Ramifications of the new normal

With the rise of the homosexualist agenda I am seeing more news reports, on both sides of the pond, about state sponsored “anti-bullying” campaigns for children in schools.

I really dislike bullies, which is one reason why I go after liberals with such frequency.  They are bullies.

I am concerned, however, that these school “anti-bullying” campaigns, sometimes advertised with the additional “anti-homophobic” bullying campaigns, are really excuses for pro-homosexual sex campaigns.

This is going to be recruiting on the part of those advancing “the new normal”.

Therefore, one component of the “anti-bullying” campaigns will be precisely an insidious form of bullying: shaming.

Children will be forced to repudiate the vestiges of Christian values they have gained from their families.  If they don’t, they will be systematically shamed, bullied, by teachers and administrators until they conform.

If this goes as I fear, the homeschool movement will with justification grow.   Then the state will attack homeschooling.

The ramifications of “the new normal”, which is nothing like the true normal, may be wide-reaching indeed.

We shall know swiftly.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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68 Comments

  1. All the more reason to rethink the age of Confirmation. I think kids should be confirmed at an earlier age. What hope have they of withstanding these unholy pressures, and saying no to the things that shipwreck the faith, without the graces of Confirmation?

  2. veritasmeister says:

    Miss Anita Moore,

    The Byzantine rite and the Eastern Orthodox still practice what I understand to be the early original custom of conferring confirmation [chrismation] as well as first Eucharist upon the infant at the time of baptism. I think you are on to something.

  3. momoften says:

    Are you opposed to homeschooling?

    [Of course not. What a thing to ask.]

  4. momoften says:

    Your wording was a little strange, that’s all Father–I have run into some priests who say they are receptive, then they bash homeschooling. If you had been following the
    Romeike Case in homeschooling, they have been denied in Asylum to the USA. The link is as follows.
    It is scary.
    http://www.hslda.org/legal/cases/romeike.asp?src=slide&slide=Romeike_05-14-2013_decision&pos=1

  5. ejcmartin says:

    I think most of your readers just need to look north of 49 to see where things are heading. Education is a provincial jurisdiction in Canada but most provinces have jumped on the anti-bullying (which really means anti-“homophobic”) bandwagon. The Catholic School Board in Ontario is facing mandatory gay-straight alliances. I often thought that perhaps the Catholic Board should start gay-straight chastity clubs as a response. There has been successful fighting back though, the Home School Defence Association fought a successful battle in Alberta against the adoption of some pretty rigid “human rights” guidelines. There are so many reasons kids are bullied it’s a shame that somehow being gay is being put on a pedestal.

  6. LarryW2LJ says:

    Father, you’re exactly right again. The “anti-bullying” campaigns are tools used by the bully-ers to enforce the new “group think”. If you don’t go with the PC Crowd, then you’re just a “bitter clinger” misogynst, racist, homophobe.

    Catholic values are under attack, no doubt about it. I’ve recently “lost” the friendship of several long time acquaintances because I’ve had enough and have started to say “No more”, very loudly. No more passivity for me, while things go down the toilet. In fact, one went so far as to e-mail my sister to ask her if “there was something wrong with me”. He wasn’t used to having his “pregressive, Liberal” ideology challenged.

    Let ’em think whatever they want. In the end, I’m a Catholic and Jesus is my King, no matter who the president is; or what prevails as the predominant culture.

  7. yatzer says:

    I wonder if this sort of thing is part of the reluctance of young couples now to have children. Who wants to feed the almighty State with their children?

  8. MGL says:

    Our Catholic high school here in Victoria, British Columbia now has “pink shirt” anti-bullying days, but this is pretty much par for the course in our local school system, which has as its apparent primary mission the reconciliation of its students to secular modernity.

  9. teomatteo says:

    I hear ‘ya Father. Our chill’rn are in public and the middle school admin. have this: challenge day. An entire day of ‘dialogue’ . On top of them taking the students away from learning important stuff they are opening many kids up to sensitive conditions. I think that wounds are opened and the school doenst have the funds for one on one counseling for the kids. Challenge the students with math, science, etc. and leave the sensitivity training to the parent. Plus the principal is hammering us parents to fund raise to cover the cost of the day. I have opted my chill’rn out. I bad.

  10. anilwang says:

    ejcmartin says: “he Catholic School Board in Ontario is facing mandatory gay-straight alliances.”

    Just a bit of elaboration which confirms Fr. Z’s concern’s. Originally, the legislation was anti-bullying WRT gays and lesbians and they could be called anything. In response, the Toronto Archdiocese (which makes up a significant percentage of the Ontario population), has come up with a Respective Differences Clubs which must follow Catholic teaching and be supervised by a teacher and would be against *all* bullying.

    In response, the province legislated that the clubs *must* be gay and lesbian *only* and must be student run without *”interference”* and must be able to pick their own names. It’s blatantly obvious what the agenda was. In response, the Toronto Archdiocese has stated that Respective Differences Clubs are fine and the status quo remains. Currently the Toronto Catholic School Board has put forward a motion to obey the archdiocese that hopefully will be passed (unless cafeteria Catholic stand in the way):
    http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/toronto-catholic-board-trustee-new-motion-to-overturn-gay-clubs-enforcement

    Canada is unique in the Catholic schools are constitutionally protected, thanks to (old) Quebec. However, (post-quiet revolution) Quebec has bullied the Catholic school system (which existed before Canada did and was funded by Catholics) into being transferred to the public school board and has forced even *private* schools to teach contrary-to-Catholic faith courses. This is being fought in the courts. Private schools and homeschooling is no protection.
    http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/quebec-school-to-appeal-to-canadian-supreme-court-for-right-to-teach-cathol/

    Thanks to this precedent, whenever Catholic schools (private or public) there’s a call from the media and left to get rid of Catholic schools and mandate contrary-to-Catholic faith courses on everyone and use the funds gained by selling Catholic schools to fund the struggling public school system. Politicians so far have supported the existence of Catholic schools, but regularly imply that if Catholic schools don’t accept their will, “things could change”.

    We need your prayers here in Canada.

