The bishop in charge of overseeing Catholic military chaplains says he’s “pleased” the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have temporarily halted a directive banning them from prayer during official functions.
Bp. McCaig heads the Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada, which is outside the chain of command but part of the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC). The ICCMC is responsible for the selection of military chaplains.
His Oct. 11 directive removed the ability of chaplains to say a prayer during official functions, replacing them with “spiritual reflections.”
The policy says that “Chaplains must ensure that all members feel respected and included by undertaking inclusive practices that respect the diversity of beliefs within the CAF.” Chaplains who do not comply and utter the word “God” during an official function can be removed from the service.
Up to then, chaplains could say an inclusive prayer prefaced by an invitation to non-believers to take a moment of reflection.
“We are particularly grateful that the voices of our veterans have been heeded, and prayers for them and for the fallen may be said at this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations throughout the country,” said Bp. McCaig.
Brig.-Gen. Belisle wrote in his email he still supports the “spirit” of his directive, which is said to be based on a 2015 Supreme Court decision on state neutrality in religious affairs. It is also inline with the diversity and inclusion cultural change framework implemented by the Liberal government.
“In light of the questions that have been raised concerning the Directive, any chaplain who participates in a Remembrance Day ceremony this year can propose a spiritual reflection or opt for the practice of recent years,” said Brig.-Gen. Belisle.
Former military chaplain Harold Ristau remarked to The Epoch Times that Brig.-Gen. Belisle’s email appears to suggest the pause only applies to this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony. He adds the chaplain general probably willingly chose to say the “practice of recent years” instead of spelling out “prayer.”
“If you read the email carefully you will see that he has deliberately specified only this event,” says Mr. Ristau. “I suspect that all subsequent public ceremonies that fit the criteria in the new directive will ban prayer. However, nobody but the military will notice!”
Mr. Ristau says the pause is a public relations move following a backlash. “The absence of prayer on Remembrance Day was going to be totally noticeable by average Canadians and thus scandalous.”
Along with allowing chaplains to say a prayer on Nov. 11, Brig.-Gen. Belisle said the policy would be reviewed by a committee.
Bp. McCaig said the committee appointed should be “truly inclusive and properly balance the complementary goods of state neutrality and the freedom of religion.”
“State neutrality is not the exclusion of religious and spiritual expression, but the freedom to fully live one’s belief system and freedom from coercion—religious and non-religious alike.”
The bishop had released a previous statement commenting on the new directive saying the ICCMC had not been consulted.
“I have heard from Catholic chaplains and other members of the Military Ordinariate who are experiencing frustration, a sense of betrayal, and even vocational crisis,” he wrote.
Two serving chaplains speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals say they hope the lift on the prayer ban is permanent.
Chaplain “Tom” says he hopes the CAF takes a lesson from the backlash. “They have to understand that the military is not a petri dish for social experimentation and agendas,” he says. “When they push through radical policies, it hurts morale, retention, and recruitment, and it actually hinders operational capabilities.”
The chaplain general “is now ‘allowing’ us in his grace to pray at Remembrance Day,” reacted Chaplain “Craig.” “While some are celebrating this small victory, and I am one of those, I am also reminded that my right to pray was never his to take away in the first place.”
Defence Minister Bill Blair responded that they were spreading “misinformation.”
“Let’s be very clear: [Canadian Forces] chaplains are not—and will not be—banned from prayer on Remembrance Day, nor at any other time,” he said on Oct. 19.
Mr. Blair’s office has not returned a request for comment.
