Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in British Catholic schools will likely feel safer this coming academic year, thanks to a new set of guidelines for educators aimed at reducing bullying directed toward sexual minorities. The publication of these guidelines is a milestone in Catholic outreach to the LGBT community because they are the first initiative to counter bullying that has been produced by a Catholic bishops’ conference.
Toward the end of the last school year, the Catholic Education Service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, in partnership with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, produced Made in God’s Image: Challenging Homophobic and Biphobic Bullying in Catholic Schools. The 36-page booklet offers a solid Catholic rationale for countering such bullying and, practically, it provides a series of eight lesson plans for discussing respect for lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals with middle school children. (Transgender people are not mentioned in the general sections of the document, bullying against them is mentioned briefly in the lesson plans.)
Source: National Catholic Reporter
Whether named Gay-Straight Alliance, Inclusivity Club, or something else, Catholic schools in Ontario now allow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) acceptance student groups because they have to, but many districts are proactively supporting gay-straight alliances, and many students find their school to be a much more empathetic place.
“A lot of people do get the impression of oh, gay club, and they’re like, oh I can’t go because I’m not gay. And it’s like, well, no, that’s the reason it’s ‘gay-straight alliance,’ ” said Katie Butler, a 12th grade student at St. Anne’s Catholic School in the Windsor-Essex district. “It’s a safe space where you can go and talk about things. Where you know you’re going to be accepted in that area. It’s very educational, I’d say.”
Source: Catholic schools balance gay-straight alliance clubs with beliefs | National Catholic Reporter
The Rhode Island Catholic school whose ban on transgender students ignited controversy last week has released two statements which have potential for opening doors to reconciliation and to greater inclusion. Officials at Mount Saint Charles Academy responded to the intensifying criticism to their policy change which excluded transgender students from school with an initial statement last Friday, saying the policy which explicitly bans transgender students: “. . .is not intended to be discriminatory towar
Source: Reconciliatory Path Opened for Catholic School that Banned Transgender Students | Bondings 2.0
One afternoon during the first week of classes this week at Xavier High School in Manhattan, as the various student clubs reconvened, Joseph Papeo walked into Alexander Lavy’s physics classroom. On the walls hung a crucifix and posters of Einstein and Homer Simpson. Two flags flanked the door. One was the American standard, while the other was the rainbow banner of gay pride.Mr. Papeo, 17, was in the classroom for a meeting of Xavier’s Gay-Straight Alliance. A senior and the club’s co-president, Mr. Papeo positioned himself at a dry-erase board, preparing to write a list of the recent milestones for gay rights at Xavier and in the rest of the world.
Source: Room in Catholic School for Gay-Straight Alliance – The New York Times
Catholic school leaders in Canada failed to approve a policy which would allow students to self-identify their gender, frustrating hopes of positive change and earning stern criticism from the Education Minister. The Edmonton Journal reported:
Source: Transgender Policy in Jeopardy After Delayed Vote By Catholic School Board | Bondings 2.0