Quebec priest running for office says he'll put church teaching first

Published: 2006-11-02

MONTREAL (CNS) -- A priest running for a seat in the Canadian Parliament said that, if elected, he will put the church's teachings first in his political decisions. "I am a priest first and then a politician," said Father Raymond Gravel, parish priest of St. Joachim Church in Sainte Anne des Plaines, Quebec. Bishop Gilles Lussier of Joliette, Quebec, said in an Oct. 31 statement that "no green light has been given by the Vatican" for Father Gravel to run for office, reported The Catholic Register, a Toronto-based weekly. "The position of the church is clear: All priests must abstain from all militant engagement in politics," said Bishop Lussier in the statement. He added that exceptional circumstances, which are determined by the bishop after consulting with a priests' council, can be made that would allow clergy to engage in politics. However, he said in the statement, the circumstances do not exist in Canada. Father Gravel is running as a candidate for the Bloc Quebecois, a separatist political party that defends the interests of Quebec. When Father Gravel was sworn in as the Bloc Quebecois candidate Oct. 29, he was no longer eligible to administer the sacraments.

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