A Jesuit-founded think-tank in Quebec has accused Canada's bishops of
turning away from Catholic social teaching and toward the Government of
Prime Minister Stephen Harper.In an open letter to Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) chairman Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, the Montreal-based Centre Justice et Foi (Justice and Faith Centre) said recent decisions by the bishops reflected "a political conservatism that has nothing to do with the Gospel".
"You seem to put the preservation of your ‘good relations' with the conservative Government above all other considerations," Justice et Foi director Elisabeth Garant wrote.
She also criticised the CCCB for meeting with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney at a time the Government was tightening rules for immigrants and abolishing its post of chief counsellor for social justice.