While protests were scheduled to occur at the board's head office for both days, protesters gathered outside the school itself on Dec. 19, the first day of protest.
"Trudeau's virulent opposition to key Catholic moral teachings on abortion and homosexual marriage, while deceptively calling himself a faithful Catholic, make it grossly inappropriate for the school to give him a platform," said Suresh Dominic, president of Campaign Life Catholics, the Catholic arm of the pro-life Campaign Life Coalition. "The board may be inviting spiritual harm to children who, seeing Justin's anti-Christian witness, may come to believe that it is acceptable for a Catholic to support the grave sins of abortion and homosexual marriage."
Campaign Life says Trudeau is a supporter of abortion and homosexual marriage and is seeking the support of ratepayers and local school board trustees to have the appearance cancelled.
"All Sudbury Catholics who are concerned about the moral confusion that this supporter of abortion-on-demand will cause in the minds of youth, should join the protest and lobby the trustees," said Dominic.
The board has said Trudeau's visit will not be cancelled however. Director of education Catherine McCullough said the intention of Trudeau's appearance is to discuss youth empowerment, making a difference in the world and his time with the youth initiative in Katimavik, not controversial political matters.
Originally the protest had the support of Sudbury Catholic trustee Estelle Scappatura. But after receiving a letter from the Sault Ste. Marie Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe sanctioning Trudeau's visit, the trustee retracted her statement on Dec. 18.
"I have no objections about Justin speaking at St. Charles College because we received a statement from the bishop's secretary that the bishop has sanctioned Justin's visit," said Scappatura. "If the bishop feels Justin's visit to the school is fine, I'll go along with it."
But all support has not been lost for the protest.
"Parents As First Educators thinks Trudeau's talk should be cancelled because it sends a confusing message to students about what the Church's positions on life and family really are," said the organization's president Teresa Pierre.
In a news release Pierre criticized Plouffe for sanctioning Trudeau's appearance.
"How can we tell our children that they must obey the Church's teachings on marriage and the family when the Church itself lionizes and brings into its schools people such as Justin Trudeau who publicly criticize those teachings?"