I believe we are doing or students a great disservice by designating any club in Manichaean language. Gay-straight alliance indicates that sexuality is binary-you are either gay or straight. That is not true. Human beings live on a “sexual” continuum between absolute gay and absolute straight. At some points in our lives some are attracted to the same-sex. At others, to the opposite sex. Those moments do not define our sexuality. Some boys might appear less “manly” than others and some girls less “girly” than others. If these children are unsure of their place in the continuum and they have no choice but to join the Gay-Straight Alliance, they are labelling themselves as either /or long before they know who they are. The implementation of Gay-Straight Alliances seems to be taking on an anti-religious agenda.
On June 2, 2012 Tabatha Southey wrote that she was skeptical that Catholic schools can be “loving and welcoming places for everyone” when they teach that “sexual activity which is outside marriage cannot be condoned and is taught by the church to be immoral. This includes masturbation, fornication, and adultery, and sexual activity with a person of the same sex.”
Does that mean it is wrong to teach young people to save sex for marriage and that adultery is OK? Is it a more loving and welcoming attitude to teach anything goes? What is so terrible about counseling against sex before marriage especially when our twelve year olds are sexually active? Gay or straight, I see nothing wrong with teaching abstinence. As far as adultery, it tends to lead to divorce and as the family is the smallest unit of authority in a society, the more families that break down the more detrimental it is to our communities.
I am not Catholic. But I defend the right of Catholics to teach their beliefs in their schools. I would not want secularists to impose their lifestyle on me. Is it possible that Catholic students don’t have the same angst about sexuality as others because of their teachings? Imagine what it is like to be raised Catholic. In observant families, rituals, traditions, morals, values and prayers are entwined within one’s life. There is no separation between a secular life and a religious life and that is difficult for secular people to understand. Catholic children are taught moral behaviour based on ethical monotheism. They are taught that homosexuality is not acceptable. I don’t have to agree with that teaching to defend the right of the Catholic school board to teach it. No one is forcing parents to send their children to Catholic schools. A problem develops when secularists impose their secular ethics on to people of religion thinking that they are coming to the rescue of the children in the schools.
A Catholic teenager has been bathed in his religion’s teachings from birth. He knows the doctrine on homosexuality. If he comes to a place in his life where he thinks he might be attracted only to men, he has choices. They might not be the choices we would like. He knows that sex before marriage is unacceptable-for gay and straight kids. So, he does not have to worry about acting on his sexual impulses any more than a heterosexual student. He has been raised in an environment that loves the sinner and hates then sin. In that world, he will not feel less than another. Bullying based on gender and sexuality will not be permitted in this environment so he will be safe. If he develops angst, perhaps it comes from the imposition of the secular world’s attitudes. There will come a time in his life when he might decide that love for another man is so great that he can no longer honour the teachings of his religion. He can leave.
There are those who might say that it isn’t fair to force him to leave Catholicism. That leads to another discussion on salad bar religion.
The Toronto District School Board came out with statistics that show the overwhelming cause of bullying is body image; obese children suffer more from bullying than do gay children. Where is the push for alliances for them? Or for protecting the less intelligent children, or physically and mentally disabled children? Why gay children? Why not teach respect for all children? Perhaps then we can reduce suicide in our schools. It isn’t being gay that leads to suicide. Neither is it being obese or any other reason for being bullied. Not all children who are bullied commit suicide. It is mental illness that brings on suicide. Any child who is bullied for any reason can go on to commit suicide. Not because of the cause of the bullying, but because they have crossed the line from mental wellness to mental illness. The anxiety and stress, reactions to the bullying, reached a tipping point. Do we know with certainty which school system is doing a better job on dealing with bullying? Has anyone compared the statistics on suicide in the two school systems?
When we examine methods of teaching, it is outcomes that matter more than anything else. Have we any statistics on the teaching of empathy in public schools versus Catholic schools? Which school system is providing better understanding of care for the other? Which system is doing a better job of teaching our children the need to balance selfishness and selflessness? Which school system promotes better behaviour towards others? Before we impose names and labels for any organization at any school board, perhaps we need to learn more about outcomes from the methods of teaching kind, respectful behaviour in the schools.
