Quebec Court rules Catholic school must teach state course

Parents see decision as a blow to religious freedom

The B.C. Catholic has a story by Deborah Gyapong about a recent court decision in Quebec that said a Catholic school must teach a controversial ethics and religion:

A Dec. 4 Quebec Court of Appeal decision involving a private Catholic High School in Montreal is seen by a Catholic parents’ group as a blow to religious freedom and the right of Catholic institutions to be Catholic.

The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled Dec. 4 Loyola High School must teach the province’s mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) as is, without allowing the school to offer an equivalent program.

Loyola sought to teach its own world religions and ethics course instead of the ERC. The Minister of Education determined the course was not equivalent because it taught the course from a Catholic standpoint. The Minister ordered Loyola to teach the ERC from a neutral perspective, since the point of the ERC is to foster tolerance and dialogue in pursuit of the common good.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.