Posted on 06/23/2016 1:37:44 PM PDT by ebb tide
The Halton Catholic school board voted four to one Tuesday night to adopt a policy update on disciplining students for “homophobia … and harassment on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation” which critics say will see students suspended or expelled for stating Catholic teaching on homosexuality and gender theory.
The vote itself was a procedural violation since trustees had already voted down the “progressive discipline” policy update last month by a vote of 4 to 3. Trustee Anthony Danko argued vehemently at the June 21 meeting — to no avail — that to reintroduce the policy in the same session was a breach of procedure, according to a report by Tanya Granic Allen, President of Parents As First Educators (PAFE).
Danko also put forward a motion that a canon lawyer or board lawyer should define “homophobia” in a Catholic context, a motion which was defeated.
As for the “progressive discipline” policy, trustees Paul Marai, John Mark Rowe, Diane Rabenda, and Arlene Iantomasi voted for it, while Anthony Quinn voted against it.
Trustees Danko, Helena Karabela and Susan Trites abstained, on the grounds that the vote was against the will of the board.
The HCDSB amended its Code of Conduct six times in the last four years to conform to the education ministry’s requirements for equal and inclusive schools, but with this latest update, students who breach the Code of Conduct can be punished with suspension and expulsion.
The policy explicitly notes that under the Code of Conduct, the board “considers homophobia, gender based violence, and harassment on the basis of sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation…unacceptable.”
LifeSiteNews had not heard back from trustees Quinn or Danko by deadline.
Quinn told LifeSiteNews in an earlier interview that he voted against the policy in May because under its terms, students could be found in violation of the Code by simply stating the teachings of the Catholic Church, if they made other students uncomfortable by doing so.
That can “easily” happen under this policy, confirmed Catholic lawyer Geoff Cauchi.
“It’s dangerous, because it will be used to discipline students and teachers who do nothing more than state the Catholic Church’s teaching on subjects such as homosexuality and gender theory, and state their support for it in a civil manner,” he told LifeSiteNews.
“And this is absurd for a system whose very purpose is to lead people to accept the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Cauchi agrees that the policy should have clarified “a Catholic understanding of homophobia,” and stated explicitly that “the Catholic Church does not accept gender theory.”
It should also have included “a conditional clause” that “in no circumstances would a teacher or student be disciplined for stating Catholic teaching on the subject of homosexuality and gender theory, and expressing support for [that teaching] in a civil manner.”
Quinn also noted that the board’s former policy was more than sufficient.
Last updated in January 2015, that policy outlined as “standards of behavior” for students regarding gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation that:
• Students must “promote a positive school climate that is inclusive and accepting of all pupils, including pupils of any… gender expression, gender identity,…sex, or sexual orientation.”
• Students must “respect and treat others fairly, regardless of…gender, gender expression, gender identity,… or sexual orientation.”
PAFE’s Granic Allen echoed this: “Let’s be clear — there was already a stringent discipline policy in place which included parameters such as sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”
“We’re talking about a Catholic school board, where they are supposed to promote Catholic faith and morals,” added Granic Allen. “By promoting this discipline policy, students could be suspended from school just for being Catholic. The fact that some trustees openly said this wasn’t their first concern was scandalous.”
After the Halton trustees rejected the policy in May, then-Education Minister Liz Sandals told the Toronto Star she would investigate the matter, since “gender identity and gender expression are now included as prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
Cauchi, however, said that the policy contravenes two sections of the Education Act. One of these calls for teachers to show by “precept and example, respect for religion and virtues,” which, he said, “presumably would include chastity.”
The other section decrees that the ministry’s powers “shall be exercised in a manner that respects the denominational rights of Catholics,” Cauchi noted.
“So what the ministry requires is a contravention of the Act,” he said. And Catholic trustees, by passing the policy, have also contravened the Act.
Teachers in the Catholic system could also be targeted for fidelity to the Church’s teaching, Cauchi said, pointing to the Edmonton teacher under investigation by the Catholic board there, following complaints made by two teens who are being raised by a lesbian couple.
“We know, from several examples, that Catholic teachers are already themselves being disciplined for merely teaching in the classroom what any legitimate Catholic school system is mandated to teach.
About 50 people were present at the June 21 meeting to protest the policy, reported PAFE. And ad hoc group Halton Family and Life Association launched an online petition against the policy which had garnered 532 signatures at last count.
This is a Catholic school?!
You would have thought they would have learned something from the dark 90s...
Catholics: find yourself a decent parish. Find yourself a Tridentine Mass on Sunday and an old missal - try ABE Books. Find yourself a decent Catholic school or educate the kids at home.
Where exactly is this pseudo Catholic School? The U.S.? Canada? Regardless, it is outrageous.
I guess they don’t have to worry about teaching other things too, like freedom and the 1st Amendment.
Ontario, Canada.
Good bye! Last one out turn out the lights.
But the GAYSTAPO can ridicule straights without being labeled a “Straightophobe or being Straightophobic”. Got it.
The coming reckoning and correction will be both bloody and brutal.
WOW! It seems as if the Sodomites are in the process of gaining control over Catholic behavior.
Not exactly. This is Canada, where the state, backed by anti-Catholic bigotry, effectively seized all Catholic schools in the 1960s.
So you have a governing crisis come to a head: the donors who built the school and the trustees who represent them wish it were a Catholic school. The school board, which operates under a charter by the Province, is trying to comply with provincial law which essentially outlaws expressions of the Catholic faith with respect to homosexuals.
The prohibitions against harassment should be a no-brainer. Of course, it’s not legal to harass anyone. The sticking point is that the school board is trying to echo the Province’s prohibition on “homophobia,” without defining it.
The Roman Catholic Church has long protected homosexuals by accepting into the priesthood.
What part of Catholic Caucus do you not understand?
I’ve seen many Catholic schools infected by either sloth and apathy, or political correctness/secularism.
If I were a Bishop, I would close every Catholic school in my diocese. I would then have each tell me WHY they should remain open. I imagine quite a few would find they were simply running on fumes and through force of habit.
Catholic education needs to shrink and prune its dead branches before it can grow again. They need to become BOTH excellent centers of academic learning as well as clear transmitters of real Catholic doctrine.
Okay thanks, our neighbors have gone bonkers, just like most of the rest of the world. Hopefully we can stop our progression towards total stupidity and debauchery. Though often I wonder if it isn’t already too late.
The sad thing is that the state’s powers stem from systematic abuse and discrimination of Catholics by Protestants who felt such discrimination was The Lord’s Work. In the 1960s, the Liberals offered a Faustian bargain with Quebec: full legal rights and recognition of the French language in exchange for state control and funding of institutions which had been controlled by the Church, such as hospitals and schools.
In hindsight, it’s easy to look back at the deal as selling their religion for money. At the time, it didn’t seem like a trade-off. The liberals were presenting it as, “We think you’ve been horribly treated! We’ll pay for your health care, your education! We’ll make sure your use of the French language is no obstacle to government contracting or employment in finance, transportation, etc!”
By 1982, the Catholics realized they had been betrayed, leading to the formation of Bloc Quebecois in opposition to the Liberals. And give them credit; this was still long before abortion, gay privileges, etc.
Why won’t y’all acknowledge Catholic Caucus threads?
“Catholic schools” in Canada are partly run by the government. It’s a strange system, one that the church should reject.
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.