"Day of Silence" In Our Catholic Schools? Why?

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Did your kid’s school participate in the Day of Silence on Wednesday, April 18? That’s the shame I was referring to. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that the high school that we love, that all eight of our children attended, a Catholic school, took part in the so-called “Gay Pride Day.” The purpose of this day is to desensitize our children to the issue of homosexuality. To present it as just another lifestyle “choice.” I don’t suppose that they took the time to explain to the students what the teaching of their Church is on this subject. Young people who are struggling with gender identity issues should not be exploited in this way.

I’ve attached a letter from Chase Harper, a freshmen at Wheaton College. He explains so much better than I can why it is so wrong to have a special day to promote the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lfestyle to kids. Why it is a travesty not tell them that this is an unhealthy and dangerous way of life. That there is help for them and people can change this orientation.

Parents of young people who have changed their orientation, or the young people themselves, are never allowed to participate in any of these “pro-gay” activities or presentations. Why do you suppose that is? Why are we even making an issue of teenagers’ sexual orientation? Whose business is it? Did you know that a teen’s brain is not fully developed until they are 24 years old? Why are they being proselytized when they are still confused about their sexuality and discovering so much about themselves?

The following is the card they handed out with their mouths covered with tape.

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"
Please take the time to read Chase’s letter He has been part of a movement that is gaining in numbers every year to promote a Day of Truth two days following the*** Day of*** Silence. In my opinion, bringing this issue into the school so publicly does not do anything to promote a healthy outlook. It sounds like choosing up sides - and trying to convince people of your own viewpoint. It does seem kinder to try to convince them to seek help than to affirm them in a lifestyle that is “intrinsically disordered.” This is the card the Day of Truth students hand out.

"I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint. Truth tolerates open discussion, because the Truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed. By proclaiming the Truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved."

I hesitate to even bring up the vile pamphlet that was handed out in Chicago at a gay health fair. It is billed as a 100% Hate Free Pride flyer for Queer Boyz. It is graphic printed material teaching them just exactly what to do and how to do it. Americans for Truth has cleaned it up on their website. If this kind of thing is really upsetting to you I don’t suggest that you bother to look at it. If you want to get some idea of the evil that is out there aimed at our vulnerable young people, you might want to check it out. I believe all graphic language has been removed and it is paraphrased to give you an idea of what our kids are up against. You can go to www.AmericansforTruth.org. The flyer is on about the third page on the website. What is “special” about, or why would you “celebrate” a lifestyle that is specifically forbidden in the bible?
A Note From Chase Harper: You Must Speak The Truth About Homosexuality…

illinoisfamily.org/news/contentview.asp?c=33280
 
And here I was hoping to read in this thread about how some Catholic school, having taken their students to watch the film “Into Great Silence” about the Carthusian monks in the French Alps, had been inspired to call the students into a quiet day of prayer and reflection on the Holy Presence of God.

More to pray about, either vocally or interiorly …

~~ the phoenix
 
If I had children of school age and I was confronted with this I don’t know if I would have converted. I might have assumed that either Jesus was a liar about not abandoning His Church or we have been mistaken to what Church He was referring.

CDL
 
So does that mean we can have a Day of Silence for the unborn? Seeing as they don’t have their rights. I would assume we could…unfortunately I highly doubt such a thing woudl be allowed in schools.
 
A girl in my school handed me the paper. I read it, tore it up, and walked away.
 
MidnightSun02 said:
So does that mean we can have a Day of Silence for the unborn? Seeing as they don’t have their rights. I would assume we could…unfortunately I highly doubt such a thing woudl be allowed in schools.
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Thats a great idea 👍 It’s not like the unborn have parades every year… that’s true silence…
 
MidnightSun02 said:
So does that mean we can have a Day of Silence for the unborn? Seeing as they don’t have their rights. I would assume we could…unfortunately I highly doubt such a thing woudl be allowed in schools.
Click to expand...
We can and we do.

Stand True Ministries encourages students to silently protest abortion in October. You can sign up, download flyers, and read testimonials from participants on their website.
 
