The Quebec City Roman Catholic Church gave a nod Friday to French singer Edith Piaf's "Hymne a l'amour" and the recent controversy around the classic song because of its reference to God.
The diocese published an ad in two Quebec City newspapers Friday using the final line of the legendary 1949 song that says: "God reunites those who love."
A Quebec music teacher sparked an uproar Thursday after he cut that line out of a performance by his 10- and 11-year-old students because it contains the word God.
The teacher argued he didn't want to get into a debate about religion in his music class.
Several Quebec politicians decried the decision, saying it is outright censorship.
The Catholic Church noted Friday it wanted to pay tribute to the song dear to many Quebecers and celebrated around the world.
"We had the idea over lunch Thursday and decided we couldn't miss the opportunity to promote that message of love," said diocese spokesman Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre.
He stressed the church is not opportunistic, but rather simply clever to use Piaf's song to get some mainstream notice.
"This sentence is not associated with any religion," Lemieux-Lefebvre noted. "It expresses a reality shared by many people over time, the idea that there is a good God who wants us to be happy," it added.
He noted God doesn't have a monopoly in uniting those who love, but stressed the church's mission is to bring together those who love each other, as well as those who don't.
The Quebec City diocese draws inspiration from the Archdiocese of Montreal, which has a history of using a popular issue to draw attention to its fundraising campaigns.
Last week, the Catholic Church placed an ad in local newspapers encouraging people to pray for the Montreal Canadiens to make the NHL playoffs, and last year, it installed a billboard near an aging Montreal bridge to urge drivers to "say your prayers."