Montreal, Canada, May 5, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Quebec bishops are disappointed that the provincial government has gone ahead and drafted legislation that will put an end to Catholic and Protestant religious instruction in public schools by 2008. But there is hope that the new ethics and religious culture program will “bear some fruit,” said Bishop Pierre Morissette.
The president of the education commission for the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops (AECQ) told CNA he has a “double reaction” to the new program announced Wednesday by Education Minister Jean-Marc Fournier.
“It’s clearly a disappointment,” the bishop said in a telephone interview. “The bill is not in line with the position of the bishops, and the suggestions that we made to the minister in the fall were not followed.”
The AECQ had submitted a document to the Ministry of Education in October, insisting that the current program—offering the choice between Catholic or Protestant religious instruction or moral instruction—be maintained and implemented “more seriously.” They also insisted on improvements to the training program offered for religion teachers and to the schools’ spiritual animation services.