Posted on 04/02/2013 2:58:33 AM PDT by markomalley
Two gay students who attend an all-boys Catholic school will be allowed to attend a school dance as a couple. That's the word from the President of McQuaid Jesuit High School in Brighton.
The students had asked for permission to attend McQuaid's Junior Ball as a couple, and there was even an online petition to support them.
In a lengthy note to parents Wednesday, school president, Father Edward Salmon, said, "If our two brothers who have asked to attend the Junior Ball wish to do so, they will be welcomed." The full text of the note is below.
Father Salmon went on to say that he was not encouraging or condoning homosexual activity, or contradicting church teachings.
The students are both juniors at McQuaid, and according to online petitions, openly gay.
Here is the full text of Father Salmon's note.
March 27, 2013
Dear Sisters and Brothers of our McQuaid Jesuit Community:
Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, in the homily for his Inaugural Mass, had encouraging and inviting words: "Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation and to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds."
Darkness and heavy clouds have gathered here at McQuaid recently because of misinformation, fear, misunderstanding, and even anger. That misinformation, fear, misunderstanding, and even anger came about after two of our brothers asked whether they could attend the Junior Ball together. Into the darkness of misinformation, fear, misunderstanding and anger, together with Pope Francis, I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who bring hope to one another. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who look upon one another with tenderness and love. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to open up a horizon of hope, to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds.
I myself would like to let a ray of light break through by correcting some misinformation. It is simply not true, as was reported and as many seem to have assumed, that a decision had been made by McQuaid authorities not to allow the young men in question to attend the Junior Ball. No decision had been made.
I would like to let a ray of light enter into the darkness of fear. I, together with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who in their Pastoral Message, "Always Our Children," ". . . call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons. We understand that having a homosexual orientation brings with it enough anxiety, pain and issues related to self-acceptance without society bringing additional prejudicial treatment."
I would like to let a ray of light enter into possible misunderstanding of the Church's teaching. In that same message, Always Our Children, the Bishops are clear --"Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes and behaviors." The Bishops continue: "It is also important to recognize that neither a homosexual orientation, nor a heterosexual one, leads inevitably to sexual activity. One's total personhood is not reducible to sexual orientation or behavior." In that same message, the Bishops refer to a 1986 Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which emphasizes that "Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them."
The Bishops continue, "It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons 'must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2358). They, as is true of every human being, need to be nourished at many different levels simultaneously. This includes friendship, [brotherhood] which is a way of loving and is essential to healthy human development. It is one of the richest possible human experiences. Friendship can and does thrive outside of sexual involvement."
Lastly, I would like to let a ray of light into the darkness that anger can bring. Based on the misinformation circulating and a certain misunderstanding of Church teaching, some people began posting prejudicial and humiliating comments in the social media. Speaking or writing or acting out of anger is not usually helpful. Others, however, deeply concerned for the dignity and respect of all persons, wrote thoughtful and encouraging e-mail messages to McQuaid officials.
In conclusion and in the hope that I and all of us at McQuaid Jesuit will let a ray of light break through the darkness and the heavy clouds that have surrounded us, I have made the decision that, if our two brothers who have asked to attend the Junior Ball together wish to do so, they will be welcomed.
With this decision I am not contradicting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to human sexuality; I am not encouraging nor am I condoning homosexual activity just as I do not encourage or condone heterosexual activity at a dance. I am not contradicting the Church's opposition to the redefinition of marriage. With this decision I invite and encourage us all, as Pope Francis does, to exercise care, protection, goodness which calls for a certain tenderness "which is not a virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness."
Sincerely in the Lord,
Edward F. Salmon, S.J.
President
Perfect example of why Hell would literally have to freeze over before I sent my kid to a Jesuit school.
My oldest is looking at colleges now, and I’ve had to nix about 90% of the (Catholic) schools in the book. So far only Christendom (at the top of the list), Franciscan U at Steubenville, Belmont Abbey, and Ave Maria have made the cut.
Very frustrating.
Regards,
I went to Cardinal Mooney. I did represent my school, St. Augustine, in the McQuaid Spelling Bee, but got knocked out in the second round. Fr. Salmon made a very bad call and he really needs to examine in conscience and reconsider.
According to an article in L’Osservatore Romano, as Cardinal, Bergoglio said that if a proposed (Argentine) bill giving same-sex couples the opportunity to marry and adopt children should be approved, it will “seriously damage the family.”
He made the statement in a letter addressed to each of the four monasteries in Argentina, asking the contemplatives to pray “fervently” that legislators be strengthened to vote against gay marriage and adoption.
He wrote: “In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family…At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.”
Cardinal Bergoglio continued: “Let us not be naive: this is not simply a political struggle, but it is an attempt to destroy God’s plan. It is not just a bill (a mere instrument) but a ‘move’ of the father of lies who seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”
More on this story here (LINK)
Nevertheless, he managed to make it sound like ambiguous quasi-courtship behavior between two boys is OK, and "scandal" and "near occasion of sin" don't exist. In other words, he is neglecting his priestly role as moral teacher. Shame on him.
/8^)
Notice how he name-drops Pope Francis, twice. The Pope must be very careful as the world is watching his every action and listening to his every word, with clowns like this ready to twist them to support their agenda. I pray the pope is not a Manchurian candidate. Maybe the SSPX wasn’t some dumb after all, refusing to go for the bait and switch.
To be fair, Fr. Salmon didn’t approve homosexual fornication. He just said they could come to the dance. Maybe this whole dilemma could be avoided if they dropped the dances; or if they required the kids to come in groups so they wouldn’t be seen as couples?
If two kids come “out” as homosexual, doesn’t that pretty much say they are having sex?
I'd always assumed that if a guy says he's gay, that means either he has a sexual relationship with another guy, or at least he wants it publicly known that he's looking for a sexual relaioship with a guy.
But I've discovered in casual conversation that some self-described "gays" are, as it were,, insulted if you say that. It's like they're saying "What makes you think this is all about sex??!"
To some it seems like almost an aesthetic category, or a temperament, as if one were to say "I'm sensitive" or "Inwardly, I have a crush on a boy" or even "I don't feel out-of-place with gay guys" or "I relate to queer music and websies" (analogous to "I feel like an emo" or "I hang out with goths" or "I like Carly Rae Jepsen.")
So I'm baffled. You know?
Liar.
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay?
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