A new monument dedicated to "unborn children" is causing some controversy in Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove.

The monument to unborn children is located near St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Outer Cove. The monument to unborn children is located near St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Outer Cove. (CBC)

The monument sits outside St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church.

Carmen MacKenzie wrote a letter to the town council expressing concern.

"Aside from the obvious esthetics, I find the content of this monument to be very inappropriate,” MacKenzie wrote in her letter, which was made public through a recent council meeting.

“Each person is entitled to their personal opinion on the controversial subject of abortion, but the general public should not have the opinion of a particular group on view whenever they travel through their community."

MacKenzie wants the monument relocated away from the side of the main road in Outer Cove, further within the church’s property.

The plaque on the monument says it is "dedicated to all miscarried, aborted, and stillborn children. We celebrate the life of unborn children who are and will ever be persons all."

It was installed by the local Knights of Columbus group.

Father Fred Brown, the parish priest for St. Francis of Assisi, did not respond to interview requests.

Derm Whelan, past grand knight with the Knights of Columbus, said MacKenzie’s complaint was the only negative comment of which he is aware.

In fact, Whelan said, there have been many positive remarks.

He reiterated the Catholic Church's opinion on abortion — that life starts at conception.

Monument approved

The monument was approved by the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove council.

Mayor John Kennedy said it meets the town's development regulations.

“When we get an application, we look at it with regards to whether it conforms with the regulations,” Kennedy said.

“My own personal opinion doesn't enter into the equation with this. We do it based on not the message, [but] what the signage itself is.”

The council discussed MacKenzie’s complaint at a recent meeting, and agreed to steer anyone with similar concerns back to the parish or the Knights of Columbus.