  11. charismatictrad says:

    Let me shed some hope on the future. I understand that Catholic schools will get hit, and I pray that it doesn’t happen, but in the meantime (at least the school I teach at) is preaching the Truth. The Seniors were particularly mad and concerned with the recent MN court ruling on gay “marriage.” Just this morning I had a 7th grader say the ruling is “stupid.”

    Here’s another thought: liberals are bullying kids into considering being gay.
    Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
    Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
    Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

  12. Gail F says:

    Check out the web site of GLSEN, which is one of the biggest anti-bullying groups and which pushes “gay/straight alliances” and the “national day of silence” for oppressed gay people. No one wants kids to be bullied, and they go on and on about gay kids killing themselves because of bullying — which of course no one wants either. But what they really want to do is ensure that kids in schools are taught that homosexual behavior is normal and positive, and that anyone who says otherwise (your family, your church, your political party, anyone) is an oppressive bigot. They want their programs and teaching materials in all schools. Their mission statement says that as “homophobia and heterosexism undermine a healthy school climate, we work to educate teachers, students and the public at large about the damaging effects these forces have on youth and adults alike.” Get that? Believing that heterosexuality is normal is “heterosexism” and it “undermines a healthy school climate.”

  13. The Masked Chicken says:

    It is one of the ironies of being Homo sapiens that we can see the car about to hit the tree, comprehend what that means, and still be largely powerless to stop it. Let me be blunt: historically-speaking, nothing short of a war will end this mess and since this is like a situation of anti-slavery (leading the non-slaves into slavery of the passions), where the righteous are in the minority with little hope for support from a foreign power, and since the truth is Eternal and eternally at conflict with these evils, the war will never end. The Church will never be overcome, completely, so, unless the world ends or there is a new Constantine who has charge, effectively, over the whole world and is sympathetic to Catholicism, I don’t see anything except increasing pain and misery for a long time. The only reason that these issues haven’t surfaced earlier is because once the Church got hold of secular authority, it plowed under the old ways and it has taken 1700 years for the evil to slowly return. That is not likely to happen, again, for centuries, because there is not enough discontent with the lies bring presented to the public to turn them to God.

    Such a war will be fought at a time when the Earth’s population is shrinking and will be fight with all the nasty tools of science. Mark my words: last century was the century of the atom; this century will be the century of biology.

    The Chicken

  14. Midwest St. Michael says:

    This is just one of many reasons why we homeschool. Who could not see this stuff coming, say, 20-25 years ago?

    We do live in a rural area (which is a blessing), but I harbor no illusions to the fact that one day it will come to what you say, Fr. Z.

    MSM

  15. wmeyer says:

    With regard to government intercession, less is more. Always. No one does a worse job of “fixing” things than the FedGov. As you point out, shaming will be used, and shaming is just a different flavor of bullying.

    A far better approach would be to give active daily lessons in the Golden Rule and its applications. Of course, that will never happen.

  16. nykash says:

    An article in a recent issue of The Remanant described public schools as “government indoctrination camps.” Homeschooling is already attacked, albeit infrequently; I agree that the attacks will increase as liberals find new people to bully.

  17. Johnno says:

    Evil has always been cloaked in righteousness. Bitterness as sweetness. Error & contradiction as truth.

    The Catholic Schools in Ontario, in my opinion are wasting time appealing to the courts. I’d be highly surprised if the enshrined rights are upheld. The courts will delay and delay and until then the law makes it mandatory that homosexuality is promoted as good in Catholic Schools. That’s precisely what it means I don’t buy that ‘bullying’ crap.

    The only temporary solution to show Catholics are serious is to jettison the government, throw their silver coinage back in their faces, and institute an Office of Inquisition to purge the heretics and saboteurs within its ranks.

    This should last until the liberals are ready to repossess our children and throw parents and priests into concentration camps. Autonomy and individual rights are dangerous don’t cha know? We are all Communists now!

  18. Cathy says:

    New speak, new biology, new normal, new stimulus package in which every state, school, hospital rushes to compete for new monetary packages-thirty pieces of silver! Social Slavery Cards for everyone!!!! Love Jesus and hate sin? You are a hater – tagged for audit!

  19. ckdexterhaven says:

    I have a friend whose high school daughter was bullied!! by teachers because her daughter didn’t want to partake in a pro-homosexual marriage dance performance in PE class. The girl quietly went to the teacher, explained this was against her religious beliefs, and the teacher’s first question was “What religion are you?” The teacher gave her the silent treatment, and related the story to other teachers in the dept, who also gave the silent treatment. So bullying IS ok in government schools, when you are bullying people into accepting all things liberal. Which is why I homeschool.

    This is happening in all government schools, there is a story every day about sexual abuse, political indoctrination, anti Christianity in schools across the country. I live in the Bible Belt, in a “good” school district….it’s everywhere.

    I homeschool a couple of kids, and send one to Catholic high school. Believe me, we make a lot of sacrifices, and it is getting harder financially because of the economy. I won’t give the government any power of my kids during their formative years.

  20. backtothefuture says:

    I’ve known for quite a while that this whole bullying campaign is really a scam. It’s really all about indoctrination. And it also attacks masculinity.

  21. Priam1184 says:

    I’m sorry Father but this is not news. This ‘new normal’ of the homosexual agenda is not taking over society, but in fact has already done so. It’s foundations were all laid during the decades and generations where people were paying attention to other things. Now all that remains is for the last nail or two to be put into the coffin of the old order. That is how gay marriage happened so fast and seemingly took everyone (well not everyone, but most people) by complete surprise. Because the institutions had already been corrupted and made to serve this purpose, and then, when the moment was right it took not very long at all.

  22. anilwang says:

    wmeyer says: “With regard to government intercession, less is more. ”

    To a point. Subsidiary implies that some things really are better dealt with at the state level.

    The problem is states have been violating subsidiary, and assuming the responsibilities that belong to parents and religious or private institutions and forcing those out of existence (or at least under their control). The result is that what used to be voluntary through tithing and volunteer work of people who care has been replaced with taxing and hiring bureaucrats. Things are upside down and society is slowly collapsing, so the state is demanding more power to fix things, via the same plan of taxation and expansion of hirelings. The cycle continues as families “can’t afford” to have only one bread winner or “too many children”, resulting in calls for even more state responsibility (i.e. taxation/bureaucratic hirelings) to “help” working families.

