Bishops and Quebec.

Four months have passed since the October 30, 1995 Referendum. It seems useful to make some observations on what has transpired since. Immediately after the Referendum both the Assembly of Quebec Bishops (Nov.1) and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Nov. 2) issued statements of some length (Texts: CCCB publications, Nov. 2, 1995; English translation of Quebec bishops in Canadian Catholic Review, Feb. '96).

Reconciliation and dialogue

Both statements call for reconciliation and dialogue. We need open hearts and open minds; we cannot build on anger, resentments and suspicions (CCCB). We must adopt the Gospel attitudes of respect and dialogue, relentlessly search for truth and justice, and be ready to accept our differences (AQB). How have we done so far?

Regretfully, we have had not much more than recriminations. The federal government has declared Quebec a "distinct society." This may or may not be helpful depending on the meaning given that phrase. But the political and media talk so far has all been about the partition of Quebec and even Montreal. This is another gem we apparently owe to Pierre Trudeau: "If Canada is divisible, so is Quebec."

It suggests that Canadians now accept the idea of partitioning the country, which is false; and it is also an open invitation to violence. So is appealing to the United Nations to intervene in Canadian affairs and allot the northern half of the province to 12,000 Crees and Inuits.

Diatribes

Especially destructive of mutual harmony are diatribes such as Mordecai Richler's article published by Saturday Night in its February 1996 edition. He expresses his contempt--once again--for the "church-ridden Quebec" of the past, and now adds his hatred for the aspirations of Quebec today. There is not the slightest flicker of recognition of why the French Quebecois--as distinct from the English-speaking ones to which he belongs--might want a different political arrangement. For him everything is summed up in "They threatened, they lied and they cheated and still the separatists didn't win the referendum." In Richler's eyes, French Quebecois, the whole lot of them, are stupid and racist. The article provides a perfect reason why Quebecois may want to get out of Canada.

Fortunatley we don't have to accept that Saturday Night speaks for anyone at all apart from its own little tribe.

Quebec bishops

The AQB sees October 30 as an important milestone in the democratic education of Quebec and Canada, but one which should lead to a further evolution (so does the CCCB). They ask that Canadians don't wait too long before engaging in real dialogue. But let us, they say, avoid the winners and losers mentality.

They appeal to fellow citizens in other regions of Canada to continue to try to understand what the Quebec people are aspiring to and the ways they might achieve it. They add:

* don't believe Oct. 30 has settled everything;

* don't blame particular groups.

In the search for a new agreement, the AQB:

* recalls the right to self-determination (see our editorial, Dec. '95);

* affirms its own 1979 Yes to the idea of a "Quebec people";

* this is not defined solely by the French language;

* the term is not reserved solely to the francophone majority;

* it includes the cultural heritage of others;

* it includes the rights of native peoples;

* yet it hinges on the French fact in North America.

While some francophones seek a separate state, the fulfilment of Quebec aspirations could well take other forms, they say. The Gospel does not favour one political system over another: its goal is to bring about a more just and fraternal society. (Signed by seven bishops, including Cardinal Turcotte)

CCCB

The statement by the CCCB Executive runs along similar lines. Canada has a history of building a society of peace. "The time has come," they say, "for significant improvements" in Quebec-Canada relations.

It quotes from the (important) address delivered by the Holy Father to the United Nations during his October 1995 visit to the United States where he mentions that despite, or perhaps because of the current economic globalization, local and regional communities everywhere seek new political expressions to protect their self-identities. (Nationalist surges, therefore, are not just throwback to a tribal past as some have said about Quebec). (Signed by Bishops Spence, Wiesner, Goudreault and Cardinal Turcotte).

Let me conclude with a quote:

"We know, as the Church knows, that unity is no threat to diversity. The Church, like her Lord, is a past master at uniting diverse peoples. Barriers tumble at her touch. Everything that comprises the authentic good of Quebec, including her uniqueness, is not only compatible with the good of Canada, it is inseparable from it. Quebec unity built on Canadian disunity is ghettoism, a counterfeit of unity, just as asking Quebec to lose her identity for the sake of the unity of Canada would make Canada a meltingpot, which is a counterfeit of diversity. Christ wanted us to be one in Him; it is no accident that at the same time He made each of us unique. As with individuals, so it is with societies. Unity and uniqueness are two sides of one good coin."