Catholic High School Resolves Pride Flag Controversies With New Symbol
A Catholic school in Oakland, California has managed to find a way around the thorny issue of raising a Pride flag in a way that affirms LGBTQ+ people while avoiding objections to a rainbow motif.
Bishop O’Dowd Catholic High School will be greeting new and returning students with a new symbol, a rainbow-color letter “O,” the school’s official logo. KRON-4 described the symbol this way:
“The symbol, an angular, oblong capital ‘O,’ features a smudge of colors, some of which — red, orange, yellow, green, violet, and blue — are also found in the Pride flag. However, rather than the neat, delineated lines of the Pride flag, the colors in the O look more like an impressionist watercolor of leaves.”
A school statement on the school’s website further explained: “Our Inclusive O was created by and for the O’Dowd community. Using rainbow watercolor in our official O logo, it is underscored by words seen. known. loved.”
Kim Walsh
In a letter to the school community, Kim Walsh, president, said that the change was made due to an undisclosed problem which occurred last school year when the Pride flag was displayed at school. She explained:
“Many of you know that over the last few years, questions about Pride and Progress flags have become part of a much larger conversation taking place throughout the Catholic Church and in the United States.
“Across the country, Catholic schools have been working to navigate these tensions while remaining united as communities, caring for students, and living their catholic values. Last year, this became a lightning rod within our community. We did not want a symbol to become the source of division that diminished our ability to care for students.
“Our Inclusive O now appears in lieu of the Pride and Progress flags that had previously been displayed in some classrooms, and is now displayed campus-wide.”
Although the president did not mention what last year’s incident was, KQED reported:
“The Diocese of Oakland asked the school to remove the pride flags after someone in the community saw a “progress” flag — which includes the traditional six pride colors, plus a chevron-shaped overlay to the left side in the transgender pride colors, and black and brown — on campus and reported it to Oakland … [B]ishop Michael Barber.
“The school did not immediately comply with the order, but removed flags just before summer break, featuring them in a ceremony in the school’s chapel and replacing them with posters and shirts featuring the ‘Inclusive O.’”
O’Dowd students display the new symbol on t-shirts.
The development of the new symbol, which was created by members of the school community, was achieved by a yearlong process, Walsh explained:
“Over many months, we engaged faculty and staff, counselors, parents, the Board of Regents, LGBTQ+ community members, and student leaders in prayer, discernment, and dialogue. Together, we asked a simple but important question: How do we continue to visibly communicate that every student belongs?”
The new symbol is not the only way that the school supports their LGBTQ+ students, she added:
“Our Counseling Department, Health & Wellness team, Unity Club, Pride Arts Club, Inclusive Family Day, and the many ways we accompany LGBTQ+ students and families remain in place. This year, we are also expanding that work through a community art workshop, an LGBTQ+ family retreat, and the formation of an Inclusive Advisory Council to help guide our ongoing efforts around belonging and student support.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that not all were happy with the new symbol:
“. . .[S]some alumni say creating a school-specific alternative does not carry the same weight as displaying the Pride flag, a symbol widely associated with the LGBTQ+ community for decades.
“One social media post discussed on Reddit said the action ‘directly affects the LGBTQ+ population of the school by removing pieces of representation.'”
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, sees the new symbol as a positive step. “The new symbol is a positive way to solve a dilemma that many Catholic schools face in regard to Pride flags,” he said. “It is a creative solution that sends a message of support to LGBTQ+ students, and that is the most important feature of it.”
—Wesley Cocozello, New Ways Ministry, August 11, 2026
Finally! A response to the flags issue that is other than lines in the sand, heels dug in, identities brandished like weapons, and a preference for walls rather than bridges. May all concerned be granted the grace to see this for what it seems to be: a genuine community attempt to live Christian love!
The Church needs to search its soul.
For every new convert to Catholism in this country, eight people are leaving.
One of the main reasons, especially for young people, and those who have an LBGTQ+ friend or family member is the lack of inclusion.
The catechism continues insist gay people are intrinsically disordered. Transgender people who receive life saving medical care are said to be involved in grave sin.
Until LBGTQ+ people are fully welcomed and supported the bleeding of membership will continue: Eight leaving for every new person becoming a member of the Church.
Do the math.