In Medico-Stalinist Quebec, the Unvaccinated Are Banned from Church
Quebec’s Premier François Legault has put in place a COVID-19 restriction that we must denounce and stand up against.
He announced that all places of worship in Quebec must use vaccine passports to refuse entry to unvaccinated people!
This is a clear case where COVID-19 restrictions have gone too far. We cannot allow governments to assume total control over places of worship by letting them dictate the conditions under which their province’s citizens can go to church. One’s vaccination status has no theological relevance to whether one should be permitted to receive sacraments and participate in their faith communities.
To make matters worse, there is strong evidence to suggest that this policy was made without any consultation with religious leaders in Quebec!
In a Christmas letter by Bishop Guy Desrochers of the Diocese of Pembroke, Ontario, he wrote: “And please note that the Bishops of Quebec were not even consulted before the publication of this announcement which seems to me to be totally unfair to a part of our faithful”.
In fact, the Archdiocese in Quebec has chosen to suspend all masses in Quebec City until January 10th instead of complying with the vaccine mandate, suggesting that at least some Catholic bishops in Quebec are opposed to these restrictions.
Keep in mind, there are already restrictions on places of worship in Quebec, which force them to be below a 50% capacity, with a maximum of 250 people. The vast majority of churches understand the importance of taking measures to protect vulnerable people from COVID-19. The fact that many are not on board with the government with this policy should show that this an extreme and unjust policy.
This issue goes beyond personal opinions about COVID-19 vaccines. This is an issue of conscience rights and religious freedoms.
If someone feels they ought not to take any of the COVID-19 vaccines Canada offers due to their religious denomination, due to the connection between most COVID-19 vaccines and HEK-293 (a cell line derived from an aborted fetus), or due to any other sincere and serious reason, they should be allowed to do so without having their right to practice their religion stripped away.
Premier François Legault must recognize this. Government leaders must not be allowed to coerce some of their citizens into receiving a medical procedure by denying them their right to freely worship. Though he is undoubtably under pressure to contain rising cases of the Omicron variant, Premier Legault must do so while respecting the fundamental freedoms of the faithful in Quebec.
Thanks for all you do,
James Schadenberg and the entire CitizenGO Team
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More information:
Quebec’s current restrictions on places of worship: https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-issues/a-z/2019-coronavirus/measures-in-force/weddings-places-worship-funerals
Letter by Bishop of the Diocese of Pembroke: https://pembrokediocese.com/article/an-unusual-christmas/
Archdiocese of Quebec’s response: https://www.ecdq.org/noel-2021-nouveau-communique-sur-la-suspension-des-celebrations