Controversy Erupts Over Homosexual Couple Enrolling Children in Catholic School
by Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
January 19, 2005
(AgapePress) - Some Roman Catholics accuse the Orange County California Diocese of violating church doctrine by letting a homosexual couple enroll their children in a church school.
The dispute centers on two adopted boys whose parents are both men. At present the youngsters are being allowed to attend kindergarten at St. John the Baptist School in Costa Mesa, and the Catholic League has weighed in with the opinion that, in order to ensure the boys well-being, the school should not expel them.
Catholic League president William Donohue says there are two issues to consider, one being a matter of principle and the other, a matter of prudence. "There is a moral principal, expressed in Judeo-Christian thought," he notes, "that the innocent should not be punished for the transgressions of the guilty."
In other words, Donohue explains, it would be wrong to make children suffer for the sins of the father, or "in this instance, we can amend that to 'fathers.'" But at the same time, he adds, "On a prudential level, it makes no sense to single out kids whose parents are gay," as opposed to the children of parents guilty of other sexual sins, such as adultery or cohabitation, or children who were born out of wedlock.
While the issue may be new, the Catholic League spokesman contends that the heart of the matter is not. "There is no fundamental tension between opposing gay marriage as a matter of public policy and accepting the children of gay parents in a Catholic school," he says. In this case, as in others, he asserts, "the spiritual well-being of the kids is, or should be, the paramount concern."
Children as Pawns of the Homosexual Agenda?
But Stephen Brady, who heads the group Roman Catholic Faithful, says the children are in a no-win situation, unless they are removed from the school. "Clearly, these homosexuals -- these sodomites, if you will -- are using these poor children as a political pawn," he says.
"What father in his right mind would place his children in a school that is so hostile to their very way of life? And that's what they've done," Brady continues. "The spiritual well-being of these children is in no way benefited by keeping them in a Catholic school that is going to someday tell them their whole life is a lie. I mean, it's going to be so traumatic to these children that God only knows what the result will be to their personalities and their faith in general."
In fact, the Roman Catholic Faithful spokesman contends that a priest should never have baptized the two children in the first place, and should certainly not have permitted the two homosexual "parents" to enter the Catholic school and print their names in a parish directory. "The ones doing real harm to using these children," Brady says, "are the priest and the nun who allowed this to happen."
Some parents have threatened to pull their children from the school over the matter. Others suspect the boys' presence is part of a larger effort by the homosexual community to change the Church, and they are worried their attendance will set a bad precedent.
But while the Diocese is being accused of condoning the homosexual lifestyle by permitting the same-sex couple to enroll their children, the Superintendent of Diocese Schools has characterized that decision as a fairness issue. He argues that if children of homosexuals are to be barred from enrolling in Catholic schools, so should children whose parents have divorced, used birth control, or married outside the church.
