Mass. Catholic School Won't Admit Lesbians' Son

[Zatzat]

Here is the direct link to the Archdiocese of Boston website:

“The Archdiocese does not prohibit children of same sex parents from attending Catholic schools. We will work in the coming weeks to develop a policy to eliminate any misunderstandings in the future.”

bostoncatholic.org/Utility/News-And-Press/Content.aspx?id=17878

Great find, thanks for posting it!

I for one am thrilled that the Boston Catholic diocese is going to do the right thing.

Great news!

 

[Santi2]

And another aspect to this story:

The Catholic Schools Foundation, the leading provider of scholarships to low-income Catholic school students in Greater Boston, issued a letter to administrators of local Catholic schools yesterday warning that it would not subsidize tuition at any school with a discriminatory admissions policy.

boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/05/14/archdiocese_to_help_banned_student/

PS: Mass. state law exempts church and religious agencies from non-discrimination laws, so these actions by the Archdiocese and Catholic Schools Foundation are entirely voluntary.

From the article:

But Jarrett T. Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and a former state legislator, said he is very pleased with the Catholic school his son attends.

“I send my child to a Catholic school where they know that my son has two dads and where the principal told me the founding principle of this school is the central tenet of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that is love,’’ he said

This is so wrong. The school mixes up the virtue of charity with tolerance and accepts all behaviour as virtuous, which is contrary to Catholic teachings.

 

[Polycarp1]

There is another issue here besides whether or not the child getrs to go to a Catholic School. It is that the gay couple is setting an example and telling a child that a sinful relationship is okay. The child probably will come to believe this and will adopt wrong beliefs that could lead to their spiritual downfall. Christ specifically warned us about this…

Mathew 18.6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

 

[Polycarp1]

“The Archdiocese does not prohibit children of same sex parents from attending Catholic schools. We will work in the coming weeks to develop a policy to eliminate any misunderstandings in the future.”

There’s no such thing as same sex parents.

 

[eureka525]

There is another issue here besides whether or not the child getrs to go to a Catholic School. It is that the gay couple is setting an example and telling a child that a sinful relationship is okay. The child probably will come to believe this and will adopt wrong beliefs that could lead to their spiritual downfall. Christ specifically warned us about this…

Mathew 18.6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

So based on this,might it not be better for the child to go to a Catholic school in order to have the chance to learn the ‘Truth’ and decide for himself one day what he believes…?

 

[Redtown]

Polycarp1

said :
There’s no such thing as same sex parents.

Not my words, but the words of the Archdiocesan superintendent of schools. Apparently they recognize as parents anyone who has legal and actual care and custody of the child, including by adoption.

A “PS” on my previous informational post:
The Catholic Schools Foundation (of Boston) … issued a letter to administrators of local Catholic schools yesterday warning that it would not subsidize tuition at any school with a discriminatory admissions policy.

Sean Cardinal O’Malley himself is the Chairman of the Foundation.

 

[lynx]

My point about Catholics paying taxes was in response to the suggestion that because public money is used to pay education costs that Catholic institutions should be obligated to follow the same rules as public schools. Catholic tax payers pay for Catholic schools and more. Catholics are not the aggressor here. They are not trying to subject anyone to anything.

They, the school, are telling these parents to submit to their ideology or their child will not be admitted to a school they help pay for.

It is the gay couple who want to send a child into a situation where they may be hurt emotionally in order to further a gay rights cause. You can’t tell me that they did this honestly believing that it wouldn’t cause controversy.

Maybe they wanted their child to get an education they thought would be better than public school.

You are right that being gay is in itself not a sin. Homosexual acts are. Being gay may be out of someones control but committing homosexual sex acts are not.

As per Catholic doctrine, this is true.

It’s explained quite clearly and concisely in the article linked earlier in this thread on the sins crying to Heaven for vengeance.

I said arbitrary.

Please respect the right of Catholics not to have your opinion, which we think is insanely illogical, compelled onto us and our schools.

What am I doing to force your hand? Having a discussion? Voicing my opinion on the subject? Don’t take it too personal bro, i’m not attacking you.

