TORONTO - Cardinal Thomas Collins has been receiving an unprecedented outpouring of support in the wake of his open letter that urged Liberal leader Justin Trudeau to reconsider an inflexible stand against pro-life supporters.

Just as elected officials are required to uphold the law they also have the right, and sometimes the duty, to advocate for reform. That doesn’t mean they’ll get their way — and most times they don’t — but in a free and democratic society it does mean they can follow their conscience, act on principle, voice reasonable opinions and, hopefully, not be judged for their beliefs, particularly those founded in faith.

Just before Christmas, 1967, then-justice minister Pierre Trudeau famously said: “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

TORONTO - In an open letter to Justin Trudeau that upholds the important role of faith and conscience in politics, Cardinal Thomas Collins has urged the Liberal leader to rescind his party's unprecedented ban on pro-life supporters.