing illegal abortions -- which had been only allowed on limited terms in some hospitals -- since the late 1960s. He now runs clinics across Canada.
The pro-choice community considers Morgentaler a hero for his legal and political battles on behalf of abortion and women's rights.
The Governor General's website states that Morgentaler was made a member of the Order of Canada for "his commitment to increased health care options for women, his determined efforts to influence Canadian public policy and his leadership in humanist and civil liberties organizations."