    The cycle must be broken before society collapses. Things need to be rolled back, but the problem is that all the pre-state control structures have been weakened, so if taxation/bureaucratic hirelings were rolled back to 1980’s level tomorrow, society might collapse.

    The only solution is for use to do whatever we can to strengthen the family, our faith, our Catholic schools, and true Catholic charities, even if it means sacrifices and doing without any of the frills our neighbours do. Regardless of whether we succeed in turning back the tide, we must be there to pick up the pieces.

  23. johnrevo says:

    First of all, thanks Father Z for letting me in your blog. :) Well, as far as I know, this bullying stuff is a tool to shake the faith of those weak(ening) Christians. Homeschooling is not really the option. It is the job or the responsibility of the parents to keep their children’s faith in God rock solid!

  24. pmullane says:

    Anti – bullying ‘campaigns’ are not, of course, really about bullying. Why would there silly gimmicky ‘awareness days’ stop a big kid shaking down a geeky kid for lunch monies, or a sporty kid from picking on a fat kid? What they are about, of course, what all these ‘phobias’ are about, are alinsky style tactics of ‘isolating the enemy’. Bullying is bad, right? So if we make it so that saying that homosexual acts are wrong, or that islam encourages violence against infidels, etc etc, is a ‘phobia’ (kind of like a mental illness, right?) and that those who say these things are ‘bullies’ (even though they are reasonable and loving and caring towards the Same sex attracted people, muslims etc that they meet) then we can discount people who disagree with us as mentally ill and beyond the pale. Of course, sentient rational people would be able to tell the differnce between a rational argument and an irrational bully, so we have to make sure that children have no critical thinking skills (been to a state school recently?). When you personalise the enemy, smear your opponent, you dont have to engage their arguments, you can dismiss them. Hence Obama and his crime family….sorry executive branch of government want to call their opponents ‘Racists’ ‘war on women’ etc etc ad infinitem.

    The danger is of course, the power of the government. Homeschooling can be a refuge, for a while. But you’d better believe that it wont be long till the department of something or other demands to see your child and if you have been teaching them opinions not approved by the state, along comes the social worker and you’ll never see them again. Thats my biggest fear. I love my priest and I know that he is wiling to go to prison over the cause of marriage, but what happens to my son when the social services deem me an unfit parent ’cause I’m a homophobe ’cause I say that marriage means a lifelong union between a man and woman? What do I do to fulfil my duties as a father, and what do I do to save his soul?

    If the bishops of the US had a bit more gumption and could cast off their quasi-pacificm and residual attachments to the democratic party, they would be telling all the fathers, spiritual and temporal, of the nation to go and get what they need to get to defend their families. What us Europeans do….I have no idea.

    Brothers and sisters, this stuff comes from hell and the devil. And I dont mean that figuratively.

    Jesus Mercy! Mary Help!

  25. StJude says:

    When I was a kid there were bullies… but adults stepped in. Now a days.. parents and adults dont dare step in lest they hurt the special snowflakes self esteem.

    Seems like everyday there is another public school indoctrination in the news. I am so glad my son is out of high school and in college. We are lucky to live in a conservative paradise of a town.
    I only had one instance where I freaked out to a teacher/principal/anyone who answered the phone.
    My son in debate class had to debate a girl on who should pay for abortion.. the state or the ‘patient”.
    Not a debate on whether abortion is right or wrong.. just haggle over the price of snuffing out a babies life.
    Luckily my very public freak out stopped that debate ‘topic”.

  26. wmeyer says:

    To a point. Subsidiary implies that some things really are better dealt with at the state level.

    Subsidiarity states that things are best handled at the most local practical level. That means that, in order, for the case at hand, the preference would be:
    teacher, principal, parent….
    On a legal level, the preference remains local first, therefore, the state government ought to be second to last on the list, with the final entry being the Feds.

    We are suffering now from a disease in which the Feds–our elected (mostly) scoundrels–leap into the fray, always seeking public attention. Consequently, we are saddled with unmanageable costs, and impractical “solutions”.

  27. Johnno says:

    We need to set up a parallel Catholics School Structure outside the current government controlled Catholic schools.

    Home schooling must be taken to a new level. Local parishes can get together with parents to home school in the Church hall, with the help of volunteer parents, retired teachers, maybe even private tutors or college students looking to make a little income. Do it in groups with trusted parents. It’ll raise the level of home schooling too for parents who find themselves unable to do it efficiently.

    The kids can also receive proper religious instruction too. Maybe even attend a daily morning Mass before class starts. Understandably on some occasions Parish Halls need to be rented out, so on those occasions a simple extra holiday couldn’t hurt.

  28. Pingback: Ramifications of the new normal | Jonah in the Heart of Nineveh

  29. sciencemom says:

    the homeschool movement will with justification grow. Then the state will attack homeschooling.

    Not “will attack,” Father. The attack has already begun. In the Romeike case that momoften mentioned above, the Attorney General of the United States argued that the right to homeschool one’s children is not fundamental … that the state may forbid homeschooling without violating parents’ fundamental rights. This (Romeike) is not an isolated case, though it did bring the clearest statement of the current Administration’s position on this issue. And the attacks are only going to get worse.
    Pope Benedict has said that the three areas that Catholics should focus on in politics are: (1) life issues, (2) protection of marriage, and (3) parental rights. Many Catholics who are well-informed about (1) and (2) know little about (3).
    We need to be informed and do our best to get the Parental Rights Amendment passed. Only constitutional-level protection has a chance of being upheld against the tendency to strip parents of their rights so that the state can hold the monopoly to educate children as it sees fit.

  30. St.Jude: When I was a kid there were bullies… but adults stepped in. Now a days.. parents and adults dont dare step in lest they hurt the special snowflakes self esteem.
    St. Jude, in the UK adults don’t step in because they are afraid of being 1. beaten up by the bullies even if the bullies are only 12; 2. beaten up by said bullies’ parents; 3. sued by the bullies, by the bullies’ parents or by the school for a variety of offences.

    We here, in the UK, are already at the stage where every school and every teacher is obliged to say that gay relationships are just as good as heterosexual ones (no talk of marriage, living together is just as good as marriage…). Maybe this is why so many Religious Education teachers are openly atheists (it’s easier to do the job that way).

