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Indianapolis Catholic School Will Fire Gay Teacher to Avoid Upsetting the Church

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
I think that is a very narrow minded view of what was written. IMV, the position you have stated promotes hatred and bigotry. If this is "enlightenment values", I'm glad I am already "in the light of Jesus" and not moving from that position.
Do you deny the Bible has instructed, supported, and condoned genocide and slavery?
 

columbus

yawn <ignore> yawn
I think that is a very narrow minded view of what was written. IMV, the position you have stated promotes hatred and bigotry. If this is "enlightenment values", I'm glad I am already "in the light of Jesus" and not moving from that position.
I'm not sure what you mean.
Please explain again how advocating equality for all promotes hatred and bigotry.
Tom
 

Father Heathen

Veteran Member
There are many gay members of the Catholic Church. I am sure that some of them became teachers and thought that it would be a good thing it they worked in a Catholic private school. Not too many black men are born into KKK families.

I think it's disingenuous to feign shock and outrage that a traditionally homophobic institution wouldn't accept openly gay teachers. I'm not defending the church's ignorant, irrational and bigoted beliefs, but come on, what did people expect?
 

Road Warrior

Seeking the middle path..
"It was just last week when Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis decided it would rather cut its ties with the Catholic Church than fire a teacher in a same-sex marriage. The move was welcomed by people, both in and out of the Catholic Church. It’s about damn time a school under the Catholic umbrella took the compassionate approach; Catholic dogma be damned.

(To be sure, the decision was a little easier only because the school received no money from the Catholic Church itself. It’s sponsored by the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus. All they lost with their decision was a formal affiliation with the Church.)

Now a different high school in the same archdiocese is taking the more cowardly, but totally expected, route.

Cathedral High School said in a letter yesterday that it would “separate” from a gay teacher… which is their way of saying they’re going to follow Catholic dogma no matter how irrational and indefensible it might be.

In the letter, the Catholic school said Archbishop Charles Thompson “made it clear that Cathedral’s continued employment of a teacher in a public, same-sex marriage would result in our forfeiting our Catholic identity.”

Cathedral says a conversation with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been ongoing for the last 22 months.


In the letter, the school also says that not complying with the guidance of the Archdiocese would have made the school lose its nonprofit status and affiliation with the Brothers of the Holy Cross.
The letter make it fairly clear that keeping the gay teacher on staff would’ve been a death sentence for the school. Not only would they lose their Catholic status, they would lose their non-profit status as well. Their hands were tied.

Not that you should feel sorry for them. Despite their claim that this was an “agonizing decision,” it’s not like the Catholic Church sprung its bigotry on them at the last second. Anyone who is Catholic — certainly leaders of a school — must realize that affiliation comes with a set of rules that are indefensible. You are signing up to be part of an organization that condemns LGBTQ relationships, rejects the existence of transgender people, would force women to give birth against their will, refuses to dispense birth control even in situations where it would prevent suffering, and more. To pretend like this situation was anything but a foregone conclusion 22 months ago is completely disingenuous.

The school’s leaders had a chance to show compassion despite the costs. Instead, they chose cruelty."
source

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Catholic private schools, eh? So what do you propose? Violence? Making Catholicism (or all religion) illegal and punishable by death?

What is the purpose of this thread other than to point out that Catholics are following their religion about gays?
 

Darkforbid

Well-Known Member
Do you deny the Bible has instructed, supported, and condoned genocide and slavery?

Well I don't, but aren't you living and profiting from a land gained by genocide and slavery. Do you think say, Dawkins should pay restitution from his family fortune gained from slavery?
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Well I don't, but aren't you living and profiting from a land gained by genocide and slavery. Do you think say, Dawkins should pay restitution from his family fortune gained from slavery?
Yeah, but pretty much my family wasn't here yet, and branch of my family was a part of those being slaughtered and driven off their homelands. And how did Dawkins earned wealth come at the benefit of slaves? Did he force someone else to write his books or teach his lectures without compensation?
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
I think it's disingenuous to feign shock and outrage that a traditionally homophobic institution wouldn't accept openly gay teachers. I'm not defending the church's ignorant, irrational and bigoted beliefs, but come on, what did people expect?
The Catholic Church has had limited homophobia for as long as I can remember. In the late-70's when I was going to college and working as a waiter I was surprised that a local Catholic Church had an outreach program for gay men. They would eat at our restaurant and I waited on them quite often. At that time I could not name another church with such a program.
 

Darkforbid

Well-Known Member

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
If a Jewish person is uncomfortable around Christians, should the Christian be required to pretend not to be? If a black person is uncomfortable around white people, is that a problem for her white coworker?
Jews and blacks have much better reasons for being uncomfortable around people who represent bigotry and historical discrimination than a straight guy does having a gay coworker. Even the military got over that nonsense.
Tom

There are many Jewish and black people who would completely disagree equating sexual preference (which you can change) to that which you cannot (Where you were born and what color you are)

And I NEVER said we shouldn't be comfortable with someone of a different sexual preference. Totally different animal.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
But criticism of a books written thousands of years ago is fine?
When they say the appropriate ritual after someone has been cured of leprosy involves having birds blood slung all over the place, when it says "kill your child if they worship another god," and when it permits beating "those you bought with money...they are [your] property" it deserves criticism, especially when it has such a negative influence and impact on people today.
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
Do you need me to start listing where the Bible does in fact instruct genocide and permit slavery?

Do you believe we shouldn't have used the atomic bomb? Or did you prefer that the Japanese just continue the Nanking process all over the world?
 
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