Posted on 03/05/2010 2:33:57 PM PST by JoeProBono
Here’s the statement from the priest’s blog, about the situation:
What wisdom is at work in not having children of a gay marriage in a Catholic school?
If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against the will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad. We don’t want to put any child in that tough position - nor do we want to put the parents, or the teachers, at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Why would good parents want their children to learn something they don’t believe in? It doesn’t make sense. There are so many schools in Boulder that see the meaning of sexuality in an entirely different way than the Catholic Church does. Why not send their child there?
The core issue for us Catholics on this question is our freedom and our obligation to teach about marriage and family life as our Faith teaches. If parents see the cultural interpretation of what tolerance has become as more important than the teachings of Jesus, then we become unfaithful to the Lord and we lose the meaning of the beatitude, “Blessed are you when they insult you for My sake, for the Kingdom of Heaven is yours.” Many of Jesus’ teachings were not popular. In fact, He was crucified for His teachings.
Glossing over differences on essential matters, and pretending that crucial issues are irrelevant, is not tolerance.
It is relativism, meaning that nothing is important anymore and everyone can have their own interpretation of what is goodness and truth. This kind of tolerance, which is a decidedly secularist invention, seeks to separate all moral discourse from public life. However, those who embrace this kind of tolerance do not, of course, acknowledge that they are imposing their own moral judgments upon society.
The Catholic Church invests in parish schools so as to assist children in becoming disciples of Christ and to stand as a light shining in the darkness that has rejected Christianity and the truth of being human, including the meaning of human sexuality.
What does this Diocese do with regard to children whose heterosexual parents are unmarried, or not married in the Church?
I can understand the conflict, my point was do you go public with it in such a brutish manner, or do you present it the way you just did?
I have no idea what this diocese does. I can only speak for my own. But this one sounds similar to mine, and before any child is admitted to the school, a personal conference with the principal, the teacher and the parents, plus a private conference with the priest and the parents takes place.
In order to have children attend the parish school, one or both parents must be members of the parish. Parish members have records of baptism, first communion, confirmation, marriage, births and deaths recorded, in the church office, so the situation would be known before the parents could register their child.
When we changed parishes, the written records were transferred to our new parish. Everybody gets a baptism certificate, a first communion certificate, a confirmation certificate, marriage certificate, etc.
I know of one child, friend of my granddaughter, who lived with her divorced father so that she could attend the school. Her mother lived some distance away, but it was the desire of both parents that she attend the parish school.
When my daughter registered her children, she went to the Church secretary and told her they wanted the kids in the parish school, and an initial conference with the priest and my daughter and her husband took place. Since my son-in-law is Baptist, the priest took great care to be sure he could be supportive of the Catholic education, which leads me to believe it was a requirement. The Church does not want to be a cause of discord in families, and will not let the children be used in a tug of war if it can be foreseen and prevented.
Not every parish has a school; it’s a huge expense, and not all can afford it. There are typically as many children on the waiting list as there are attending. The Church has an interest in raising up solid Catholics well-educated in their faith, and therefore the requirements, while not onerous, do exist and are followed.
I would imagine that the lesbian parents gave the information to the media, which is why the Church responded. I know of no instance where the Church would get out front on such an issue; for one thing, it would be a breach of confidence on the Church's part, unless the parents had already told the media and everyone else.
Sounds logical to me.
I believe that is not typical of around here. The Catholic parish schools are open to the general community and advertise thusly. I know of, for example, a Hindu family that had a child in the local school. There is nothing Catholic about their background whatsoever, although it is a doctor's family and one would say they are nice people.
That the Catholic school in this town is technically parochial but not all that heavy on the Catholic is one reason we have not enrolled our kids there (tuition is another). The school is fine and the students attain competitive test scores but the Catholic spirituality is weak IMO. However, I do believe a situation similar to that in the article would arise if parents' lifestyles were severely at odds with Catholic teaching.
Ironically, it is the Protestant parochial schools in this area that emphasize Christian education to a greater degree.
Oh, if we only had a Traditional Catholic School with Latin Mass every day and strict adherence to Catholic principles!
That does sound unusual. I wonder if they accept federal money? Our parish does not, because they would have to comply with federal mandates on sex education, hiring of personnel, etc.
I would prefer the local Catholic school be operated more like yours, but can also see the charity and Christian outreach in allowing people from other faiths to attend.
We had become aware of a Catholic school 90 miles away that would have suited our needs, but a new priest was assigned and reportedly discontinued the Latin Masses. Now that school is probably not much different from ours. To get a "real immersive" Catholic school that is still within a diocese (not independent), I think we would have to move to northern Idaho.
I don't think it would have been necessary for the school to expell the student. After a few "homework assignments", those sort of things usually take care of themselves:
"Billy, for today's homework assignment, I want you to go home and tell the two homosexuals that you live with that God see's their sin as an abomination. Get back to me on what they say Billy."
Terrible decision by the school.
So the Catholic school would teach the kid that his parents are living in sin? There's only one way for the this association to go, down.
The school was right. The gay parents were just trying to put their foot in the door. It is too bad for the children but it is the parent who has put the child in jeopardy. The poor kid will not have a normal life thanks to the parents choices. We cannot change the reality of that.
The other children do not need to be exposed to the child talking about her two “mommies”. This would be confusing and disturbing to the other children. I would not want my grandkids exposed to that at a young age.
These ‘gaymoms’ just want to mess with the kids minds. Don’t you see how twisted this is?
Get me a barf bag.
The child of the “gaymoms” will influence the other children. This is confusing and disturbing to young children. It is too bad that the child is living in a home full of confusion but does the child have to bring it to school?
Think about it: do you want your little kids to be around kids who swear steal or have other bad habits? Would you have your 6 year old hang around with a child from a really dysfunctional family so that your little 6 year old could minister to the child and bring her to Christ? It doesn’t work that way. We have to protect our children from bad influences when they are too young to protect themselves. Do you think your children are spiritual supermen who are invulnerable to all evil influences?
...it’s a preschooler -how much risk can there be....
What would you say when your child came home and asked how come my friends has two mommies instead of a mom and dad?
If there wasn’t an agenda behind this we would not be even reading about this. How did this get into the news anyway? Do you think the school picked up the phone and told the newspaper? No doubt the “gaymoms” went to the media. That is what they do to intimidate and promote their agenda. Don’t be so naive.
Please see my post 125
Their motive is clearly to force acceptance of their 'lifestyle' by the school.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.