Catholic bishop won't let foundation present scholarship to gay Iowa student at award ceremony

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*Overruling school officials, a Catholic bishop in Iowa said Monday he would not let a group that promotes equal rights for gays and lesbians present a college scholarship to an openly gay student during an upcoming award ceremony.

Bishop Martin Amos in Davenport said the Eychaner Foundation would not be allowed to present the Matthew Shepard Scholarship to Keaton Fuller during the May 20 ceremony at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Clinton, saying the group’s support for gay rights conflicts with church doctrine.*

Story at FoxNews
 
This article is a fine study in Screwtape-like jargon, not argument. For instance, toward the end of the article, the head of the foundation involved is upset because “No one raised an objection until the bishop got involved.”

Ok, so what.

Then he said, “We preach tolerance and acceptance but then we turn around and we don’t practice what we preach.”

Of course, the Church does not preach tolerance and acceptance of sin. The foundation man is circumventing the issue with flowery, sounds-good-but-is-really-lies talk. This is a bishop doing what bishop’s are supposed to do, doing what many other shepherds might have failed to do.

It’s not love to justify a person in his sin. It’s love to tell him the truth.
 
I see what your saying -

I personally think he should have got the stupid award - gay or not

I mean , if he was a heterosexual chronic masterbator , that had lots of sex with girls with use of contraception - would he get the award

sexual sin is sexual sin

but I do get the bishops point
  • its just sad to see a highschool kid have that done them, especially since the school pushed for him to apply for that scholarship
 
There is definitely something wrong at this school that lets the kid bring a male date to a dance and encourages kids to accept awards for promoting the gay agenda. In my opinion the principal should be fired.
 
mab23 said:
I see what your saying -

I personally think he should have got the stupid award - gay or not

I mean , if he was a heterosexual chronic masterbator , that had lots of sex with girls with use of contraception - would he get the award

sexual sin is sexual sin

but I do get the bishops point
  • its just sad to see a highschool kid have that done them, especially since the school pushed for him to apply for that scholarship
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The issue seems to be a group against Catholic teachings presenting an award.

I imagine a pro-chronic masturbation organization would similarly not be allowed to present awards to students at the school - gay or straight.
 
MarcoPolo said:
This article is a fine study in Screwtape-like jargon, not argument. For instance, toward the end of the article, the head of the foundation involved is upset because “No one raised an objection until the bishop got involved.”

Ok, so what.

Then he said, “We preach tolerance and acceptance but then we turn around and we don’t practice what we preach.”.
Click to expand...
Actually, it wasn’t the head of the foundation which made those remarks, it was School Board President Edward O’Neill. The entire school board heard about the scholarship application back in April and no one objected.

This is important because the principal alone can’t be faulted. The school board, as well, needs to re-orient itself. I’m astonished the school board president would challenge the bishop’s decision in such a public way.

And as the news article notes, the award will be announced by a diocesan spokesman at the graduation ceremony. The ban is simply on a speaker from the foundation.

BTW, the scholarship is sizable: $40,000

Here is a local newspaper account, but it is heavily weighted, even more so than the article in the first post.
qctimes.com/news/local/education/school-refuses-scholarship-presentation-to-gay-student/article_851319d0-9861-11e1-84f5-0019bb2963f4.html

I looked for, but couldn’t find, the diocese’s press release on this controversy. Its a shame such a link isn’t easily available since the news reporting is giving scant attention to the bishop’s decision and the reasoning behind it.
 
mab23 said:
I mean , if he was a heterosexual chronic masterbator , that had lots of sex with girls with use of contraception - would he get the award

sexual sin is sexual sin
Click to expand...
I agree to an extent, but this student shows no problem with living a homosexual lifestyle and publicizing it in a Catholic setting. As the other poster said, an open advocate for masturbating and contracepting shouldn’t get such an award either.
 
Also in this story is the usual irony that

“Tolerance & Acceptance” = support homosexual behavior & reject the bishop and Church teaching

In the secular world, if you want to be seen as an “accepting” person, you have to reject the Church.
 
Actually, it wasn’t the head of the foundation which made those remarks, it was School Board President Edward O’Neill. The entire school board heard about the scholarship application back in April and no one objected.
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the article may be painting a false picture of how informed the bishop and the board were of the scholarship. They may have been told that this kid won a scholarship and the immediate reaction would have been to give the kid a quick praise.
 
The whole administration of that school is a scandal. Why are they allowing an "openly gay
" student attend school dances with a same sex date in the first place? Along with all the rest of it. Good for the Bishop in saying no, and hopefully this is just the first step in his rehabilitation of the Catholic school.
 
