Parents angry over 'safe spaces' for LGBTQ students

[KathyLauren]

Parents angry over 'safe spaces' for LGBTQ students disrupt York Catholic board meeting

[Ivy]

God forbid that any queer kid might feel welcome or even safe in their school !

But since this is a Christian school, and since God hates queer kids just get rid of them.  They're a danger to all the other godly and righteous kids. /s

[VickySGV]

If they learned about the stickers via the internet, they can thank a Trans Woman who engineered the memory chips and operating systems of their computers. (Lynn Conway).  GRURK.   Much of the digital music of today was enabled by the work of a Trans Woman as well.  (Wendy Carlos).  

[VickySGV]

@Katie23  I do not point a finger at religion as much as some do but here ignorance and religion have intersected for sure.  Ignorance all by itself is enough and coupled with quick off-the-rails opinion pieces and quick clicks based on at best half truths really comes up with some wild myths.  Somewhere I do have a meme showing the achievements of Trans and N/B people that I jokingly say have caused part of the problem by making life better and simpler which the ignorant take advantage of against us.  If the. person's heart had not been well monitored, they would not be here to hate us or other mischief.  It is indeed an irony of what they enjoy in life because a person they H8 did something, and that goes to many other groups than Trans. 

[awkward-yet-sweet]

The way I look at it, homosexuality being a sin isn't relevant to making people feel valued and welcome.  Christians who disapprove of LGBTQ+ people should differentiate between disagreeing with something and disliking a PERSON.  Two very different things.  It is possible to stand for what you believe while remaining polite. Very difficult to evangelize and reach out to non-believers if you don't even get close enough to have a conversation.  🙄  I recall that Jesus was known for eating with tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, and just about anybody....and the folks He lectured and scolded were the religious leaders of the day. 

 

As for the stickers in the school, it would be valuable to have more information about what exactly the purpose of the school is.  Is the school for Catholics only, or is enrollment open to those of other denominations or even other faiths?  What determines if one is a "true" Catholic?  Is the purpose of the school to provide a closed environment for those who are already believers, or is outreach and evangelism a component?  And what does the Catholic church administration and the pope say? 

[Marcie Jensen]

*sigh* As a retired Presbyterian pastor, I often shake my head in utter amazement at how we, as Christians, react to church dogma and law that we don't agree with. That goes for us all; especially me. That said, while I could never support the position of the Roman Catholic church regarding the LGBTQ+ community, it seems to me that as this incident happened in a Catholic parochial school anyone enrolled there or teaches there is bound to honor the theological positions of the Catholic church.  As I understand it, their position, according to both the catechism and doctrine, as espoused by Pope Francis, is that homosexuality and being transgender  are sins, but not crimes. 

 

The particular issue that jumps off the (virtual) page at me is that schools ought to be safe spaces for everyone who is inside the building. When and where did our society lose that?

[awkward-yet-sweet]

@Marcie Jensen Perhaps you could explain... does the Pope mean that homosexuality is/isn't something criminalized by the government?  Or is he talking about a crime in the sight of God?  I recall that Catholicism had some kind of differentiation between types of sin (mortal vs. venial, I believe).  I'm no expert on religion, so I know nothing of the distinction (if such exists.)  Would homosexuality be a cause for excommunication in the Catholic church? 

 

And of course, how much do Catholics follow what their leadership tells them?  Are they more conservative, less conservative, or a mix? 

[Marcie Jensen]

@awkward-yet-sweet I'm not Catholic, so anything I say is pure speculation. Here's what I do know based on facts:

 

On January 25, 2023 pope Francis said in an interview with the Associated Press: "Homosexuality is a sin, but it isn't a crime." Neither more nor less.  I've no idea as to whether or not he was referring to criminal law, civil law or canon law. The article didn't say.

 

As to mortal v. venial sin, the Catholic church does make a distinction. I'm protestant and don't believe in such; sin is sin, period. But, this is not the thread for that discussion.

 

Excommunication within the Catholic church is also not a topic for this thread, imho. It's a complex topic and greatly nuanced. For example, President Biden and Nancy Pelosi are both technically excommunicate due to their stance on abortion (both made the news when this happened), yet both have been taking the sacraments in their local churches. As a protestant, this is not something I can comment on, nor should I. All I can do respect the practice of another denomination.

 

I also can't, and won't, address the degree of how well Catholics follow what their priests/bishops/etc. tell them. I suppose it depends...