Loading An XML File (either A Data Island Or External) Into A DOM

how to load an XML file into a DOM. I can get it done in IE, but in mozilla I am missing something. Here is what my loadXML() function looks like:

function loadXML(){
try {
xmlDoc = new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM");
xmlDoc.async = "false";
xmlDoc.onreadystatechange = verify;
hasFile = xmlDoc.load(info.XMLDocument);
if (hasFile){
xmlObj = xmlDoc.documentElement;
allTopics = xmlObj.getElementsByTagName("topic");
}}
catch(e) {
xmlDoc = (new DOMParser()).parseFromString(document.getElementById('info').innerHTML, 'text/xml');
hasFile = true;
allTopics = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("topic");

if (hasFile){
allTopics = xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName("topic");
alert(allTopics[0].firstChild.getAttribute("name"));
}}}

Where verify is another function. The try part works for IE, but the catch part doesn't work for Mozilla. I am not finding any information as to really use an XML DOM properly in Mozilla. I'm trying to get allTopics to be a handle on the same thing in both the "try" and the "catch".