There's no way around it, Catholics United is wrong...

In a previous post I noted that, "Shortly after Father James Rafferty, pastor of St. Paul's parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, denied admission to a student whose parents are lesbian, the dissent group Catholics United launched a petition accusing St. Paul's of engaging in discrimination."

In a similar case in Colorado earlier this year, Archbishop Charles Chaput was quoted as having said that, "Our schools are meant to be 'partners in faith' with parents. If parents don't respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church."

Which view is more consistent with the Magisterial teaching of the Church? The Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, in a document entitled simply "The Catholic School," had this to say:


"Either implicit or explicit reference to a determined attitude to life (Weltanschauung) is unavoidable in education because it comes into every decision that is made. It is, therefore, essential, if for no other reason than for a unity in teaching, that each member of the school community, albeit with differing degrees of awareness, adopts a common vision, a common outlook on life, based on adherence to a scale of values in which he believes. This is what gives teachers and adults authority to educate. It must never be forgotten that the purpose of instruction at school is education, that is, the development of man from within, freeing him from that conditioning which would prevent him from becoming a, fully integrated human being. The school must begin from the principle that its educational programme is intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person." (The Catholic School, No. 29).

It is essential that each member of the school community (and this includes parents) adopts a common vision and a common outlook on life.

Which is precisely what Archbishop Chaput was saying.

Catholics United is wrong. There is no way around this.