Catholic School Defends Posting of Sign Condemning Homosexuality
A Catholic school in England has said a sign with anti-gay messaging has been “taken out of context,” and officials defended their decision to post the sign against students and parents’ criticism.
Educators at St. Bede’s Catholic School in Lanchester, England, set up a display with messages students would be expected to know for upcoming exams in religious studies. One sign read, according to Chronicle Live:
“‘Homosexuality is a disordered behaviour that must be condemned’ (Vatican statement 30 July 2008).”
Controversy was sparked after the sign was removed from the display by a student, and a photo of it was made public on the social media app Snapchat. Parents made aware of the sign were highly critical f its display. One parent said the sign might harm young children who do not understand why the condemnatory message was posted in the first place.
But Head Teacher Neville Harrison and the St. Bede’s administration defend the decision to post the sign as part of the intended study aid. The display included quotes from several religious traditions, including The Bible and the Qur’an. Harrison explained:
“Regrettably, the posted resource had been removed from the display and therefore removed from its overall context. . .This particular resource was displayed as a revision tool and as such was not created to cause any harm or ill-feeling.
“As a school, we are keen to refresh classroom displays with relevant resources that will support students’ learning. . .However, we take all community views seriously and so in light of this event, we will review our classroom display policy moving forward.”
Harrison’s promise to re-evaluate future displays is helpful, but his response is pedagogically deficient. St. Bede’s should not merely review its classroom display policy, but look at deeper issues this incident revealed.
First, the sign’s content is misrepresentative. The sign attributes the quote to a Vatican statement, suggesting to students that these words have some level of teaching authority. The words are in fact from an ecumenical document produced from the Anglican-Catholic dialogue, which Cardinal Walter Kasper quoted when addressing the Anglican Church’s 2008 Lambeth Conference. Though the words reflect magisterial Catholic teaching, the sign’s content actually requires a lot more context than simply putting it alongside other signs. Students need an explanation of when and how church teaching is binding, what response is due from the faithful, the technical and philosophical usage of “disordered” intended in the quote, and the fullness of church teaching on homosexuality that extends beyond sexual ethics to include the call for pastoral care, the denunciation of homophobic attitudes and actions, and the call for respect, compassion, and sensitivity towards lesbian and gay people. Failing to present any aspect of this outline deprives students of what should rightfully be taught at a Catholic school.
In the interest of forming critically-engaged citizens, educators should expose students to a variety of perspectives, including matters some consider controversial like homosexuality. But even within the context of study, such an anti-gay message is damaging. No context could mitigate the violence inherent in such beliefs. This reality is why such careful attention is necessary on the part of educators to ensure students grapple with challenging perspectives in manners that are healthy and foster growth.
But, there is a positive side to this story: it is generally positive when a Catholic school addresses homosexuality openly in its curriculum. St. Bede’s failed its students this time, particularly those who are LGBT-identified, but that does not mean this cannot be a learning moment to create a better next time. Hopefully, the school’s educators will keep helping students grapple with varying perspectives on controversial matters, but with the greater attention and care such matters are due.
—Robert Shine, New Ways Ministry, January 4, 2018
The statement in the photo is a serious distortion of what Cdl Kapsar actually sad. It is also a distortion of Catholic doctrine. The actual quote was “”Homosexuality is a disordered behaviour. The activity must be condemned; …”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/31/religion
Many Blessings
For some reason the “positive” side eludes me. Totally. The school was just being intentionally unkind and then covering up after the fact, I believe. Hoping to be wrong…but I don’t think I am.
While I am offended by the sign’s sentiment and use, it is a wake-up call to anyone interacting with the Church on the issues around homosexuality. The isolating sentiment expresses the start of any discussion on same sex relations as far as the Vatican and any statements from it begin. The Church is a flat earth believer as far as sexuality is concerned. I point this out as a fact not a negative statement per se. Until the original 1986 Ratzinger letter on care of homosexual persons is disavowed everything else is window dressing. This is an unfortunate example of what these students need to realize about the nature of the Church about which they are being taught.
I am pleased that people in the local community did challenge the lesson that was being expressed. I am also pleased that the attribution was to the Vatican, not Jesus. There is a great lesson in that which the writer probably did not intend to point out, but it is comforting that they did.
I propose there is another lesson that Catholic school students need in order to have a complete and balanced understanding of the Roman Catholic institution. They need a lesson on the Primacy of Conscience. I would insist that teaching aids like the one in this article be posted about Galileo’s trial and the church teachings of the time that justified it. Or the church teachings that declared native people of the New World had no souls that justified genocide. Or church teachings that encouraged and justified the burning of witches. I’m sure there are others.
Alongside this, can be postings of the lives of Catholics who followed their conscience contrary to the institutional church, people like Franz Jagerstatter and Rutilio Grande. I am greatly in favor of a complete, well-rounded, Catholic education.
Yes indeed, Rosa. And let’s begin by celebrating and uplifting the life and the work of Dorothy Day — a magnificent Catholic lady who is long overdue to be elevated to sainthood. Here’s an extraordinarily good biography from Wikipedia — for those who are not familiar with her life and work:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Day
“Homosexuality is a disordered behaviour that must be condemned…”
An offensive sign, the offensiveness of which might be clearer were the sign to read “Love is a disordered behavior that must be condemned.”
The real offensiveness is in the doctrine that maintains – despite all evidence to the contrary – that homosexuality and homosexual behavior are intrinsically disordered. Until the doctrine-makers are willing to give a real objective look at lesbian and gay relationships and behaviors, nothing will change. Until the doctrine-makers are willing to take a real objective look at all human sexuality (in the context of the sexuality of other creatures as well), nothing will change. And offensive incidents such as this will continue to occur. Fortunately, as in this case, there are many who will call out incidents such as this for the unchristian behavior that they are.
And I agree completely, Robert, with your comment: “such an anti-gay message is damaging. No context could mitigate the violence inherent in such beliefs.” I would also add that there are many dimensions and facets of sexual abuse. One of them is the uninformed attack on one’s very sexuality. And this goes for such attacks on the sexuality of the lesbian and gay students, as well as the bisexual and transgender students.
Are they in the Dark Ages? A new Inquisition?