Alberta Bishop Calls New LGBTQ Guidelines "Totalitarian" and "Anti-Catholic"

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Education Minister David Eggen announcing the new guidelines

In Canada, new guidelines from the province of Alberta’s Education Ministry may push transgender policies under development in a positive direction. However, according to one bishop, the guidelines are “totalitarian” and “anti-Catholic,” though other Catholics involved in provincial educational systems say the new recommendations are good news.

Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary attacked the guidelines in a blog post titled “Totalitarianism in Alberta,” reported CBC. He wrote, in part:

“This approach and directive smack of the madness of relativism and the forceful imposition of a particular narrow-minded anti-Catholic ideology. . .Such a totalitarian approach is not in accordance with [Canadian law] and must be rejected.”

Henry also said the guidelines “breathe pure secularism” and described gay-straight alliances as “highly politicized ideological clubs” because they oppose homophobia and heterosexism–two influences which he belittled. Alberta’s Education Minister David Eggen responded to the comments by saying he would meet with Catholic education officials,, and he was certain that the guidelines offered “a constructive process that will lead to a positive outcome in the end.”

Kris Wells, director of the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services had a sharper critique, calling for the bishop to apologize. Wells said:

” ‘The only madness that Bishop Henry describes is his lunacy. . .What the bishop fails to realize is that this kind of harmful rhetoric does great damage to LGBT youth and individuals in our province.”

Mickey Wilson of Edmonton’s Pride Centre said most Catholics want their church “to move past these things,” reported The Edmonton Journal.   He also stated:

” ‘It’s just shameful that he would put students in a position where they have to chose between being schooled in their faith and having a safe place.’ “

Chair Marilyn Bergstra of the Edmonton Catholic Schools Board (ECSB) was among those Catholics who viewed the guidelines differently. She was “very impressed” by them, according to The Edmonton Sun. Bergstra, who began chairing ECSB last October, said further:

” ‘My wish would be that every single word in that document is adopted. . .But that’s not how democracy works, and we have to have a fulsome discussion.’ “

The guidelines in dispute suggested that school districts’ policies respect students’ gender identity and expression, specifically when it comes to dress codes, restrooms, and athletics. Non-discrimination protections for all LGBTQ employees are also suggested.Though not binding, the guidelines come from the Ministry which will be reviewing board policies once they are submitted in March. Catholic schools in Canada receive government funding, so they are not exempt from LGBT protections. You can read the guidelines by clicking here.

ECSB’s discussions about a policy for trans students have been particularly heated. The Board approved a draft policy in December which would allow “just discrimination” of LGBT youth. Previous meetings became shouting matches such that Minister Eggen mandated professional mediation. Trustee Larry Kowalczyk is on record saying trans people have a “mental disorder” and this whole initiative is due to “God-hating activists.”

Despite the new guidelines, approving a policy which actually protects trans students at Edmonton’s Catholic schools may be a challenge. But the guidelines would be immense progress if ECSB members integrate them into any new policy, a reality highlighted by transgender parent Marni Panas who told CBC:

” ‘These are words in a document and they’re really solid words, they’re really good words, but they will mean nothing unless we see action and we see these students protected.’ “

Protecting students should be a first priority of Catholic education, but somehow not all Catholics believe these protections should be afforded to transgender students. Rather than rejecting these guidelines outright (or going so far as calling them “totalitarian”), ECSB and all Catholic trustees should carefully read them and come to understand there is little, if nothing at all, in them which contradicts Catholic teachings. Indeed, they affirm the fundamental call of the Gospel to care about and provide for each person’s well-being, as well as the common good of all people.

With just over two months until a policy is due, Catholic officials in Alberta should put the harsh rhetoric aside.  Instead, they should be open to the guidelines and to new understandings of LGBT people..

–Bob Shine, New Ways Ministry

11 replies
  1. Friends
    Friends says:

    Good Lord! Bishop Henry apparently seeks to join his ecclesiastical brothers — Paprocki, Burke and the Dominican Cardinal — in their old-fashioned views! How can any Church remain in a truly pastoral mode when its alleged leadership keeps struggling to shove the enterprise into reverse gear? I also note, with deep alarm and regret, that our kindred family in the Anglican Church is about to EXPEL its American Episcopal representatives, simply because of their acceptance of the legitimacy of same-sex marriage vows. Is this what Jesus would say? Is this what Jesus would do? A genuine Pastoral Reformation is needed within the Roman Catholic Church — and it’s needed immediately.

    Reply
  2. Kathleen
    Kathleen says:

    The Catholic Church has wielded so much power over our thinking, collective conscience, and cultural way of life for so long, it is almost in our DNA. People are finally thinking outside the box for new ways to understand the world and people around us and we can never go back to group think officiated by the institutional church. What is so striking to me about Bishop Henry’s response is he is so closed to new ideas and ways of accepting and including people he doesnt understand. He seems so afraid to explore outside the box he has lived in all his life. I can understand him. It wasnt too long ago that I looked outside the Church for answers and I was terrified to do so. Long story but my search began and one question lead to another and to another and I wasnt afraid anymore. Lets just say I had a Jesus encounter these last four years and am thankful for it. Im 59 years old now, safe and sound, outside the box, guided by the spirit. Im not sure how to help people like Bishop Henry. I believe we must try to reach out to containerized souls so they are free to experience God’s vast love for them without the trappings of Church and be free to express and channel God’s vast love and mercy for others.

    Reply
    • ermadurk
      ermadurk says:

      Over the past year, and again with this posting, New Ways Ministry has shared information regarding GLBT issues and controversies here in the U.S. and around the world. I am very grateful for these postings because they not only describe the where, when, and who are involved in the controversies, but what exactly is at issue – and direct quotes are added to substantiate the person’s position.
      As a Catholic, Justice and Mercy toward others is of prime importance in the growth and nourishment of my spiritual life, and I, along with many others, want to get things right when inviting our Church to grow in understanding of GLBT issues. Thank you for the quality of your help.

      Reply
  3. Friends
    Friends says:

    Updating the situation in the Anglican Communion: The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologized for the hurt that has been caused by the fiercely anti-GLBT attitudes of certain sectors in the Communion — particularly those in Africa and parts of Asia. But he has also said that he is personally powerless to change those harsh attitudes on a global scale, since each national church has a great deal of doctrinal and disciplinary autonomy. Full story here:

    http://www.itv.com/news/2016-01-15/archbishop-of-canterbury-apologises-for-anglican-hurt-to-lgbti-community/

    Well, I suppose his apology is “a quarter of a loaf” — if not a half-loaf — but it’s a far cry from what justice and caritas would seem to require. Cultural politics is deeply involved and deeply embedded in this very bitter and un-Christian discrimination within the global Church. I don’t see any easy answers, short of a miraculous Divine Intervention. Does anyone else discern any cause for hope?

    Reply

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