    Actually, we are in the post-gay phase here. The best-known and most important educational publication, the Times Educational Supplement had this on its cover two weeks ago: “When Sir becomes Miss” – and offered help and resources for schools to cope with a teacher going off at Christmas as a man but returning in January as a woman…

    Lord, have mercy on us!

  31. ReginaMarie says:

    Thank the Lord our children (whom we homeschool) have been spared the indoctrination & vile filth that we grew up with in the public school system during their most impressionable & formative years. Sadly, the Romieke case is just the beginning of what we homeschooling parents know is an erosion of parental rights here in the US.

    Miss Anita Moore, OP & veritasmeister: Agreed! Our children were all Chrismated in the Eastern Catholic tradition & we are grateful that they were able to receive these sacramental graces which are so very necessary in today’s hostile culture!

  32. Granny says:

    Father it’s much worse in states where same sex marriage has been made legal. In Mass. the schools are shredding what little innocence today’s children have. Here is a link

    http://www.massresistance.org/docs/info/kbase/horror_stories.html

  33. billy says:

    I would caution anyone would thinks automatically that anti bullying is a cover for some indoctrination. I teach in a catholic school and we need the kids to understand the consequences of bullying. It’s not what it used to be, with an online culture bullying can literally never ever end. Like the old days when u went home, teens are always online in social media groups. It can be brutal.

  34. rhetoric57 says:

    You might not have seen this in the Telegraph and also the C Herald.
    The Jays at Wmbldn calling this lot in…

    http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/05/15/primary-school-asks-stonewall-to-train-staff-to-handle-bullying/

    Tim

  35. Charles E Flynn says:

    Long Island’s Bishop Murphy: Fighting the Good Fight, by George J. Marlin, for the Catholic Thing.

  36. anilwang says:

    wmeyer says: “Subsidiarity states that things are best handled at the most local practical level.”

    Of course. No disagreements. I was simply stating that some things (e.g. military, highways) are best handled at the state level, and other things (police forces) at the city level, and others at the parental level. Society breaks down if we have private militias and police forces running things.

    ” That means that, in order, for the case at hand, the preference would be: teacher, principal, parent….”

    One correction, the order is “parent, teacher, principal, ….”. Parents come before teachers, and as much as possible should be transparent in their teaching so that parents can overrule teachers (or at least withdraw their children from the class) if they teach contrary to the faith material.

    With the advent of the internet this should be trivial to set up since the lesson plans tend to stay the same from year to year across schools in the same district (unless you’re in an “experimental school”) . For instance, here are the Family Life Education materials for Ontario Catholic schools and students are encourages to work through the exercises with their parents:
    http://acbo.on.ca/englishweb/fullyalive.htm

  37. Stephen Matthew says:

    Speaking of the new normal and our response to it, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting recently put out a rather vague seeming statement on the “new normal” issue of homosexuals in Scouting, specifically the pending decision by the BSA to require all scout units to accept all youth without considering sexual orientation or preference (which of itself may not be morally problematic, but will be used as the opening to promote the associated acts as normative and to allow adult leaders who will witness to the same by lifestyle):

    http://nccs-bsa.org/comment/NCCSComment51513.php

    Talk about a lot of words offering no clear direction. Compare this to Pope Francis being very clear and decisive in many of his recently homilies so that the ordinary people can see clearly what is black and what is white. This is not very different from the mess with the Girl Scouts and National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry where the relationship got so cozy some in positions of authority were blind to the conflicts between the GSUSA and the USCCB/NFCYM. It seems the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, which is supposed to work primarily for the Church and Catholic scouts, seems to be acting very nearly as an agent of the BSA instead. Nothing to see hear, all is well, not the droids you’re looking for… move along…

  38. MichaelJ says:

    billy,
    I’m trying very hard not to belittle anyone’s suffering, but when did our kids become such hothouse orchids? Had I cried to my parents that “some other kids said mean things about me” they would have looked at me as if I were a bug and told me to grow a thicker skin.

    Children are cruel, to be sure, but if you teach them to curl in a fetal ball until someone else comes along and stops the bully from being mean, you’ve condemned them to a life of misery.

  39. phlogiston says:

    If Catholic schools’ reactions here in my area to the so-called “Common Core” curriculum are any gauge, we can not expect the Catholic educational system to put up much of a fight. Here in the Cleveland diocese, the march to the Common Core moves on, unimpeded, at the demand of the Ohio Catholic Schools Accrediting Association, sacrificing control over currucilum to the “experts”. It will doom Catholic education if allowed to proceed. Who will pay thousands of dollars a year in tuition for a public school curriculum with a few Hail Mary’s thrown into the mix?

  40. anilwang says:

    billy,
    While its true that there’s more type of bullying, the experience in Ontario (see above post) indicates that when legislation specifically mentioned LGTB bullying, it means promotion of “the new normal”.

    As for bullying, I agree with MichaelJ that in most cases, all but extreme cases bullying should not be handled by turning children into hot house flower that can’t defend themselves as adults and are left at the mercy of adult bullies.

    As a child, I was bullied. I was what you would call a “good child” meaning, I didn’t fight back and didn’t saying anything. When my parents discovered this and knew that I wouldn’t fight back, they spoke with the teachers and arranged that for one specific day, it was okay for me to fight back during recess. That recess when I was picked on, I did fight back *in front of the teacher responsible for watching over the kids at recess*. The bully ran, but found no help. From that moment on, I was not picked on again and I was still a “good child”, just one that doesn’t keep quiet when I or someone I care about is threatened.

  41. wmeyer says:

    i>One correction, the order is “parent, teacher, principal, ….”. Parents come before teachers…

    In the case of events in the classroom, which was my context, the teacher is acting in loco parentis. The ultimate teaching authority rests with the parents, despite current thinking in government schools and in Congress. If the teacher cannot be trusted to act responsibly in applying discipline, then the teacher in question should not be in the classroom at all.

    The modern notion of bullying the teacher because your brat is a disruptive influence in the classroom, and the teacher was so foolish as to speak harshly to him is just nonsense. Subsidiarity again. And the principle that when a dog pees on the floor, you immediately rub his nose in it. Not days later.

