Former Calgary Bishop Fred Henry dead at 81

Bishop Fred Henry speaks with CTV Calgary during an April 2014 interview

A former Calgary bishop who spoke out against LGBTQ policies and school HPV vaccinations has died.

Bishop Emeritus Fred Henry was 81.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary announced Henry's death Tuesday afternoon, saying he "passed away peacefully" at noon at the Rockyview General Hospital, adding it will share funeral plans "in the coming days."

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Henry, who served as the seventh bishop for the Calgary diocese for 19 years, resigned from his post in early 2017 for medical reasons.

He was a polarizing figure who at times clashed with government over policy.

Henry refused to endorse Alberta's plan in 2008 to offer HPV vaccinations to girls in Grade 5, saying vaccinating them against a sexually transmitted disease confuses the church's message about chastity. The Calgary Catholic School Board, as a result, didn't offer them at first but later reversed their stance.

In 2016, Henry called the then-Alberta NDP government's new LGBTQ guidelines, which called for acceptance, "totalitarianism" and "pure secularism."

While Henry was a strong conservative voice for the Roman Catholic Church, he was also a staunch supporter of religion in Calgary and members of the church as well.

Henry testified in the defence of Father Newton Rodrigues who was part of a defamation case over child molestation charges that were proven false in 2003.

During the 2013 trial, Henry said he was contacted by the defendant, a lawyer in India who was posting false statements about Rodrigues.

He told the court that any time a priest is accused of a crime, whether it's true or not, harms the church.

"There's always that tendency, unfortunately, because there have been some, the presumption quite frequently is this is another one," he said.

"In this particular incidence it was such a clear-cut case and seemingly so black and white, there just had to be pushback."

In 2009, he fought back against what he called "attack ads" against Christians paid for the Freethought Association of Canada.

The group was behind the posting of atheist advertisements on Calgary buses featuring statements such as, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Upon learning about the ads, Henry said he felt the messages were disrespectful and unfair.

"The premise for a dialogue begins with respect, and I don't see this in this ad," he said at the time.

"This is in your face. They don't want dialogue. They would more likely ... want an argument or a debate, so it's a problem."

Henry was replaced by current Bishop William McGrattan.

(With files from the Canadian Press)