Cardinal Carter began his priesthood in Montreal. There, while a professor of catachetics for twenty-five years, he became an authority on religious and general education. More recently, in addition to his duties as Bishop of London, Ontario, and later Archbishop of Toronto, and after receiving the cardinal's hat in 1979, he has served in Canada and in Rome on commissions on liturgy, canon law and interchurch and interfaith relations. He has also contributed notably to understanding among people of different races and creeds.