{"id":130503,"date":"2025-09-09T05:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130503\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T05:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T05:54:10","slug":"quebecs-proposed-prayer-ban-like-forbidding-thought-itself-montreal-archbishop-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/130503\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec\u2019s proposed prayer ban \u2018like forbidding thought itself,\u2019 Montreal archbishop says"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n \"Canadian
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

By Canadian Catholic News<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Quebec City, Canada, Sep 8, 2025 \/
\n 17:16 pm<\/p>\n

The Quebec government\u2019s call for a ban on all public prayer raises \u201cserious concerns\u201d about a democratic society\u2019s fundamental freedoms, Montreal Archbishop Christian L\u00e9pine said in a public letter.<\/p>\n

Such a ban would discourage gestures fostering hope and solidarity in a world already \u201cshaken\u201d by so many crises \u2014 economic, social, and environmental, the archbishop said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, to forbid public prayer would be somewhat like forbidding thought itself,\u201d he said in a letter posted to the archdiocese\u2019s website<\/a> Sept. 2 and published in the Montreal newspaper La Presse.<\/p>\n

L\u00e9pine said the proposal by Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault to end prayer in public places goes squarely against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Quebec\u2019s own Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we afford to discourage gestures that foster hope and solidarity?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The archbishop called the proposal unworkable and discriminatory, adding it would \u201cjeopardize traditions deeply rooted in Quebec,\u201d such as the Way of the Cross, Palm Sunday processions, and the feast of Corpus Christi, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events, marked by order and dignity, are spaces of encounter,\u201d he said. \u201cTo forbid prayer in public would be to threaten their very existence.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that Pope Francis\u2019 penitential pilgrimage to Canada in 2022, with its stop in Quebec City, might have been banned under such a law.<\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s Catholic bishops are also speaking out, saying the ban would violate people\u2019s constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

Bishop Martin Lalibert\u00e9, president of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops, said he was \u201cstunned\u201d by Legault\u2019s suggested ban on prayer in parks and on city streets, warning that it would affect a wide range of activities practiced by people of many faiths.<\/p>\n

In a recent open letter, the Quebec bishops said the ban would target minority religious groups perceived by some as threatening Quebec\u2019s identity, would be unenforceable, and would contradict both Canadian and Quebec Charter rights.<\/p>\n

Legault\u2019s Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec party first called for such a ban late last year and immediately drew condemnation from many quarters, including Quebec\u2019s bishops. In a letter at the time, Lalibert\u00e9 wrote to the government: \u201cPrayer is not dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Quebec government has been vocal about introducing a bill to ban public prayer following a spate of mass Islamic prayer gatherings in 2024 in conjunction with pro-Palestinian protests in the province, including a weekly one in the square outside of Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal. Images and videos <\/a>of Muslims praying in Montreal outside the basilica have made headlines this summer.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 28, Quebec secularism minister Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Roberge announced the government will introduce legislation in the fall to ban street prayer, although it has not said whether it will invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Charter to shield the legislation from constitutional challenges.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Constitution Foundation also came out strongly against the proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis legislation is an assault on the constitutionally protected right to freedom of religion,\u201d said litigation director Christine Van Geyn. \u201cWe view this as overreach that will impact religious communities across Quebec and deserves careful scrutiny. Secularism does not require hostility to people of faith, and that is what this proposed law represents.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Story continues below)<\/p>\n

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Van Geyn said it is understandable that the government wants to prevent protests and prayers that block streets, \u201cbut banning all public prayer in Quebec violates the very freedoms that make Canada better than a theocracy. The government should enforce existing laws and ticket those who block traffic and violate noise bylaws; don\u2019t attack all people of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) likewise condemned the proposal as \u201ca clear infringement\u201d on freedom of religion, expression, assembly, and association.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuppressing peaceful religious expression, individually or communally, under the guise of secularism not only marginalizes faith-based communities but also undermines principles of inclusion, dignity, and equality,\u201d said CCLA Director Harini Sivalingam.<\/p>\n

CCLA Executive Director Howard Sapers warned of \u201cthe increasing trend by some governments to misuse the notwithstanding clause to violate fundamental rights and freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canadian Muslim Forum added its voice, saying public prayers are a manifestation of freedom of expression, and a blanket ban would stigmatize communities, fuel exclusion, and undermine Quebec\u2019s social cohesion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should be focused on solving real problems, not policing the fundamental rights of its citizens,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n

With provincial elections due in 2026, identity and secularism issues are once again dominating Quebec\u2019s political debate. Legault\u2019s government has been suffering in opinion polls and recently lost its third consecutive byelection to the separatist Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by The B.C. Catholic<\/a>, is reprinted here with permission, and has been adapted by CNA. <\/p>\n


\n \"Canadian
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