In Quebec’s COVID Response, the Catholic Church Has Been Completely Marginalized

National Catholic Register, 06 September 2020

In Canada, civil authorities and the Church have collaborated, negotiated and even litigated over pandemic protocols. Yet in the province of Quebec, the Church was being ignored.

Catholics have protested during the pandemic the classification of religious gatherings as “not essential.” But what if religious practice was not taken into consideration at all? That was the complaint this past summer by Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec on the situation in his own province.

“Please, let us breathe! Over the past four months, we have solidly proven our good faith and our willingness to collaborate entirely with the authorities. Do not abuse our patience, and stop ignoring our existence and our sense of responsibility,” Cardinal Lacroix said at the prominent shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, on the July 26 Feast of St. Anne, the patron saint of Quebec.

 “Millions of believers from the different faith communities in the province of Quebec feel betrayed, ignored, by the authorities. There are very many believers in the province, not just those who go to church or synagogue or mosque every week,” Lacroix explained.

It is unlikely that “millions” are aggrieved, otherwise the government would have attended to their concerns. It is more the case that the government considers religion entirely superfluous, and most Quebeckers are indifferent.

The cardinal objected strenuously to the fact that the Church’s objections were not taken into account at all.

“While throughout the pandemic the sale of alcohol and cannabis was considered an essential service, faith communities, which undoubtedly we consider capable of offering an essential service to the community, were virtually ignored,” he said. “Even casinos have been granted, before us, the right to accommodate 250 people in areas much smaller than our churches.”

In many other places, civil authorities and the Church have collaborated, negotiated and even litigated over pandemic protocols. Yet in Quebec, Cardinal Lacroix bemoaned that the Church was entirely being ignored. Requests to meet were not granted. The Church had to get its information from watching news conferences and depending upon the questions of journalists.

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