So does that mean in public schools too and with the same sort of promotion the Day of Silence had? If so, that would be great. 🙂
 
MidnightSun02 said:
So does that mean we can have a Day of Silence for the unborn? Seeing as they don’t have their rights. I would assume we could…unfortunately I highly doubt such a thing woudl be allowed in schools.
Click to expand...
Having a “Day of Silence” for the unborn would be an excellent idea. We should forward this idea to Judie Brown/American Life League, Fr. Pavone/Priests For Life, Fr. Euteneuer/HLI, Jill Stanek/JillStanek.com, Joe Scheidler/Pro-Life Action League and other Pro-Life leaders.
 
Leave it to the gay community to come up with something overly-dramatic, and immature to try and make a point. If they are quiet, I consider it a blessing. It means I do not have to listen to them whine about how unfair the natural law is.
 
Did anyone know today is National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day?
April 24, 2007
National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day is today

Today marks the fifth annal National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day, sponsored by American Life League.

If you have a pro-life T-shirt, wear it! If you’re a public school student and encounter harrassment, contact ALL, which will get you legal help.

Pro-life students around the country have been harrassed in years past with detention and outright censorship when attempting to wear pro-life t-shirts.

Last year a federal judge overturned a New York high school principal’s censorship of a student from wearing a pro-life shirt in school stating it violated his First Amendment right to free speech. The shirt read, “Abortion is Homicide. You will not silence my message. You will not mock my God. You will stop killing my generation. Rock for Life.”

This year’s t-shirt reads, “What part of abortion don’t you understand?,” with an ultrasound photo of a preborn baby and identifiers, “Fingers. Ears. Eyes. Nose. Hands. Heart.”
[Hat tip: http://www.lifenews.com/nat3062.html”]LifeNews.com]

jillstanek.com/archives/2007/04/national_prolif.html
 
After researching a bit, it looks like there is an annual “Day of Silence” in the schools for abortion.

Go to this website…

standtrue.com

When you get into the website, click on “Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity”.

Is your school currently involved? Will you get the school in your area involved?
 
PLAL said:
Did anyone know today is National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day?
Click to expand...
Wearing my official Pro-Life Tee Shirt Day tee… and so is the rest of my family… All 6 of us!!! I bought them back in February and was patiently waiting for today… can’t wait to hear what son has to say about any comments he got. Dh said the only people to glare at him were 20ish women.
 
PLAL said:
After researching a bit, it looks like there is an annual “Day of Silence” in the schools for abortion.

Go to this website…

standtrue.com

When you get into the website, click on “Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity”.

Is your school currently involved? Will you get the school in your area involved?
Click to expand...
Oh yes I’ve seen photos of that…I should email my fiancee as he’s a high school teacher and let him know. I didn’t see his high school on the list.
 
I’m gonna go out on a limb with this one…

High school is a very difficult emotional time for youngsters. Catholic or Public high makes no difference with regard to the innundation our youth receive via the media about all these social pressures.

I would expect the Day of Silence in public schools because they receive government subsidies. I would not expect the Day of Silence in Catholic schools. However, I could see, perhaps, where having the day could be of help to the youth on campus.

Fact: SSA does not know race or politics or religion. There are students in Catholic high schools struggling with SSA.

Where groups like GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) and this Day of Silence have served well is in at least diminishing the hostility toward those with SSA so that a person struggling with it does not have to fear for their lives on top of maintaining good grades.

Fact: Despite the advancement of the gay agenda young people are still being ostracized, beaten, ridiculed and killed just for manifesting tendencies toward SSA. It’s getting better but it’s not gone yet.

While a young high school student is wrestling with the hormones and confusion, not having decided one way or the other yet which way to go (which could take the whole 3-4 years in school), an environment of compassion would be best for that student. Compassion and education and truth. They should feel safe in a Catholic school to speak to advisors, teachers, or other students about their situation without worrying about being expelled or attacked.

Can we honestly say that if a Catholic high schooler ‘came out’ on campus parents would not cry out to the administration to expell that student for bringing scandal to the school and putting the other students at risk of turning gay? Better to cast that person out to deal with the issue on their own (since they dabbled once or twice) than to keep them in the fold in an attempt to help them develop the discipline to live a chaste life.

With a closely moderated group of GSA on campus, one which guides students toward “Courage” and other such groups much good could be done with these kids. The Day of Silence is there to get the rest of us to at least stop turning away in disgust or anger whenver we encounter a SSA person.

Granted, the agenda of GSA and DoS is to get people to ‘accept’ their decisions to act upon their SSA, but in a Catholic school one could/should tell the truth through the same method…use the DoS to get people to recognize the isolation those struggling with SSA are feeling, encouraging others to reach out to them with compassion and love in an attempt to help them come to terms with how to live with their SSA without giving into it physically.

