Turcotte, who received the prestigious honour in 1996, said he could no longer stay on the sidelines because he doesn't want anyone to have doubts about his position on abortion.

"Because silence on my part might be misinterpreted, I feel obliged in conscience to reaffirm my convictions regarding the respect for human life, from conception to death," Turcotte told a news conference Thursday.

"We are not the masters of human life; it rests in the hands of God."

Turcotte, 72, who was on holiday in July when the decision was made to honour the abortion-rights activist, said he'd hoped the controversy surrounding Morgentaler being named to the Order of Canada would prompt officials to revise their decision.

Fiercely opposed to abortion and disappointed with the attitude of politicians and Quebec society on the issue, Turcotte said he hopes returning his order will ignite a debate over the question of respect for human life.

"I have the greatest respect for the Order of Canada. I infinitely regret it (having to give it back) , but I can't agree with the decision that has been taken."

Marc Cardinal Ouellet, the archbishop of Quebec City, said the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops is solidly behind Turcotte.

Ouellet said Canadians should not make a national hero out of Morgentaler when what he stands for "deeply hurts and raises the indignation of a large portion of the population."

Morgentaler was instrumental in having the high court strike down Criminal Code restrictions on abortion on Jan. 28, 1988, making Canada the only western democracy with no criminal sanctions of any kind against abortion.

A Polish-born physician who survived the infamous Dachau concentration camp, Morgentaler quit his family practice in Montreal in 1968 to open his first abortion clinic in defiance of the laws of the day.

Turcotte didn't mince words when it came to Quebec society, which he blamed for trivializing abortion.

The archbishop says he has no intention of getting involved in politics, but he called on voters to consider the position of federal parties on the issue of abortion when they cast their ballot on Oct. 14.

"It's not for me to say which party in my opinion has the best position, that's for the voter to decide," Turcotte said.

Since Morgentaler's appointment, several other Order of Canada recipients have returned their medals in protest.

They include former New Brunswick lieutenant-governor Gilbert Finn, who was bestowed the honour in 1974; B.C. priest Lucien Larre who received the honour in 1983; and members of the charitable group the Madonna House, who returned the medal of their deceased founder, Catherine Doherty, who was awarded the honour in 1976.