CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 08:01 am
Religious leaders in the Canadian province of Quebec are speaking out against tightening COVID-19 restrictions in certain areas, which they say treat worship services more strictly than physically comparable entities like cinemas and theaters.
Quebec's Minister of Health and Social Services on Sept. 20 issued a health order limiting attendance at indoor worship services to 50 people in most regions of the province, and to 25 people in some regions, such as Montreal and Quebec City. The new restrictions are in response to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the region.
A coalition of Quebec religious leaders, the Table interreligieuse de concertation, says the government has not been open to "direct and constant contact" with religious leaders- a situation the coalition called "disappointing and unacceptable."
In a Sept. 21 statement, Bishop Christian Rodembourg of Saint-Hyacinthe, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec, wrote on behalf of the group that churches in the province ought to be treated like auditoriums, cinemas, and theaters, which are allowed to host up to 250 people at a time.