What does it mean to be a public Catholic institution in Canada? How does this Catholic identity evolve with the secularisation and diversification of society, and with the rising awareness of the complicated legacy of Catholicism and colonisation in Canada? This article explores those questions drawing on document analysis and interviews with staff working in Catholic health care. Taking a legal pluralist approach, it documents how Catholic health-care institutions navigate between transnational canon laws and ethics, and human rights law. Catholic health care is situated in a web of national and transnational legal regimes. We argue that this navigation takes different forms to adapt to societal changes, such as the authorization of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). This article speaks directly to how Christianity continues to play a subtle, but still constant presence in Canadian Catholic hospitals, and debunks tropes that construct relationships between state and religion as one of clear separation.

Élisabeth Sirios, Amélie Barras, and Andrea Paras present “Revisiting the Secularization Story: A Comparative Analysis of Catholic Hospitals in Québec and Newfoundland” at the Canadian Political Science Association Conference. The session is part of the Provincial Policy Making panel and will take place from 1:45pm to 3:15 pm on June 4, 2025.

Dean's Award for Research Excellence (DARE)
DARE student poster presentation
York University Library
October 6th, 2024

Dean's Award for Research Excellence (DARE)
DARE student poster presentation
York University Library
October 6th, 2024, 3:30pm- 4:30pm

Canadian Political Sciences Association 2024 -Presentation of a paper entitled: Canadian Catholic Healthcare at the Nexus of Multiple Legal Regimes, Montreal, Canada, June 12th 2024