Warning from Catholic church to PQ gov’t: Be careful what you wish for

MONTREAL – There’s a warning from the Catholic church to the Parti Quebecois government: the push for a more secular state could backfire.

Monseigneur Pierre-Andre Fournier, the head of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops, suggests the proposed charter could have unintended consequences.

He warns that, instead of a more secular Quebec, it could prompt more street protests and leave more women isolated at home in what he refers to as cultural “ghettos.”

Fournier told a news conference today in Trois-Rivieres that women will be the ones penalized the most — that under the PQ’s plan they would become less likely to integrate, along with their children.

The Catholic bishops of Quebec are not opposed to the overall idea of a values charter, but they want some changes.

Fournier said in an interview that there are many grey aspects of the proposed charter and the bishops want to make it better to make sure the state respects religion.

The Quebec bishops support the plan’s five criteria for minority accommodations, but are against the part of the charter that issues a broad ban on government workers wearing visible religious symbols.

The minority PQ government is expected to table a bill in the fall, and has suggested it might negotiate with opposition parties afterward.

However, it is resisting having such discussions with opponents now and says it wants to give the debate more time to play out.

Some of the debate may be occurring within the PQ cabinet itself. Two ministers have made contrasting statements this week, leading to contradictory news headlines about whether the plan will ultimately keep its current five-year opt-out clause for institutions.

Two polls this week suggest the PQ plan is supported by about half of Quebecers — which is a precipitous drop from the levels of support expressed in recent months for the headwear-ban idea.