Cardinal Lacroix explained that he decided to speak out because, as the government slowly seeks to reopen society following coronavirus lockdowns, “millions of believers from the different faith communities in the province of Quebec feel betrayed, ignored, by the authorities."

A federal judge in Canada has struck down the Safe Third Country Agreement, which sends refugees arriving at the border back to detention in the United States, on the grounds that it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedom.

Church officials had been in regular conversation with Toronto and Ontario officials and received enthusiastic approval of the plan the diocese put in motion to reopen churches and restore Communion at Mass.

Demonstrations in Ottawa and other communities protested Floyd’s killing, but they also called attention to the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Indigenous-Black Canadian woman who fell to her death from a Toronto high rise.

The Catholic bishops of Canada, in commenting on the protests over George Floyd's death, are acknowledging that racism isn't just a U.S. problem, but a Canadian problem as well.

"Such a tragic event, involving the meaningless death of so many of our fellow citizens, has shocked us all," he said, "adding more collective suffering to an already tragic time in our province, our country and our personal lives.