  42. Aquino says:

    I go to a public high school in massachusetts, and it’s an extremely liberal one at that. I think I know 3 people agaist same sex marriage, and I am the only one I know of opposed to abortion (there are around 2,000 students in the school). In anycase what you speak of is true, I do not plan on “hatin on gays” or “hatin on women”. I plan on simply loving God and hope that what I say adheres to him. Teachers have actualy told me to “tuck in your cross necklace its offensive to people”, or “put your saints bracelet in your bag”. I am sick and tiered of this entire campaign becuse people seem to care more about promoting fornication and sodomy than respecting people for their religions. Some of my freinds who are devout Jews have also got the same reactions with the star of david. One of the muslims however is never told to remove her muslim head covering. This is ligitimently an attack on Judeo Christian beliefs!

  43. amenamen says:

    GK Chesterton said,

    “The State did not own men so entirely, even when it could send them to the stake, as it sometimes does now where it can send them to the elementary school.”

    http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2010/print2010/gk_stthomasmore_june2010.html
    (from an essay about St. Thomas More, in “The Well and the Shallows”).

  44. Kathleen10 says:

    I work, and have worked, for public schools. This bullying campaign for indoctrination has always had as it’s purpose the singling out of “gay” children and the suppression of any negative comments toward said “gay” children, as it’s purpose. The pro-homosexual forces are not stupid. They are SMART. They are subtle, at first. They know how to use words to manipulate and maneuver. No one would accuse them of creating poor strategies, that’s why they are astoundingly effective, and most Americans would now feel nervous and apprehensive about stating a belief in heterosexuality as part of God’s plan! I’m in that crowd, as much as I absolutely ascribe to that plan, the nature of our culture and the now very aggressive nature of activists has intentionally made it unnerving to state one’s opinion. That’s why it’s used. We all see how ugly it can get, and who, however wrong the charge, wants to be screamed at and accused of being a bigot and homophobe? I’m not proud of that feeling, but it’s the truth. They are effective because they have organized themselves, gathered many supporters, convinced the culture that they just are about “love”, and how horrible of you to judge them. Don’t you believe in the love of two elderly women who have been together for forty years? But it’s not ABOUT them. If we allow ourselves to get off the topic we end up in a verbal nightmare. This argument requires reason, an unemotional debate, and logic. If you can find that, you’ve got something.

    I tell people they have more power than they know! School superintendents and boards get nervous as heck about groups. Individuals have influence, but groups, they are a force. An individual can be blown off, a group, not so easy. Getting involved in CURRICULUM, that would be superb! If you care, know what your curriculum IS, and if you are antsy about parts, ask about it, state your feeling, get it changed if you can! Hey, they won’t like you. I stood up at a back to school night at my great-nephew’s school, and asked about a new course they had in “connections” since it involved “counseling as a group”. Sure enough, the topics are things like “tolerance” and “acceptance”. The two men who represented the school both rebuffed my very polite request for more information, publicly. They just didn’t smile and barely answered. This is what you can expect. But if you keep pushing, politely, and you have others with you, you can get things done.
    One thing that absolutely astounds me is when I read that “parents cannot opt their children out” of even an overtly pro-homosexual program such as the ones that Massachusetts children are being programmed by right now! (check out MassResistance for more information, and to see what is coming to YOUR state). Not opt MY child out? You must be joking. As I have said before, that would be the ever-loving day when some pencil neck school school or state employee would tell ME what my child is going to be exposed to! What are they going to do if kids don’t show up! Round them up by police car?? But people will send their kids to these programs as if they have no choice. God almighty. But most people operate in total ignorance of these programs in their schools, which are typically hidden in anti-bullying or “health” class, or, little “extra” classes such as the “connections” course at my nephew’s school. Oh they’ll find a way, and you have to be right there questioning all the little bits they throw in at children.
    In my opinion, and I’m no expert on this, it’s just a theory, but there is a high number of suicides of homosexual youth. But my theory is these young people are quickly victimized by older teens and certainly adults, as soon as they state they may be gay, or are questioning. Being used by hordes of strangers is no way to go into the tough teen years, and people know so little about the gay lifestyle I think they have quaint notions of boys holding hands. I try not to know much about gay lifestyles, but I know enough to know it is seriously disordered, and leads young people into a very dangerous place, where they are quite vulnerable. A young person looking, most likely, for love and a special identification in life ends up used and lonelier than before. A recipe for disaster. But pro-homosexual groups and activists, schools, would have us believe it is “bullying” that is the cause. But those kids deserve to have people try to prevent them from being used and tossed, in a never-ending pattern of casual, meaningless sexual activity. We ought to want more for our young people.

  45. maryh says:

    I agree with @billy I would caution anyone would thinks automatically that anti bullying is a cover for some indoctrination. I teach in a catholic school and we need the kids to understand the consequences of bullying.

    As for the case of the Toronto Archdiocese described by @anilwang, I was very happy to see that the Catholic response called the other side’s bluff and revealed the clear attempt to promote the morality of the gay lifestyle through an “anti-bullying” campaign. The Catholic counter-proposal was a plan that

    1. Included not just bullying based on sexual orientation but on any factor

    2. Recognized that “… it is possible to respect, affirm and support the dignity of another person while at the same time disagreeing with their viewpoint on sexual morality.”

    The pro-gay method of reducing bullying of ssa teens is to convince everyone that same sex attraction is normal. Which on the face of it is a ridiculous way to stop bullying. So I guess that means that anyone who isn’t “normal” is a legitimate target?

    The Catholic method is simply to insist that bullying is wrong, whether we think the person we’re bullying is “normal” or not.

    And bullying is still a real problem. We’re not just talking about hot-house flowers here. Take a look at this description of anti-gay bullying from a SSA woman who later came to call herself a “… Christian female who is tentatively identifying as exgay until a better label comes along.” She follows traditional Christian teaching on homosexual activity and is now married.
    http://disputedmutability.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/my-day-of-silence-2009-post-a-year-and-a-month-late/

  46. maryh says:

    @Kathleen10 In my opinion, and I’m no expert on this, it’s just a theory, but there is a high number of suicides of homosexual youth. But my theory is these young people are quickly victimized by older teens and certainly adults, as soon as they state they may be gay, or are questioning.
    That correlates with something else I read that kids are most vulnerable to suicide just before or right after they “come out.”

