Debate about Catholic school board overdue
Now here’s a question most of us have never thought likely: “If Jesus Himself were to attend a meeting of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, I wonder if He would be interrupted?”
The answer is a little above my paygrade, and not — as far as I know — mentioned specifically in the Gospels. But Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto and responsible for the spiritual and administrative needs of millions of Canadian Catholics, thought it worthy to ask in a letter he wrote recently to TCDSB board chair Joseph Martino.
The context to all this are comments made at a board meeting more than a year ago by trustee Michael Del Grande, in a discussion to update the language of the code of conduct so as to be more sensitive to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students.
The amendments were passed by an 8-4 vote but during the debate Del Grande referred to bestiality, pedophilia, rape, cannibalism and vampirism also being included in the new wording. He later explained that this was a use of hyperbole to make a point about a slippery slope, but others were deeply and understandably offended, considering what he said to be “inflammatory” and “lacking in compassion.” Del Grande has now been censured, asked to make a public apology and complete an equitytraining course.
In this latest meeting, a delegate began to read from the Roman Catholic Church’s catechism on the subject of homosexuality. It’s an especially clinical text, insisting that while LGBTQ people are to be treated with respect, homosexual activity is sinful, “objectively disordered” and “contrary to natural law.” It’s crassly patronizing, fails to grasp the reality of inherent sexuality, and is ignored by numerous Catholics.
The reading was interrupted and three trustees — chair Martino, Norm Di Pasquale, and Maria Rizzo — objected, with trustee Di Pasquale quite rightly saying that these were “dangerous waters” that could be seen as “putting down a marginalized and vulnerable community at our board.” There was general (though not absolute) agreement, and the delegate quickly concluded his comments.
Cardinal Collins evidently disagrees, arguing in his letter, ”That a Catholic should be criticized, and effectively be prevented by Catholic trustees from reading from the Catholic Catechism at a meeting of a Catholic school board is simply reprehensible,” and that Jesus calling for us to repent “for the Kingdom of God is near, and many other things He says in the Gospel” might not be “sufficiently soothing, and perhaps might offend.”
Jesus, by the way, never speaks of homosexuality — but is repeatedly and fiercely critical of those who judge, are legalistic, and ignore the central call to love. The deeper, more political issue, however, is the clash between a publicly funded Catholic school system, and the laws and norms of mainstream society. During times of financial strain and social evolution, this inevitably leads to questions about why Ontario has two public systems.
The origins are noble, providing protection to a minority that had often faced discrimination. But in modern Ontario, more than 31 per cent of the population is Catholic, 22 per cent Protestant, and in Canada as a whole, Catholicism is, at 38 per cent, the single largest denomination. The idea of safeguards seems somewhat anachronistic.
Change is not, as is often claimed, impossibly difficult. Quebec and Newfoundland passed constitutional resolutions to end religious funding, Manitoba changed in 1890, and because Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and B.C. didn’t have separate Catholic school systems when they entered Confederation, the constitutional insistence on Catholic schooling didn’t apply. Even Catholic high schools in Ontario weren’t publicly funded until the 1980s.
The truth is that many if not most Catholic schools are progressive and inclusive in their teaching, with teachers more concerned with the well-being of their students than some of the harsher beliefs of their faith. But there are still school trips to anti-abortion events, cases of LGBTQ students feeling isolated and insecure, and genuine questions about duplication of spending and the need for a separate, Catholic system in the modern age — especially as other religions do not receive the same privilege.
Cardinal Collins’ letter may have the opposite of its intention, but perhaps an open and informed debate is love overdue. Just don’t expect Jesus to attend the meeting.