They have many, many celebrities and media spokespeople to turn to to show them how to live their lives with SSA in a sexually active relationship. They do not have enough celebrities and media spokespeople to show them how to live with SSA without becoming sexually active. We have to step up to the plate and form our own form of GSA, I guess, the kind which protects their lives and dignity while supporting them in living a difficult life. They turn to these other celebrities and friends because that group makes them feel good about their SSA. We have to help them feel ok about their SSA and good about their choice to remain celibate/chaste. I do believe there is something to be said for getting this issue out in the open everywhere so that it can be dealt with in truth and charity.
 
PLAL said:
Did your kid’s school participate in the Day of Silence on Wednesday, April 18? That’s the shame I was referring to. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am that the high school that we love, that all eight of our children attended, a Catholic school, took part in the so-called “Gay Pride Day.” The purpose of this day is to desensitize our children to the issue of homosexuality. To present it as just another lifestyle “choice.” I don’t suppose that they took the time to explain to the students what the teaching of their Church is on this subject. Young people who are struggling with gender identity issues should not be exploited in this way.

I’ve attached a letter from Chase Harper, a freshmen at Wheaton College. He explains so much better than I can why it is so wrong to have a special day to promote the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lfestyle to kids. Why it is a travesty not tell them that this is an unhealthy and dangerous way of life. That there is help for them and people can change this orientation.

Parents of young people who have changed their orientation, or the young people themselves, are never allowed to participate in any of these “pro-gay” activities or presentations. Why do you suppose that is? Why are we even making an issue of teenagers’ sexual orientation? Whose business is it? Did you know that a teen’s brain is not fully developed until they are 24 years old? Why are they being proselytized when they are still confused about their sexuality and discovering so much about themselves?

The following is the card they handed out with their mouths covered with tape.

"Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"

Please take the time to read Chase’s letter He has been part of a movement that is gaining in numbers every year to promote a Day of Truth two days following the*** Day of*** Silence. In my opinion, bringing this issue into the school so publicly does not do anything to promote a healthy outlook. It sounds like choosing up sides - and trying to convince people of your own viewpoint. It does seem kinder to try to convince them to seek help than to affirm them in a lifestyle that is “intrinsically disordered.” This is the card the Day of Truth students hand out.

"I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. Silence isn’t freedom. It’s a constraint. Truth tolerates open discussion, because the Truth emerges when healthy discourse is allowed. By proclaiming the Truth in love, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved."

I hesitate to even bring up the vile pamphlet that was handed out in Chicago at a gay health fair. It is billed as a 100% Hate Free Pride flyer for Queer Boyz. It is graphic printed material teaching them just exactly what to do and how to do it. Americans for Truth has cleaned it up on their website. If this kind of thing is really upsetting to you I don’t suggest that you bother to look at it. If you want to get some idea of the evil that is out there aimed at our vulnerable young people, you might want to check it out. I believe all graphic language has been removed and it is paraphrased to give you an idea of what our kids are up against. You can go to www.AmericansforTruth.org. The flyer is on about the third page on the website. What is “special” about, or why would you “celebrate” a lifestyle that is specifically forbidden in the bible?
A Note From Chase Harper: You Must Speak The Truth About Homosexuality…

illinoisfamily.org/news/contentview.asp?c=33280
Click to expand...
Yet I have prayed for years for a change in my orientation and nothing has happened so it isn’t possible for everyone. And isn’t it sad how some youth have to bear in silence the snide remarks of classmates about something that is a part of them? I know I had to put up with alot and it’s a miracle I survived. I’m sticking around for sometime now for the truth in the middle of this issue.
 
YinYangMom said:
With a closely moderated group of GSA on campus, one which guides students toward “Courage” and other such groups much good could be done with these kids. The Day of Silence is there to get the rest of us to at least stop turning away in disgust or anger whenver we encounter a SSA person.
Click to expand...
I think you presented some interesting ideas. Courage has a youth site couragerc.net/youthindexrevised.htm but I am not sure how well it meets the needs of teens who visit it. Setting up an alternative to GSA, one that is faithful, sounds like a good idea although it may be beyond the resources of Courage to do.
 
The Catholic school where I teach and my children attend would never countenance such silliness because we’re actually a Catholic school, not a secular private school that offers religion classes.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
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