Respecting Difference

The long awaited bishops document on the structure of anti-bullying clubs for same-sex attracted youths was finally released last Wednesday by the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association. The document was supposed to be ready last fall but was delayed till the start of this year. Given the relative inaction of the bishops up to this point, many Catholic parents were fearing the worst. To say the document is better than expected would be an understatement. Here are some notable excerpts:

“Being “tolerant” of another person does not mean accepting that what he or she says is correct or immune from moral evaluation and criticism”

“This Resource is based upon the need to recognize that it is possible to respect, affirm and support the dignity of another person while at the same time disagreeing with their viewpoint on sexual morality.”

“The holistic view of the human person and the understanding of what constitutes the “common good” may be difficult to explain to others outside a Catholic context, but part of the respect owed to Catholics is that those outside try to understand it or at least stand in a position of respectful disagreement with it.”

“The primary teaching document of the Catholic Church is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”

The document also outlines that the “Respecting Difference” clubs must be open to all students, must be respectful of and consistent with Catholic teaching, have mentors who must know and be committed to Catholic teachings and only use outside speakers who respect Catholic teaching. The clubs will also not be single-issue (i.e. exclusively for youth that are bullied because of same-sex attraction) but will rather cover any and all differences between kids that lead to bullying.

This document is faithful from start to end. And because of this you can be sure that the gay activists are fuming. What they thought was going to be an easy entry into our schools has now been firmly closed. As they have the current McGuinty government securely in their hip pocket, expect the push back to be fierce. Education Minister Laurel Broten has already come out since the release of the document insisting that Catholic schools must permit single-issue clubs such as gay-straight alliances. The governments quick response makes it clear that this was never about bullying in the first place, but rather just a pretense for the forced normalization of the homosexual lifestyle in our schools.

This fight is far from over, but based on the language and tone of the document, it appears the bishops and our trustees are prepared to dig in and hold their ground.

Please thank both Bishop Bergie, who headed the committee that produced the document, and Nancy Kirby, the head of the Trustees association. Their contact information is below:

chancery@romancatholic.niagara.on.ca
ocsta@ocsta.on.ca