Pope blasts Canadian laws: "VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI hit out Friday at Canada's laws allowing same-sex marriage and abortion, saying they result from Catholic politicians ignoring the values of their religion.
'In the name of `tolerance' your country has had to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse, and in the name of `freedom of choice' it is confronted with the daily destruction of unborn children,' the pope told a group of bishops from Ontario.
Such laws, he said, are the result of 'the exclusion of God from the public sphere.'
He lamented that Catholic politicians yielded to 'ephemeral social trends and the spurious demands of opinion polls.'
Benedict has made the defense of traditional family values a major goal of his papacy, speaking out often on the issue.
During a trip to Spain in July, he challenged that country's Socialist government for instituting liberal reforms such as gay marriage and fast-track divorce."