Replace prayer

Perhaps the current town council supports reciting a prayer before its meetings and adamantly opposes any moves to change that tradition. Or perhaps council fears a public backlash if it chose to abolish the practice.
Whatever the reason for its decision, council erred in choosing to sit on its hands Monday night rather than deal with the inevitable in a prompt and decisive manner.
True, the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision earlier this month—in which it ruled the reading of a Catholic prayer at council meetings in Saguenay, Que. infringes on freedom of conscience and religion—applies strictly to that case.
But experts say the concept behind the ruling is applicable right across the country and eventually will become the law of the land.
The issue also has been raging in the Ottawa Valley since the municipal election this past fall, where an atheist’s objections to a prayer before meetings quickly spread to other councils.
In Thunder Bay, the Chronicle-Journal reported this week that council there has been observing a moment of silence for years—a practice stemming from a court decision in the 1990s over using the Lord’s Prayer at meetings.
Coun. Paul Ryan is right in saying the police won’t come knocking on the door anytime soon. But by opting to continue to recite a prayer before meetings, council is opening the door to a court challenge—however remote—which likely won’t be cheap to fight and, given the Supreme Court’s ruling, isn’t winnable.
Rather, the sensible decision is to recognize the sign of the times and replace the prayer with a moment of silence or personal reflection as quickly as possible.