One incident...always gave Mr. Laurier much pleasure to recall. A good supporter of his listened attentively one Sunday to a sermon in which his curé denounced Liberal Catholics. On Monday he sought out the curé and asked whether it would be possible for a good Catholic to vote for a Liberal. "No: impossible," was the reply. Next Sunday, the curé, more discreet, exhorted his flock to vote according to their conscience. "But," the query followed, "my conscience tells me to vote for Mr. Laurier; and yet you say if I vote for a liberal it will be a sin. I think I must not vote at all." The third Sunday brought a sermon denouncing political indifference, and insisting that it was the duty of good citizens to vote and not leave the suffrage to the uninformed and evil-minded. "My curé," responded the puzzled voter next morning, "I cannot vote for Mr. Laurier, for you tell me that if I vote for a Liberal I shall be damned; I cannot vote for Mr. Bourbeau, for you tell me that if I do not follow my conscience I shall be damned; I cannot vote for neither, for you tell me that if I do not vote at all I shall be damned. Since I must be damned anyway, I'll be damned for doing what I like. I am going to vote for Mr. Laurier."
Oscar Skelton, Life and Letters of Sir Wilfrid Laurier
