Catholic Schools: A Rude Awakening

The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) recently banned Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) because they go against Catholic ideology. In an article in Xtra!, the board’s chairperson justified this ban by adding, “We don’t have Nazi groups either.” I’m sorry – DID SHE JUST COMPARE QUEERS TO NAZIS???

However, it is not that sentence in particular with which I take issue but rather the idea behind it. Frankly, I am disappointed in the Catholic school board. In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I attended Catholic school from K-12, though not in the Halton district, and, while I was raised Catholic, I don’t consider myself to be one. Growing up, I always knew that the Catholic Church was not a fan of queers (the whole marriage-is-between-a-man-and-a-woman thing, ya know?), but none of their stances had really ever affected me personally. (Example: Oh, you say I can’t marry a same-sex partner? Well, I live in Canada, so I actually can. Ha!) Like, the Pope would sit there in Vatican City making decrees and I could decide whether or not I wanted to follow them. But when a school board – the place you go every single day to be educated and become a worldly citizen – places an outright ban on GSAs, that’s something that can’t be ignored because the consequences are immediate.

I’ve always held this ideal that in the school system the students’ well-being should be Priority Number One. In a perfect school system, if a gay kid was being bullied and the presence of a GSA could help him out, then the GSA would be there. End of story. A kid’s well-being should take precedent over things like political agendas or belief systems, any day. So when GSAs are banned, in my mind the meaning behind the message is twofold: the less-than-groundbreaking A) Being queer is unacceptable [so what else is new?], and the infinitely-more-unsettling B) Even if you are queer, we won’t help you out.

It’s a rude awakening for someone like myself, who has always defended Catholic schools – even in queer circles where Catholic-bashing functions as an icebreaker (I’m not joking. It’s happened to me at least twice) – because my experience wasn’t like that. The circumstances leading up to me rejecting the Catholic faith were multi-dimensional, but my reevaluation of the Catholic school board is hinging on this singular incident, due to its vast repercussions. I now have to face that voice in my head, quietly insisting, “Maybe they’re right.” A rude awakening indeed. Sign the petition here!