You seem to misunderstand what taxes are. We ask our Governments to do certain things for us.

You mean like educate our children?

To do this they need money. To get this money they raise taxes on certain things. The taxation process is an entirely different process from the Govenment spending of the money. If we all were to to have the tax money collected from us spent only on the things we agree with, we may as well not have taxes at all and just each of us give the money directly and much more efficiently to those works and projects which each of us happens to like or agree with. But we agree to become citizens of a country, and one of the duties is to pay the taxes its government lawfully demands from us.

I feel this is almost correct. When we are taxed, we do so because a service is provided to us, a service we can all, taxpayers, eventually use. In this instance, these parents are being banned from something they are helping to pay for with taxes. In this instance, we refer to this as theft.

Another very important duty is to allow freedom of religion and especially to let churches perform their good works such as education without hindrance from the state. Naturally this involves discrimination against those who hold beliefs or practice activities contrary to the doctrines of that religion.

I don’t mind if a church wants to open their own school with their own money and teach that the sky is green. That’s their business. But, when you take public funds for a service you have to give that service to the public that pays. Otherwise, give back the money, it is theft!

 

[Polycarp1]

They, the school, are telling these parents to submit to their ideology or their child will not be admitted to a school they help pay for.

I don’t mind if a church wants to open their own school with their own money and teach that the sky is green. That’s their business. But, when you take public funds for a service you have to give that service to the public that pays. Otherwise, give back the money, it is theft!

1 Just like America demands new immigrants submit to an ideology and swear allegiance before they are admitted as citizens.

2 They help pay for Catholic schools just as Catholics help pay for public schools. The “public” get the money from all tax payers many who are Catholic so that argument is circular. Catholics pay for Catholic schools even if the money is collected in one big pot before it is dispersed. I would be happy to pay my school taxes directly to the school if it would make things easier.

 

[Zatzat]

There’s no such thing as same sex parents.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston doesn’t agree with you.

 

[WatchingMedia]

This is most likely just another attempt by Gays to wear down the morality of the Catholic Church and teachings.

Expect to see attacks everywhere.

If the gays really cared at all about the teachings of the Church.they would not live in mortal sin.

And if the Gays cared about the child, they would not want him to come home asking why he is the only one with two mothers? or two fathers? And have him crying because his gay parents want to go to hell.

This is why gays should never have children. Not all, but many gays use the children for political pawns in their political games.

 

[lynx]

1 Just like America demands new immigrants submit to an ideology and swear allegiance before they are admitted as citizens.

That’s part of the deal of being an immigrant coming to America. No one is forcing you to immigrate. You can always leave if you don’t like it. These parents are forced to pay taxes. How do you feel these parents should get their monies back? Maybe sue the school? I don’t like that option either

2 They help pay for Catholic schools just as Catholics help pay for public schools. The “public” get the money from all tax payers many who are Catholic so that argument is circular. Catholics pay for Catholic schools even if the money is collected in one big pot before it is dispersed. I would be happy to pay my school taxes directly to the school if it would make things easier.

The difference being that Catholics can go to any school and gay parents can’t have their child go to a Catholic school. It’s flat out discrimination, which leads to theft. I would prefer that Catholic schools just don’t get any public money if they want to discriminate about who gets to join their school. If you take public money then you should play the secularist game. Otherwise, what I think they’re doing is called theft.

This is most likely just another attempt by Gays to wear down the morality of the Catholic Church and teachings.

Expect to see attacks everywhere.

If the gays really cared at all about the teachings of the Church.they would not live in mortal sin.

LOL Do the “gays” have a mobilized force now?

And if the Gays cared about the child, they would not want him to come home asking why he is the only one with two mothers? or two fathers? And have him crying because his gay parents want to go to hell.

Maybe his parents feel that he will be wise enough to read between the lines, making his own observations.

This is why gays should never have children. Not all, but many gays use the children for political pawns in their political games.