  47. I long ago decided that homeschooling is the way to go, absent a grave reason to the contrary. I was always on the wrong side of bullies, but I don’t think that an “anti-bullying program” is the solution. (That, of course, is where the Church fails so often– the constant introduction of new “programs” to address every problem.) It’s simple– beat up another student, and you suffer severe consequences. No “program” is needed.

    Now, if only I could find a lady who agrees…

  48. Matt8006 says:

    As has been stated in previous posts, in Canada Holy Mother Church`s teaching regarding same-sex sexual acts and same-sex relationships is being outlawed even in Catholic schools. The agenda to promote same-sex sexual acts and same-sex relationships even in Catholic schools is not only gaining momentum in Canada, but is now explicitly protected by law in the province of Ontario. Surely the USA is not far off from this alarming situation.

    Some context: in Canada, 38 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. Outside of the province Quebec, 43 percent of Canadian Catholics attend Mass at least monthly (Source: http://www.reginaldbibby.com/images/PCS_Release_The_Religious_Situation_in_Canada.pdf). In Ontario, about 31 percent of the population identifies as Catholic (Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/08/survey-shows-muslim-population-is-fastest-growing-religion-in-canada/). In Ontario and Quebec, publicly-funded Catholic schools and publicly funded Protestant (now secular since around the 1980s) schools have their origins in the nineteenth century. Historically, the reason for the two school systems was to protect the Catholic minority living in Ontario where there was a Protestant majority. A similar system was set-up in Quebec to protect the Protestant minority living amongst the Catholic majority.

    Starting in 2012, publicly-funded schools in Ontario were forced to have Gay-Straight Alliance clubs even if just one student (yes one student!) in a school wanted the club. It makes no difference if the bishops, principals, parents, teachers, or other students object to the creation of the club in Catholic schools (Please see information on the Ontario legislation here: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/safeschools/SafeAccepSchools.pdf).

    Catholic schools have historically defended against all forms of bullying, but it is clear that this is not enough for the Ontario government. Gay-Straight Alliance clubs are historically at odds with Catholic teaching because they tend to perceive same-sex sexual acts and same-sex relationships as perfectly acceptable and morally permissible. Logically, this means that according to the government schools must promote same-sex sexual acts and same-sex relationships. Schools must teach that these acts and relationships are natural.

    The Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins, promoted a broad agenda to combat all forms of bullying (See the story here: http://www.catholicregister.org/component/k2/item/14577-cardinal-collins-defends-non-gsa-approach-to-school-bullying). After all, in 2006 the Toronto District School Board (i.e., the secular public school board in the city of Toronto) did a study to find out the causes of bullying in its schools. The most cited reason was “body image” (38% in Grades 7 to 8; 27% in Grades 9 to 12), followed by grades or marks (17% and 12% respectively), and 7% in all grades noted language as a cause (Source: http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/05/28/church-rejects-ontarios-gay-straight-club-decision-accuses-government-of-micromanagement/). However, the Cardinal`s vision to guard against all forms of bullying was rejected by the government in favour of a much more narrow vision.

    The demise of publicly-funded Catholic schools seems quite inevitable. Nevertheless, many believe the legislation (Accepting Schools Act; Bill 13), which was passed in 2012, will be applied to private Catholic and other faith-based schools in the province in the near future.

    The unbloody persecution of Catholics has no doubt begun in Canada. The USA is not far behind. Unbloody martyrs are needed now. The bloody persecution will begin in the near future. Bloody martyrs will be needed then. Our Lord and His Church will not be defeated! We are either with Him or against Him!

    Pax Christi,

    Matt

  49. emily13 says:

    I have also noticed, in two recent news articles, the pro-life and the pro-traditional marriage side being labeled as the extremist position. I’m guessing that this label will only increase and become much more widespread in the days to come.

  50. Lin says:

    Unfortunately, I have to agree with Priam1184. The new normal of the homosexual agenda is here to stay. It is hard to stay positive in this environment. Web sites like this help us connect with other faithful Catholics. Thank you, Father Z!

  51. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    Kathleen10 asks, “What are they going to do if kids don’t show up! Round them up by police car?”

    Yes, and/or worse things. That – or something comparable – is certainly what is going on in various parts of the world, and even in some of the United States. State ‘child protection’ (for example) will take children away from their parents, even permanently, and even (for practical purposes) untraceably. Where it is not yet going on, it is almost certainly the aspiration and goal of many.

    amenamen’s great quotation above from Chesterton – “The State did not own men so entirely, even when it could send them to the stake, as it sometimes does now where it can send them to the elementary school” – is from a book published in 1935. By that year, the Soviets had already perpetrated the ‘Holodomor’ (which is also known as the “Terror-Famine in the Ukraine” and “Famine-Genocide in the Ukraine”) , costing the lives of some 2.5 to 3,5 million, and in the course of that year the Nazis passed and implemented the Nuremburg Laws (though Dachau, for instance, had already been in operation for two years; there was a law or laws against ‘slandering’ the State by suggesting it was treating ‘its’ Jews – by then subjects legally deprived of citizenship – badly). The means used by the Soviets and Nazis then were not very ‘high tech’, nothing like the panoply of options now available.

    The family Von Trapp were (with great difficulty) were able to escape to America after the ‘Anschluss’ in 1938. Whether the Romeikes will finally succeed similarly, remains to be seen. But for how long will there be any obvious place to flee to? Will an enclave such as R.H. Benson imagined Rome becoming in Lord of the World be permitted – and if so, for how long?

    The age may be getting much darker in certain respects than any known – how quickly, and how resistably?

  52. StJude says:

    emily13 says:
    “I have also noticed, in two recent news articles, the pro-life and the pro-traditional marriage side being labeled as the extremist position.”

    Yep! Anything not liberal is now extreme. God help us.

  53. MaximusXVI says:

    This is all leading up to (as Fr. Z stated) an attack on the right of parents to homeschool their children. This will become illegal, as it is in many parts of Europe, and the government will require you to send your kids to government schools. Brace yourselves, the persecution is just getting started. God Bless Fr. Z and all those holy priests working for the salvation of souls.

