Catholic Girls School in Tokyo - Gay Straight Alliance Club

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Dear members,

I came across the website of the ‘International School of the Sacred Heart’ which is a school set up in Tokyo when the Sisters of the Sacred Heart came to Japan in 1908.

It is a school with an excellent reputation here in Japan.
However on the website it was noticeable that there was no mention of any specific Catholic
teaching.
It did show pictures of a shape; but instead of stating that a Mass is held, it just said, a Liturgy is held.
To be honest, references to direct Catholic influences do not seem to be pronounced.
Here is a link for example to a page on its ‘Welcome’ menu.

Sacred Heart Philosophy and Goals
issh.ac.jp/welcome/sacred-heart-philosophy

When browsing though its ‘Club’ activities, it highlights a
Gay Alliance club which it hosts at the school. The description of this club’s activities is the
following,

"The Gay Straight Alliance club, (also known as GSA identity and gender justice organisation), provides a confidential environment where students who are struggling with gender identity and expression can feel safe. Together, we build a sense of community for people in the LGBTQIA community, empowering trans, queer, and allied youth. We strive for equality for everyone, being advocates of gay rights, and work towards ending homophobia and transphobia, whilst also raising awareness of the community.

This year we are hoping to make posters, an LGBT month free dress day, a rainbow bakesale, hold an LGBT-themed film screening, and collaborate with American School In Japan’s gay-straight alliance club."

issh.ac.jp/student-life/high-school-activities/clubs
So I post this article to ask you for your opinion on this.
Does this paper to you that this school is not following Catholic Church teaching?
Is this type of club activity an activity which the Catholic Church would endorse?

If this was an activity t provide compassion along the lines of Catholic Church teachings, I could undersan.

But I also noted that there was no activity at all that promoted actual Catholic faith sharing
for students.

Overall. this looks like a school that has put its Catholic identity and teachings under the carpet.

Is this how Catholic schools generally provide education to students today?

God Bless
Neil
 
There is tremendous variation from place to place regarding Catholic education (just like parishes and dioceses generally.)

Coming across that advertised in a school I would know to cross it off my list. But I would also know that seeing that about a school in Japan would not tell me much of anything about the parish school nearest me in the mid-Atlantic US.
 
Thank you for your comments. You raise a good point regarding comparing schools in Japan and in other countries.
I noted that the International School of the Sacred Heart has many schools across the world including the US, Europe etc.
It would suggest that their schools in other countries would adopt the same policy as here in Tokyo.

That being so, it would appear that actual Catholic teachings in this organization are greatly downplayed.

Cheers
 
naylordaisy said:
Thank you for your comments. You raise a good point regarding comparing schools in Japan and in other countries.
I noted that the International School of the Sacred Heart has many schools across the world including the US, Europe etc.
It would suggest that their schools in other countries would adopt the same policy as here in Tokyo.

That being so, it would appear that actual Catholic teachings in this organization are greatly downplayed.
Cheers
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Catholic teaching in a lot of Catholic schools is downplayed in the USA.
 
In other words, it’s not actually a “Catholic school”. It’s just a school. It once valued its Catholic heritage, but has since thrown it aside, and is now no better (and perhaps worse) than any other secular school.
 
I and those I know who attended a variety of sacred heart schools all had a great experience. Politics was never brought up, aside from in the current events club.
 
naylordaisy said:
Thank you for your comments. You raise a good point regarding comparing schools in Japan and in other countries.
I noted that the International School of the Sacred Heart has many schools across the world including the US, Europe etc.
It would suggest that their schools in other countries would adopt the same policy as here in Tokyo.

That being so, it would appear that actual Catholic teachings in this organization are greatly downplayed.

Cheers
Click to expand...
Don’t think it’s just a Japanese thing. The Catholic high school I attended in California has its own Gay Straight Community Club. And the Catholic university I attended has what it calls a “Rainbow Resource Center” aimed at bringing together LGBTQQIPAA students.

Seems pretty common from what I can tell actually.
 
Years ago in Canada, single female teachers were not allowed to have their own appartment because it could cause scandal. They had to live at home or board with a family. And I heard stories of teachings at the Catholic school loosing their jobs for dating divorced men.

Nowadays that is all illegal. A teacher in the Catholic school can openly live with a member of the opposite sex without being married and it is illegal to fire them.

Also, in Ontario, there is a new sex ed program. I am not familiar with all of it since I have no kids, but all schools in Ontario (including Catholic) have to teach about such things as gender identity and other such things are permissible.

So in a nut shell, Catholic schools in Canada are by law prevented from teaching certain moral truths

Sad
 
Padres1969 said:
Don’t think it’s just a Japanese thing. The Catholic high school I attended in California has its own Gay Straight Community Club. And the Catholic university I attended has what it calls a “Rainbow Resource Center” aimed at bringing together LGBTQQIPAA students.

Seems pretty common from what I can tell actually.
Click to expand...
Can I ask that the LGBTQQIPAA means?
 
AClaire11 said:
I and those I know who attended a variety of sacred heart schools all had a great experience. Politics was never brought up, aside from in the current events club.
Click to expand...
Hi there AClaire11,
It looks indeed as though your school has a very positive program.
I was encouraged to read descriptions which echoed the Christian heritage of the school
and about St. Madeleine Sophie Barat.
 
…single female teachers were not allowed to have their own appartment…dating divorced men.
Click to expand...
by law prevented from teaching certain moral truths
Click to expand...
It seems to me Catholic schools are prevented from doing something else entirely. /sarcasm
 
I was from a Catholic sch in my country. While we have prayers constantly for everything, Catholic teaching isn’t really thaaat influential in the curriculum. Sex ed for example, follows the government’s guidelines which is “encourage abstinence+contraception”. There are teachers from different religions, they have tattoos, some of them are doing things that we don’t allow in our Church, etc. It’s more or less the same in other catholic schools here, but they aren’t private schools (we are government aided) so I don’t think they have the freedom to have things their way.
 
Lea101 said:
I was from a Catholic sch in my country. While we have prayers constantly for everything, Catholic teaching isn’t really thaaat influential in the curriculum. Sex ed for example, follows the government’s guidelines which is “encourage abstinence+contraception”. There are teachers from different religions, they have tattoos, some of them are doing things that we don’t allow in our Church, etc. It’s more or less the same in other catholic schools here, but they aren’t private schools (we are government aided) so I don’t think they have the freedom to have things their way.
Click to expand...
Tattoos are a problem?
 
Huh. I’m a product of Catholic school and we didn’t have any support groups or other initiatives for LGBT students back when I was there. Hopefully that’s different now
 
1990Domer said:
Oh my gosh…yes, I do live under a rock!
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Yep basically anyone who isn’t Cisgendered (that’s the term that they use for those of us who have “traditional” notions of gender) and Straight.
 
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