Wow, that’s a huge claim I don’t think you can support. How many gay couples do you know with children? How many gay couples do you think there are total with children? I mean no offense, but this seems like a biased statement.

 

[Tsuwano]

This is most likely just another attempt by Gays to wear down the morality of the Catholic Church and teachings.

Expect to see attacks everywhere.

If the gays really cared at all about the teachings of the Church.they would not live in mortal sin.

And if the Gays cared about the child, they would not want him to come home asking why he is the only one with two mothers? or two fathers? And have him crying because his gay parents want to go to hell.

This is why gays should never have children. Not all, but many gays use the children for political pawns in their political games.

I think it’s quite a leap, and uncharitable to boot, to simply assume that the two women involved in this particular case have some sort of political agenda to promote. You know, it could just be that they care for their child and wish for him to have the best education possible. It could be they simply assumed that if the school accepts the children of parents who are divorced, or committing adultery, or not living their Christian faith in other ways, or aren’t even Catholic, their child, too, would be allowed to attend this particular school. It could be they wish their child to be exposed to a variety of views, including the Catholic view that engaging in homosexual acts is a sin, and are trusting that their love for the child and their openess about the issue will protect their parental relationship. It could be the school made a mistake in its decision and is regretting it. Whatever the case, I think it’s best to look at the individuals involved in any particular case and the reasons they give for their actions before assuming they are on some sort of gay crusade.

 

[Zatzat]

This is most likely just another attempt by Gays to wear down the morality of the Catholic Church and teachings.

Expect to see attacks everywhere.

If the gays really cared at all about the teachings of the Church.they would not live in mortal sin.

And if the Gays cared about the child, they would not want him to come home asking why he is the only one with two mothers? or two fathers? And have him crying because his gay parents want to go to hell.

This is why gays should never have children. Not all, but many gays use the children for political pawns in their political games.

The Boston Archdiocese doesn’t appear to share your extreme fears.

 

[eureka525]

I think it’s quite a leap, and uncharitable to boot, to simply assume that the two women involved in this particular case have some sort of political agenda to promote. You know, it could just be that they care for their child and wish for him to have the best education possible. It could be they simply assumed that if the school accepts the children of parents who are divorced, or committing adultery, or not living their Christian faith in other ways, or aren’t even Catholic, their child, too, would be allowed to attend this particular school. It could be they wish their child to be exposed to a variety of views, including the Catholic view that engaging in homosexual acts is a sin, and are trusting that their love for the child and their openess about the issue will protect their parental relationship. It could be the school made a mistake in its decision and is regretting it. Whatever the case, I think it’s best to look at the individuals involved in any particular case and the reasons they give for their actions before assuming they are on some sort of gay crusade.

 

[DianeGee]

Might be a set-up to sue.

 

[Petergee]

gay parents can’t have their child go to a Catholic school. It’s flat out discrimination, which leads to theft. I would prefer that Catholic schools just don’t get any public money if they want to discriminate about who gets to join their school. If you take public money then you should play the secularist game. Otherwise, what I think they’re doing is called theft.

There are no such people as “gay parents with children”. Any two homosexual partners who have children living with them have obtained them by theft. If you decide to reject the natural union of man and woman procreating a family, then you shouldn’t pretend to play the family game. Otherwise, what I think they’re doing is called theft. To use an extremely mild word for it.

 

[JimG]

State schools already teach the State religion of Secularism. It is a requirement that they teach the secularist worldview and exclude all others. To me, the public schools constitute an unconstitutional establishment of religion.

Perhaps it was to avoid subjecting the child to the established religion that the couple wished to send the child to a Catholic school. If that’s the case, I applaud them. But they may not find the Catholic religion to their liking either.