  54. JacobWall says:

    @MGL, We had the same pink-shirt day here in Ontario. No one understood why I didn’t want my son to participate. It was particularly disgusting how they did it; they had all the Old Order Mennonite families (who don’t know anything about the news or Ontario’s legislations) send their boys in pink shirts. They would never knowingly participate in a pro-gay demonstration, yet the principal got them all to do it by conveniently keeping them in the dark! (There was also a “village tour” on gay-pride day which had a bunch of the kids carrying rainbow flags around town.)

    This year I’m going to be having a talk with our principal on these “special” days. I don’t expect it to be pretty.

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  56. JacobWall says:

    @anilwang and others,

    The Ontario “anti-bullying” laws are only called that informally and by the press. I assume the purpose is to shame opponents into shutting up. The official name is the “Ontario Accepting Schools Act.” The bill makes no secret of its purpose. Sexual orientiation, “gender identity” and similar ideas are named 25 times in a relatively short bill. (For comparison, “race” is mentioned 4 times and “religion” 3 times – http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2549)

    Basically, the purpose of the bill is to re-define “bullying” as anyone who believes that homosexual acts are a sin.

    It makes mandatory for all schools where anyone requests it a “gay-straight alliance.” How can a school where the oldest children are 11 years old have a gay-straight alliance? But I can guarantee you, it will happen very soon. Some parent will decide that their 7 year-old is gay and demand such a club to be formed. The school, according to this law, will have to. The point is to teach young children that they are homosexuals (even long before they are sexual in any way whatsoever.)

    By the way, this is coming from a Primier and Minister of Education who are both catholic – the same ones who recently said it would be illegal for a teacher to tell children that abortion is wrong. The Minister cited this same “accepting schools act” to defent this point, saying it would be bullying.

  57. Imrahil says:

    Dear @Venerator Sti Lot,

    we have, as it were, been promised there would always be a city left in Israel until the Lord cometh. Presently, Hungary looks good, and so does Czechia. So would Bavaria, were it not for the fear of involvement above state level. It might come in useful to learn Hungarian and Czech (hey, that’s I reminder for myself, but I don’t think I’ll able to do that any time soon). Also, Italian barkeepers were practically, with a slight hyperbole, in the mood for a revolution when they were ordered to remove their Crosses. There’s always hope.

    Nevertheless, I do wonder why Family Romeike did not simply settle down in Austria, which allows homeschooling (with controlling of results), or to a private school, or over the inner state border to Bavaria where sexual education may not be tested with grades and is reduced to a couple of days where they could simply declare themselves (evading the 8th commandment with a slight appeal to common understanding rather then most literal wording) ill on a few days a year. Coming to think of it, I had a Mormon classmate who was famous for his “reason: illness” (instead of the usual “flu, heavy headache”, etc.) letters of excuse, might be interesting on which days that was. – I do not know about the precise conditions in Baden-Württemberg.

    In Germany, homeschooling never used to be an option people even thought of (nor is it in general). The historical struggle was not parent/State, but Church/State. This (which was similar all over Europe) seems to be reflected in Pius XI’s Divini Illius Magistri and elsewhere in the Magisterium, where the declaredly Catholic school (which up to 1968 was nevertheless run by the State in Bavaria) is the usual thing. Hence, what German constitution-makers thought to solve that problem for good, is enacting a freedom to have private schools (Art. 7 BL), which a thoughtful jurist of my acquaintance once called the most important of all rights present in the Basic Law.

    There are Catholic schools in Germany; and if they follow too exactly the State’s curricula, it’s rather the very actual problem of the Church’s craving for harmony than outside pressure. And there’s still Opus Dei and the SSPX. There are also evangelical private schools. I’m not saying that the duty to visit some schools instead of learning at home is a good thing, but in my view and at least for me personally, it does take something ground-breaking to be able to claim a case of conscience. (I suffer from craving for harmony, too; and I’m very aware of the slippery slope, but nevertheless… it does take something ground-breaking to be able to claim a case of conscience. The previous almost-martyrs did not refuse to pay some quite extravagant honors to the Emperor, once he no longer insisted on the incense.)

  58. Imrahil says:

    The second and further paragraphs should have been preceded by a

    “Generally as to the Romeike case”.

    (No offense, dear @Venerator Sti Lot, but I was not really talking to you anymore.)

  59. The Masked Chicken says:

    It is ironic that institutions that are supposed to be fostering critical thinking are so bereft of critical thinking. What next? If the state says that 2 + 2 = 5 am I supposed to use that, “fact,” to build a bridge? This is the same pussilanimousness that caused the Challenger accident – those who knew better refused to stand up to those seeking nothing more than public relations. In the end, nature can’t be fooled. The rocket will explode and societies will fall. We could end this all, right now, if everyone in the city who is against these school policies will storm city hall and the schools. Let it be known that the people have spoken.

    Of course, this is all a perversion of the racial problems plaguing the U. S. since the beginning. It is a perversion because racial inequality is in a completely different set of interpersonal activities than sexual preference inequality, but this feeling of guilt has been effectively used by men bent on doing evil for years. Equality of persons does not translate into equality of the acts of persons without reducing everything in morality to chaos. This, of course, is exactly what is happening. They can no longer see sin as a disease, a disorder. Of course, when one points out the inconsistencies if their position, they change the subject. Ask them if running from someone coughing in their face is going to be grounds for being sent to the principal’s office. Homosexual tendencies are like having the flu. As long as there is no contact, there is no spreading of the infection and one can live along side of those so infected. Not a perfect analogy, but a helpful one. Love the sinner, hate the sin. Fear of people who are different depends the the crucial question liberals are afraid to ask: different how? Differences are not all the same.

    The only card those of the homosexual agenda have to play is power – an appeal to power masquerading as sympathy. We haven’t lost, just yet. The will of the people has stopped the march of some pretty idiotic laws, but unless there is a united front pretty soon, all will be lost. There are more of us than them, in terms of clarifying what bullying really is. The problem is that bullying has been defined by others whose goals are control, not charity. Charity delights in the truth. It is the wimpy Catholics and Protestants (not all Catholics and Protestants are wimpy) who have been aiding and abetting sin for years. What we need, more tha anything, right now, if for fathers to march into the school boards and say, “Bullying – don’t bother – we’ve got it covered.” The homosexual agenda is advancing, precisely, because it is becoming a sin to act like a father, anymore.

