Catholic schools are publicly subsidized in Canada, but it is striking that the government is now directly subverting their authority by giving a legal right to students to forms clubs and associations to contravene Catholic teaching.
(In this country school vouchers, or the tax exemption status of religious schools, provides a similar potential lever.)
The relevant language in the "Accepting Schools Act of 2011":
Bill 13 Section 9. Board support for certain pupil activities and organizations
303.1 Every board shall support pupils who want to establish and lead,
(a) activities or organizations that promote gender equity;
(b) activities or organizations that promote anti-racism;
(c) activities or organizations that promote the awareness and understanding of, and respect for, people with disabilities; or
(d) activities or organizations that promote the awareness and understanding of, and respect for, people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, including organizations with the name gay-straight alliance or another name.
Hat tip to the Institute for Canadian Values.
5 Comments
Funny, that looks like it *is* Catholic teaching.
All depends on whether gender equity is code for accepting Same sex sexual relations as morally acceptable and same sex marriage as a civil right. If that is the case then such groups cannot be formed at Catholic Schools.
Obviously, there's a big difference in validating the personal intrinsic worth of youth with SSA, and encouraging and supporting those same youth (or any youth) to engage in homosexual behavior. I'm sure the Catholic schools will handle their situation with dignity and grace.
Treating those afflicted by SSA as lacking the intellectual capacity to realize the innate,complete indefensibility of ever gratifying SSA demeans them and denies their self-worth!
Well, it's important to teach kids who feel they have SSA to understand that they don't have to act on those feelings, and that those feelings don't define who they are as a whole person, and that just because they have those feelings doesn't make them bad, or less worthy of love, or give others license to mock, belittle or bully them. But ALL kids need to understand that the only safe sex is between a married man and woman. Sex needs to be saved for marriage. That is the only responsible message to give to kids.