Some weeks back, I linked to a story about a Canadian Catholic organization returning an honor, because a prominent abortion rights activist was about to receive the same honor.

A trend seems to be developing. First, the U.S. bishops spoke out on misconceptions about church teaching on abortion. Now Montreal’s Archbishop is taking a stand.

From Quebec comes this story:

Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Montreal, is returning his Order of Canada in protest of Dr. Henry Morgentaler being named to the order.

The nomination of the prominent abortion-rights activist sparked a heated public debate this summer, and Turcotte is trying to reignite it by asking Canadians to consider the issue seriously before voting in the Oct. 14 federal election.

“I am appealing to people’s conscience. They have to take a position on this and vote according to the position of the different parties,” Turcotte said Thursday at a Catholic conference in Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, near Quebec City.

He said he doesn’t support any party and cannot tell politicians what to do or how to think. But he pleaded for a “serious” and “profound” debate on abortion.

“This issue is not settled definitely and the debate that this decision (honouring Morgentaler) has sparked shows that there is not a consensus on abortion in Canada,” he said.

The Quebec Federation of Women quickly denounced the decision to reopen the debate on abortion.

“We have never seen so many threats to abortion rights and women’s autonomy since the legalization of abortion in 1988,” said its president, Michele Asselin.

Morgentaler, who opened abortion clinics across Canada, was named to the order in July by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean. The decision prompted a handful of Canadians to return their insignia, including a B.C. priest and an Ontario Catholic organization. Turcotte is the highest-profile Roman Catholic to renounce the title, which was given to him in 1996.

Turcotte said he had hoped the controversy would prompt officials to revise their decision. Since they have not done so, Turcotte said, he couldn’t stay silent anymore.

“I feel obliged in conscience to reaffirm my convictions regarding the respect for human life, from conception to death,” said Turcotte.

He strongly condemned abortion and likened it to warfare, saying no one has the right to attack or claim someone else’s life.

“We are not the masters of human life; it rests in the hands of God,” he said.

Representatives of the Quebec Assembly of Bishops who flanked Turcotte at the news conference said they unanimously approved of his decision.

Quebec City’s Marc Cardinal Ouellet didn’t have kind words for Morgentaler and said Canadians should not hail him as a hero.

“What he stands for deeply offends and infuriates many people. So, I think, there’s a limit and we have to protest and voice our opposition,” he said.