Califman831 said:
the article may be painting a false picture of how informed the bishop and the board were of the scholarship. They may have been told that this kid won a scholarship and the immediate reaction would have been to give the kid a quick praise.
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I don’t think the bishop ever approved of a speaker from the foundation. As for the school board, here is what the local newspaper wrote:
Ed O’Neill, president of the Prince of Peace school board, said Keaton’s scholarship was discussed at the April 17 school board meeting and nobody expressed any concerns about having someone from the Eychaner Foundation present Keaton with his scholarship.
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I suppose the school board had no idea of who or what the Echaner Foundation was about, but I can’t imagine them not asking, especially considering the size of the scholarship.
 
Could a heterosexual have won the award?

If not then this foundation is discriminating on sexual orientation and should not be allowed to be given within a Catholic setting for that reason as well.
 
mab23 said:
I see what your saying -

I personally think he should have got the stupid award - gay or not

I mean , if he was a heterosexual chronic masterbator , that had lots of sex with girls with use of contraception - would he get the award

sexual sin is sexual sin
Click to expand...
If he was recieving the scholarship from an interest group that promoted among young people heterosexual chronic masturbation and promiscuous sex making extensive use of artificial contraception, then I really really hope that the school and Bishop wouldn’t have allowed him to recieve it in that situation either.
 
MarcoPolo said:
*Overruling school officials, a Catholic bishop in Iowa said Monday he would not let a group that promotes equal rights for gays and lesbians present a college scholarship to an openly gay student during an upcoming award ceremony.

Bishop Martin Amos in Davenport said the Eychaner Foundation would not be allowed to present the Matthew Shepard Scholarship to Keaton Fuller during the May 20 ceremony at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Clinton, saying the group’s support for gay rights conflicts with church doctrine.*

Story at FoxNews
Click to expand...
Even though I don’t agree with the Church’s stance on homosexuality (or that of Orthodox Judaism either), I think the Bishop is, at least technically, doing the right thing in this instance since he is supporting the Church’s teaching regarding homosexual behavior. Why a Catholic school is tolerant of openly gay students, who bring their male partners to dances, is itself subject to criticism from the Bishop and the Church. The award is, in my view, for a noble cause but rules are rules, and either one abides by them or risks the painful consequences. ON THE OTHER HAND, in some ways this story is reminiscent of the relation between Jesus and the Pharisees: the latter (wrongly, I may add since not all Pharisees behaved the same way) are grossly stereotyped as following the letter of the Law with little attention to the spirit, and Jesus rebuked them for this, or at least some of them. One can, of course, say that Jesus was not arguing in favor of sin, but rather attempting to clarify the essential purpose of the Law. Still, I think there is something to be said for mercy and compassion in situations such as this.
 
ByzCath said:
Could a heterosexual have won the award?

If not then this foundation is discriminating on sexual orientation and should not be allowed to be given within a Catholic setting for that reason as well.
Click to expand...
I am not sure about the eligibility of that particular scholarship, but I wonder if Catholic high schools disallow mention of scholarships which are restricted to members of a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group?

I haven’t applied for a scholarship in a couple decades, but as I recall a great many scholarships do restrict eligibility to members of a specific population. Heck, some required that your parents had a certain occupation, or an ancestor who served in such-and-such war, or that you lived (at some point in your life) in a certain county. Should Catholic schools not mention if a student won such a scholarship?
 
Dale_M said:
I am not sure about the eligibility of that particular scholarship, but I wonder if Catholic high schools disallow mention of scholarships which are restricted to members of a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group?

I haven’t applied for a scholarship in a couple decades, but as I recall a great many scholarships do restrict eligibility to members of a specific population. Heck, some required that your parents had a certain occupation, or an ancestor who served in such-and-such war, or that you lived (at some point in your life) in a certain county. Should Catholic schools not mention if a student won such a scholarship?
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And as such they are fine. I would just now allow them to be awarded at a Catholic school if I was a bishop. No scholarship could be awarded at a ceremony put on by a school under my authority (if I was a bishop, thank God I am not nor will ever be) especially ones that go against Catholic teachings. I would be open to discussion with other groups whose guidelines do not violate Church Teachings. They can have their own award ceremonies.
 
Cider said:
The whole administration of that school is a scandal. Why are they allowing an "openly gay
" student attend school dances with a same sex date in the first place? Along with all the rest of it. Good for the Bishop in saying no, and hopefully this is just the first step in his rehabilitation of the Catholic school.
Click to expand...
:yup: God Bless the Bishop!!
.
Rebellious and Ignorant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QH6-cVZMqI&feature=player_embedded#!
 
mab23 said:
I see what your saying -

I personally think he should have got the stupid award - gay or not

I mean , if he was a heterosexual chronic masterbator , that had lots of sex with girls with use of contraception - would he get the award
Click to expand...
How many people do you know publicly want themselves defined as a chronic mastrabator or any other forum of sexual deviancy? I have yet to meet one, much less one who publicly flaunts and demands recognition for their behavior…
 
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