Bishops calling out governments over arbitrary COVID regulations

After enduring nearly of church closings they deem unfair and arbitrary, a growing number of Catholic bishops and church leaders across Canada are challenging provincial governments over restrictions targeting places of worship.

Toronto’s Cardinal Thomas Collins wants Catholics to send a clear message to Queen’s Park: It’s time for a “fair and equitable approach to the return to worship.”

The archdiocese has launched a website where people can sign up to voice support for the safe re-opening of churches.

With many churches in the Archdiocese of Toronto restricted to 10 people while retailers move to 25 per cent capacity, the cardinal has become increasingly frustrated with political decisions regarding the pandemic restrictions and is calling on Catholics to contact their Ontario MPP.

“I do not believe that our elected officials and medical officers of health consciously intend to suppress religious freedom … We do, however, ask to be treated equitably. In recent days, it is becoming more difficult to believe that is happening,” Collins said in a March 5 statement.

While the province relaxed restrictions in Toronto and Peel regions beginning March 8, churches remain at 10-person limits, which has meant the continued suspension of public Masses.

“Next week, a funeral at St. Michael’s Cathedral (capacity 1,500) will be capped at 10 people, while around the corner dozens can enter the local liquor store and thousands will visit the Eaton Centre. This makes no sense,” Collins said in a statement.

“It is now appropriate for us to respectfully amplify our concerns,” Collins wrote. “I am asking you to take two minutes to write to your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP). A copy of your letter will also be shared with Premier Ford.”

On the website, the archdiocese lists two items reflecting “a fair and equitable approach” toward houses of worship:

1. That capacity limits reflect a percentage of pre-pandemic capacity instead of an “arbitrary limit” like 10 people.
2. That the province “engage directly with faith leaders” to understand the work done in churches and the measures taken to operate safely.

“Our strict WorshipSafe protocols in our churches have proven to be effective,” said Collins. “It’s time to address the growing inequities facing our faith communities.”

As Quebec movie theatres welcome up to 250 patrons as pandemic protocols begin to loosen, churches remain limited to only 10 people – including the presiding priest – at worship services.

It’s an inequity that has seen the bishops of Quebec’s two largest dioceses call on the province to reconsider re-opening protocols as they apply to churches.

Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine in a Feb. 24 statement argues “if stores and shopping centres are open to the public under compliance with appropriate measures, there is no reason why places of worship should not operate under the same conditions.”

Cardinal Gérald Lacroix, the Archbishop of Quebec, has challenged the Quebec government on multiple occasions over the past year to not ignore the importance of the province’s religious communities, and took to Twitter Feb. 19 to again ask for equitable treatment.

“Let us stand in solidarity with the collective effort in the fight against COVID, but demand fair treatment for communities of faith, whose access to places of worship is limited to 10 people; 250 will be allowed to gather at the cinema!” Cardinal Lacroix tweeted.

In an interview with The Catholic Register, Archbishop Lépine emphasized that the preoccupation on the public’s physical health was the sensible call in the early months of the pandemic when so much was unknown about the novel coronavirus. But now is the time to consider a person’s other needs.

“We cannot forget about the needs of physical health, but we also can’t forget psychological needs, spiritual needs and economic needs,” said Archbishop Lépine. “This notion of talking about considering these other needs of a person was not popular 10 or 12 months ago, but now it is gaining traction.”

It’s a sentiment that is beginning to take hold across the country.

In Toronto, Neil MacCarthy, director of public relations and communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said there “has been a healthy dialogue between the archdiocese and the province throughout the pandemic” and an expectation “places of worship should be treated equitably.” The concern he’s been hearing from faithful and clergy alike is the inconsistencies.

“That’s what we continue to discuss in our dialogue with the province. We have always advocated for a percentage of capacity vs. hard caps (10 people maximum) to ensure fairness,” said MacCarthy. “In most cases, we’ve seen that but since December we’ve been dealing with hard caps.”

A cap of 10 people in a church in the latter part of 2020 led the archdiocese to once again halt public Masses, which had been opened with capacity limits since June after initially being shut down by the first wave of COVID-19.

Since the pandemic’s start, Cardinal Collins has been adamant the archdiocese would follow the path set by public health officials, and is grateful that public Masses have returned to about 35 per cent of parishes in Canada’s largest diocese as some municipalities have seen health measures loosened. But in a Feb. 24 communique to the faithful leading up to his March 5 statement, Cardinal Collins said “we need to worship together and to return to our full sacramental life as soon as possible.”

Like the other bishops, Cardinal Collins said places of worship need to be “treated equitably by the province,” which a coalition of faith leaders has stressed in a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

“If the government does not address these issues sufficiently, we will be asking for your assistance in contacting our elected officials to amplify our voices,” he told the faithful.

In Winnipeg, Archbishop Richard Gagnon is pleased that Manitoba is trending towards loosening restrictions in recent weeks after a highly unprecedented year. He gives the local governments credit for making tough decision in trying times, but “churches need to be opened up more,” said Gagnon.

“I think everyone is doing their best. I don’t think governments are particularly targeting churches, but they are hard on churches I do agree,” he said.

A number of churches have been fighting back against the strict limitations placed on their services, including Alberta pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church, who will go to trial in May for repeatedly violating COVID restrictions at his parish west of Edmonton. Coates remains in jail after refusing to abide by bail conditions.

In Vancouver, Archbishop J. Michael Miller has filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court seeking an exemption from religious service restrictions after Dr. Bonnie Henry rejected his Feb. 19 request that churches be allowed to offer religious services at 10 per cent of capacity. 

Meanwhile, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has reserved his decision after hearing a constitutional challenge of the ban on in-person worship by three Lower Mainland churches.

The Catholic Register with B.C. Catholic files