Quebec's bishops question court's ruling

Province's shepherds concerned about religious freedom

The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec are raising concerns
about religious freedom after a recent ruling from the Quebec Court
of Appeal. Photo: Sxc.hu.

The B.C. Catholic has a story by Deborah Gyapong about the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec's reaction to an early December ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal that agreed with the province's education minister to not allow an exemption for a Montreal Catholic school from teaching a controversial ethics and religion course:

Quebec’s Catholic bishops have raised questions about religious freedom after a court imposed the province’s Ethics and Religious Culture program (ERC) on a private Catholic School.

On Dec. 4, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the initial ruling of the province’s education minister that refused Loyola High School in Montreal an exemption from the ERC and overturned a 2010 Superior Court decision in Loyola’s favor.

Though the Jesuit-run school offered a replacement program, the minister ruled it was not equivalent since it was taught from a Catholic perspective and is therefore not “neutral” as the ERC requires.

“For our part, we believe that the Minister could have used [ministerial] discretion to recognize the value of the approach adopted by Loyola College in its program,” said a declaration from the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec (AECQ) executive committee released in late Dec.

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