Across Canada, LGBTQ+ Advocates Challenge Catholic Schools to Celebrate Pride

Students at St. Dennis Catholic School celebrating Pride

The debate over LGBTQ+ issues and Canada’s Catholic schools, particularly how to mark Pride Month, has roiled those publicly-funded Catholic school systems for years. A hallmark of this debate has been votes on whether to fly rainbow flags in June.

With the school year concluding, today’s post features four news stories where communities have resisted anti-LGBTQ+ efforts to quell celebrations, and have instead endorsed Pride.

Catholic Elementary School Offers Pride Day Celebrations

For the third year, St. Denis Catholic School, Toronto, hosted a daylong celebration of Pride that included an assembly with pro-LGBTQ+ presentations, a hoisting of the rainbow flag, a dance party, and “a visit to the school from an ice cream truck [where] rainbow sprinkles are on the menu,” reported Beach Metro Community News. Parents and older students were invited to a film screening of With Wonder, an award-winning documentary about whether someone can be Christian and queer. A conversation with the director, Sharon Lewis, was held after the film.

In 2022, St. Denis’ principal, Anthony Pauk, explained that flying the Pride flag and hosting other events are “an opportunity for us to showcase how Catholicity and love come together.” He added, “As I tell the kids, it is one and the same. The kids all know that every single one of them is loved, every single one of them is included and we celebrate that through fun.”

Advocates Criticize School Boards for Denying Pride Flags

This week, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) in Ontario voted down a motion to fly flags at its schools which are in “support of particular observances,” including Pride.

Brea Corbet, the board member who proposed the failed motion, saw such flags as an inclusive step, saying Catholic schools must question whether they “are doing enough to combat discrimination, homophobia, intolerance, and hate.” The board instead voted to restrict external symbols to the national and provincial flags, as well as anything associated with the liturgical season, reported the CBC.

LGBTQ+ advocates criticized the decision as “irresponsible,” in the words of Rainbow Sauga Alliance’s vice president, Jo Ann Iantosca, and as imperiling student safety, said DPCDSB student trustee, Nathan Nguyen.

Stephanie Hodgkins of the Red Deer Queer Community Association speaking at a rally for LGBTQ+ students

Albertans Hold Rally to Protest Anti-Pride School Policy

In March, LGBTQ+ advocates gathered at city hall in Red Deer, Alberta, to protest a new policy implemented by the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools which curtails recognition of queer students.

According to the Western Standard, the school district sent teachers “directives requiring them to out students to administrators, remove Pride materials and force teachers to refer to students by their legal names.” Kathleen Finnigan, the district’s superintendent, also warned teachers in presentations not to ask students about their chosen pronouns, and said any rainbow materials or safe space stickers will not be permitted in schools. The directives were reportedly imposed by the Archdiocese of Edmonton, in which the district is located, though an archdiocesan spokesperson denied this.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association objected to the directives. Its president, Jason Schilling, saying teachers “are exasperated, they’re exhausted and they’re embarrassed by this,” as it comes in conjunction with civil policies from Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, to restrict the rights of gender-diverse students.

In response, the Red Deer Queer Community Association (RDQCA) organized the rally because, as its vice-chair Stephanie Hodgkins explained, “these directives are shortsighted and that they are going to cause a lot more harm than they realize.” The association has begun hosting youth support meetings at the local public library because, as Hodgkins told the Red Deer Advocate, “If our schools aren’t going to be a safe space, then we’ll make one.”

Last year, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools made headlines after a trustee, Monica LaGrange, posted a graphic on Facebook a graphic comparing the LGBTQ+ movement to Nazism. The school board later expelled LaGrange after she refused to apologize and learn more about both the Holocaust and LGBTQ+ issues.

Parents Object to Catholic School Textbook Deemed “Homophobic”

This spring, parents at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Secondary School in Yukon, raised concerns about a textbook, Called to Happiness: Guiding Ethical Principles, and other materials which compared homosexuality to bestiality. Yukon News reported:

“The [parents] say they believe the textbook and related lessons by a teacher at the school ‘go against the [provincial] Department of Education’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity policy that is supposed to protect students of all genders.’ . . . Not only is this teacher using a homophobic textbook, but he’s focusing his teaching on some of the most hateful ideas in that text,’ reads the letter from parents.

“‘For years, students have expressed their concerns about this textbook and [the teacher’s] homophobic teachings to their teachers and counsellors at St. Francis. And yet, nothing has been done. Parents have complained to the principal and vice-principal at St. Francis, but nothing seems to change.'”

While school administrators offered no public response, the province’s Department of Education issued a statement that “the matter is being addressed at the school level,” adding:

“‘While Catholic schools have the right to provide religious education programs and lessons that teach Catholic values to their students, they do not have the right to provide teachings about sexual orientation or gender identity that are inconsistent with the Yukon’s laws and Department of Education policies. . .There is no place for homophobic or transphobic teachings in our public school system. Catholic schools in Yukon are public schools, and Catholic educators are Yukon public servants. These schools and teachers must adhere to all Government of Yukon laws and policies.”

Erica Lenti

The Wider Significance of Pride in Canada’s Catholic Schools

Erica Lenti, a journalist, wrote about the longstanding controversy over Pride flags in TVO Today, citing the York Region Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) ban on them this spring. Lenti explained the problem with schools not being visibly pro-LGBTQ+:

“For LGBTQ2S+ students, schools are often the first space they can witness a positive, inclusive environment that supports their sexual orientations and gender identities. Pride flags communicate belonging — that you are not alone, that you are accepted. They are small but mighty symbols of trust and community.

“At a time when the rights of queer and trans kids are increasingly threatened by provincial leaders outside of Ontario, when Canada’s national security intelligence agency has issued notices of caution to Pride goers this June in fear of anti-LGBTQ2S+ retaliation, it can be difficult to find safety, security, and community in our institutions. We know that flag raisings cannot eradicate fears nor the real risks of homophobia and transphobia. But they can be a starting point, a lead-in to an ongoing conversation.

“When school boards fail to act on these small measures, the message is clear: LGBTQ2S+ student safety and belonging is not a priority. This June, YCDSB trustees — and their counterparts at every other school board in Ontario that has failed to raise a Pride flag — will be forced to reckon with the consequences of their actions. If youth safety and care is their mission, they have failed.”