 

[choy]

If the lawsuit thing weren’t an issue (which I realize these days is a bigger “if” than in the past), would you think this is a good opportunity for the child? Of course the teachings could be confusing for the child but the same could be said for children of parents who have been previously divorced outside of the Church, that would count as living in sin as well, right? I know they’ve allowed children in this situation into Catholic schools because I am one of them. I don’t feel any conflict with my parents over this, nor have I turned my back on the Church. On the contrary, the more I am learning (now as an adult), the more I’d like to be a part of Catholicism. Again, I realize being the child of parents who were both on their second marriage is not the same thing as being the ‘child’ of gay parents but both situations would be considered against Catholic values.

not that i’m suggesting that people should lie about their sins, but if there is a mommy and daddy, you can assume innocence, that they are living according to Church teaching

if there are two mommies and two daddies, there’s no denying there’s sin there

an 8 year old normally wouldn’t inquire about fornication and divorce. but they would wonder why they have a mommy and daddy, and their classmate has two mommies and no daddy. its cause of scandal for the kids

Perhaps the child deserves the opportunity to learn about the Church and its teachings. After all, one of the Church’s missions is to spread the Word to as many as it can. Of course there will be difficult conversations at home but those conversations would undoubtedly take place regardless of where the child is educated. Do you (not just you choy, I mean ‘you’ collectively) think the child would have a more difficult time in a Catholic school environment than in any other? Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t, but perhaps we should consider the potential positives that could come from bringing another child into the fold of the Church.

the difficulty here about giving the child Christian education, is that there is no followup at home. the child is taught right from wrong according to what Jesus has taught us, and yet when he/she gets home the parents are living in sin. the child would either become resentful of the parents, because they are living in sin, or resentful of the Church for saying the parents are living in sin. its really hard to justify accepting the child in school when you consider all factors and consequences. i can’t see any scenario where it will be a win-win

 

[choy]

Continue to insult me and i’m going to stop talking to you. It’s not very constructive

i’m not insulting you, i’m just stating the obvious that it seems you don’t know about the history of the Church and homosexuality in the first century. i am not saying you are ignorant as a person, i’m just saying there’s ignorance on the subject discussed

You’re talking about how Christians supposedly won some morality battle over homosexuality. Elaborate.

of course. homosexuality exists in the Roman Empire. Christians were able to teach the truth about the sin of homosexuality and it became accepted among the converts. eventually it became banned in the law of Rome. while i wouldn’t say it eradicated the practice, there was recognition of it as sin and it became less prominent in society

That might have been the message but politics might be the answer atheism.about.com/library/glossary/western/bldef_constantine.htm With regards to Roman homosexuality, they regulated and criminalized a fair bit of it on their own en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lex_Scantinia While Christians later had some influence around 350AD, before that they couldn’t do much.

in the 1st century, it was pretty much accepted. but when Christianity spread out, people realize the error in their ways. the Apostles taught the sin of homosexuality. of course only converts at the beginning follow this message, which eventually brought changes in the 300s until the 500s

Acknowledging that you’re gay and acting on those behaviors are two separate things.

you can’t be really gay if you don’t act on it.

If someone you love asks you to help raise a child, but decides for moral reasons, to abstain from an overt physical relationship with you does it matter if you’re gay?

i’m assuming in the context of the discussion that you are referring to a person of the same gender as i am.

since i am not gay, then i don’t need to abstain from anything, since nothing will happen. yes, i do have male friends that i can say i love, like a brother. since i’m not gay, then why the need for abstinence? its like saying, you’re asking a vegetarian Catholic to abstain from meat during lent. what? their not really abstaining since their vegan, so the effort of abstinence is not there for lent.

Being gay is not an immoral act even by Catholic standards. How can you cast sin on someone for something outside of their control? Simply, don’t ask don’t tell is willingness to stay stupid, ignorant of truth that gays are good people trying to do the right thing. I know we’re still a young nation but we need to hurry and grow up.

how do you say someone is good or not? there are may murderers out there who are kind neighbors. even Hitler is definitely a nice guy to his friends. if you ask them of course they’ll say he’s a nice guy, he probably gave them big mansions and loads of cash. yes, gays may be good upstanding citizens who follow the law, pay their taxes, contribute to charity, etc. but that doesn’t excuse their sin. everyone in the world is a sinner. not just because we do some good means our sins may be excused

 

[Polycarp1]

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Chastity and homosexuality

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,141 tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."142 They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.