Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine said
the coming weeks will present a prime opportunity to learn whether there is any
leeway to host a public prayer event after Bill 9 became law in Quebec April 2.

This act to bolster state secularism — also
known as laïcité — explicitly restricts collective prayer and other
religious practices in the civil square unless municipal authorization is
granted.

Lepine said his team will file an application to again host an
outdoor candlelit procession starting from Mary Queen of the World Cathedral
following Mass to commemorate the Feast of Corpus Christi. Approximately 4,000
Catholics from Montreal participate in this event each year.

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In 2026, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body
and Blood of Christ falls on June 4.

“It is a very important day that gathers a
lot of people, so it will actually be the next test on how (the law) works,”
said Lepine. “We are going to make the moves to ask for permission to do it
from the city and police. For the last 25 years, there was never a problem, but
we are going to ask for it and see how it goes.”

Hypothetically, if a written request does not
make any headway because of the new restrictions spawned by the law, Lepine
said the archdiocese would seek an in-person dialogue.

“If a letter does not work, then we will have
to meet people and talk to them,” said Lepine. “What are people afraid of? What
are the legitimate fears?

“If you look at Article 3 of the (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights) from the United Nations,” continued the
74-year-old prelate. “It articulates together life, freedom and security.
Freedom, yes, not at the expense of security. But security, yes, but not at the
expense of freedom. I think we have a good starting point with the declaration. Up to now, whether it’s the Canadian Constitution, the (Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms) or the declaration, the right principles are there. We
will have to go back to the basics and promote those actions. We’ll have a
dialogue on those specific issues.”

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Lepine will also be in a position to state
that security issues have never arisen during any of the previous Corpus
Christi processions and that the archdiocese has enjoyed solid cooperation with
law enforcement.

“Actually, the police are even glad of being
there for us when we do processions,” said Lepine, “so I’m hopeful.”

Noting that the application process is more
complicated, Lepine shared that people of faith in Quebec need to learn the
spirit of this law through its usage.

“Do we want to restrain freedom of religion,
or is it about ensuring better security? I think to ensure better security is
very legitimate, but if it’s about restraining the possibility for religion to
be seen in the public square, that’s something else,” he said.

In the aftermath of the National Assembly of
Quebec adopting Bill 9 with a 78-26 vote on Holy Thursday, Lepine and Quebec’s bishops immediately
expressed their “great disappointment” in a statement, saying they “are sorry
not to have been heard by the government.” They argued the “state is already
secular and that the legislation in force until now was amply sufficient to
regulate religious practices in the public space,” and repeated their fears
“about measures that limit fundamental rights without convincing
justification.”

Lepine reiterated that while the provincial
government might be secular, society is pluralistic.

“The role of the state is to be at the
service of the society in these different components and beliefs,” said Lepine.
“It’s really to be there always in the context of security and social peace,
but it’s still to be there at the service of the society as it is. So, in
society, there are different beliefs — whether people believe in God, or they
don’t believe in God — (and) ways of seeing life.”

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Bill 9 also bans subsidized daycare workers
from wearing religious symbols, prohibits public institutions like hospitals
from only offering food based on a religious tradition (halal or kosher meals)
and phases out public subsidies for faith-based private schools over the next
three years.

Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, the notwithstanding clause, was invoked pre-emptively to
safeguard Bill 9 from constitutional challenges.

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)