CANADA/ Reasonable freedom of religion

Paula Celani will be in a Montreal courtroom Nov. 1 fighting a fine for attending an illegal Roman Catholic Mass. Canadians of all religious faiths—and even those who care only about protecting Charter freedoms—should cross their fingers that she wins.

Celani actually showed up to fight the case this week. Alas, three public sector “witnesses” expected to testify against her were no shows so the matter was delayed until the day after Halloween. “I’m not sure why I’m the one who has to make the effort to come back when they’re the ones who didn’t show up,” Celani said after Tuesday’s brief hearing before Judge Jean-Pierre Bessette. “It doesn’t make sense, but then nothing about this does. It’s ridiculous.”

Ridiculous doesn’t begin to describe it. Frightening is a much better place to start for the events that began with an entirely uneventful gathering of Catholic friends on October 4, 2009 and is now before a judge. Celani is in court only because her name was on the $300 rental contract that the group of friends signed for the use of two rooms in a city-owned complex called La Maison du Brasseur in the borough of Lachine, just west of downtown Montreal.

About 100 friends belonging to a lay Catholic organization used the rooms to watch some videos and have a potluck lunch together. Oh, and horror of horrors, they sang songs and held a Mass behind closed doors. Then everyone went home. End of story. Or so it seemed.

Except that seven months later, in April 2010, Celani received a $144 ticket for having allowed the Mass to take place. By so doing, she had broken a bylaw that prohibits “cultic” activity such as praying, singing religious songs, or conducting religious celebrations. Under the same regulations, interestingly, renters are allowed to serve liquor provided they have the necessary permits. They are forbidden, however, from using propane tanks to cook inside the building. So, you can get hammered in La Maison du Brasseur. You just can’t blow the place up or mention God.

What Celani and her group did not realize was that they were being “observed” by three employees of the borough of Lachine working at the complex that day. The observers dutifully filed reports attesting that the law had been ravaged by prayer, song, and thanksgiving.