Catholic schools in the state of Arkansas have issued new policies for the coming school year. They have rules against LGBT students expressing their sexuality.
The policy says in part:
“If the student’s expression of gender, sexual identity, or sexuality should mislead others, or cause scandal, or have the potential to cause scandal, then the matter will first be discussed with the student and his/her parents,” the addendum states. “If the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of the school, whose primary goal must always be to uphold Catholic truths and principles, then the student may be dismissed.”
The diocese issued a statement that said:
“The mission of our Catholic schools includes reflecting the fundamental truths as revealed by God in both natural law and divine revelation, and it is the adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church that makes our schools ‘Catholic’ and distinct from other schools.”
It is not just the gay and lesbian students. The addendum to the policy says that students must “conduct themselves” as a member of their birth sex.
ChurchMilitant.com celebrated the policy in an article with the headline “Arkansas Catholic Schools Quash LGBT Agenda.”
Tippi McCullough, a member of Arkansas Stonewall Democrats who is also a former Catholic school teacher said:
“If you don’t want to bring scandal against your school, then don’t do things that discriminate against children.”
The Bishop of the Diocese, Anthony Taylor, is the same man who once compared homosexuality to incest.
He actually said that allowing same-sex marriage would allow marriages such as:
“… Couples such as mother and daughter, sister and sister, or brother and brother.”
This lack of tolerance is appalling. In 2016, we need to be more supportive of LGBT young people. Unfortunately, they are allowed to do this since they are a Catholic school.
Here is a news clip about the issue:
Featured image via www.audio.lucia.store.it via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