    The Chicken

  60. AA Cunningham says:

    The violence advocating, unrepentant homosexual Dan Savage is behind this “It gets better”(sic) indoctrination campaign. He’s a real piece of work.

  61. Seattle Slough says:

    Instead of play dates and video games, instruct all children in some form of the martial arts. If another kid throws the first punch, BAM, take him, her down. Fast. The confidence of knowing you can take care of yourself will serve a kid well in every area of their life.

  62. Konstantin says:

    If our priests don’t realize soon that this is a worldwide campaign of the UN, UNESCO and UNICEF, we are all lost. Just google UN, UNESCO and homophobia, transgender and LGBT and you can spend weeks reading about the Agenda which they are unleashing on us. Just check out the links below.

    The Spanish Catholic Church is also concerned about homosexuality. During his Boxing Day sermon, the Bishop of Córdoba, Demetrio Fernández, said there was a conspiracy by the United Nations. “The Minister for Family of the Papal Government, Cardinal Antonelli, told me a few days ago in Zaragoza that UNESCO has a program for the next 20 years to make half the world population homosexual. To do this they have distinct programs, and will continue to implant the ideology that is already present in our schools.” http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/01/01/inenglish/1325398843_850210.html
    Homophobic bullying is “a moral outrage, a grave violation of human rights and a public health crisis.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
    http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/health-education/homophobic-bullying/
    Gender Identity and International Human Rights Law – A Practitioners Guide http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=4a783aed2

    UN Human Rights Council-passes-gay-rights-resolution http://www.internationallawobserver.eu/2011/06/24/un-human-rights-council-passes-gay-rights-resolution/

    The development of International Law is one of the primary goals of the United Nations. http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/internationallaw/

    Crafting “Gay” Children AN INQUIRY INTO THE ABUSE OF VULNERABLE YOUTH VIA GOVERNMENT SCHOOLING & Mainstream Media By Judith A. Reisman, Ph.D. http://www.defendthefamily.com/_docs/resources/6390601.pdf

    Countries Must Eliminate Homophobia and Transphobia if They Want to Curb the HIV epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, Says UN
    http://www.unicef.org/lac/media_14646.htm

    UN: Ban Ki-Moon Condemns Homophobic Laws Calls for Protection of LGBT People http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/17/un-ban-ki-moon-condemns-homophobic-laws

  63. Mary Jane says:

    Haven’t read through all the comments, just noticed the discussion on bullying and wanted to share a story. :)

    My mother, about 5 or 6, was walking home from school (2 mile walk – this was in the 60s) and this neighborhood girl who was somewhat older than her constantly followed her and verbally bullied her. One day mom had enough and told her older brother (my uncle, I think he would have been about 12 at the time) and so after his and her school let out for the day he met my mom at the corner and walked home with her. Sure enough, the bully girl followed them and began the verbal bullying. My uncle told the girl to go home and leave them alone, and what do you know but this girl swung her fist and punched my uncle in the face. My uncle swung back, giving her a broken nose.

    Now, mom and uncle ran for home and told my grandmother what had happened. My uncles were taught never to start fights (only finish them :) and never to hit anyone – unless they hit first. But this was slightly different as the bully was a girl…

    Anyway grandmother called the mother of the girl bully to apologize and to offer to pay for whatever medical bills the girl would have resulting from the broken nose. The mother of the bully said “No don’t worry about it – my daughter swung first; your son was just defending his sister. Perhaps it will teach my daughter a lesson. Don’t worry about it.” :)

    What a change from parent’s attitudes nowadays!!

  64. Toronto AU Catholic says:

    I have three anecdotes to share about this anti-bullying crusade. I have four children in the public school system in Ontario (they go to a fairly intensive weekly Catechism program for their religious instruction).

    First, I notice my children now call every form of bad behaviour “bullying”! As such, the term becomes devoid of meaning.

    Second, to the contrary, the school focuses on preventing what they see as bullying, and less on just bad behaviour generally. A classmate of one of our kids uses the “F” word with the teacher and the other students, and generally gets away with it. Had he used the “F” word in conjunction with a prohibited category of hate (gender, religion, race, etc) no doubt he’d have been hauled off and (rightly) reprimanded. But generally acting hateful and spiteful is okay.

    Third, our kids’ school has “pink shirt” day. I told my kids it was up to them to wear or not to wear. Thankfully, the school wasn’t too forceful about this, and more interestingly focused on the story of the effeminate boy who had been bullied for wearing pink, not a “homosexual boy”. Our Church teaches that those experiencing same-sex attractions should never be maltreated as such, and it was in that context that I was able to discuss with our kids thatthey should never ever bully or exclude any other boy or girl for being “different” that way. Therefore, we’ve been able to teach our children Catholic values without much challenge by our secular school, but I am very worried about the trend of normalizing not just homosexuality but all manner of non-conjugal and contraceptive sexual expression. I expect my kids by high school will be feeling somewhat persecuted for holding to Catholic sexual norms.

  65. Vecchio di Londra says:

    As with the bribing of the electorate to vote for government handouts, this schools policy is all about separating children from their parents, giving them pseudo-adult powers and creating a ‘new majority’ – one that will cow religious sceptics into submission or silence.

    How long before children are encouraged to denounce their parents, as in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia? And be rewarded for doing so…

  66. Venerator Sti Lot says:

    Dear Imrahil,

    No offence taken! I am glad if I may have helped occasion the details and observations you offer about Germany and Austria!

    Dear Seattle Slough,

    But let the martial artist/defense-sporter and legally responsible parents also make sure to become aware of relevant local laws about proportionality of response and liability!

    Dear Vecchio di Londra,

    Do you know the case where the kindly school officials provided children with laptop computers – the microphones and cameras of which they could then activate at their discretion within the students’ homes?

  67. DD says:

    Re: phlogiston says:
    15 May 2013 at 4:05 pm

    If Catholic schools’ reactions here in my area to the so-called “Common Core” curriculum are any gauge, we can not expect the Catholic educational system to put up much of a fight. Here in the Cleveland diocese, the march to the Common Core moves on, unimpeded, at the demand of the Ohio Catholic Schools Accrediting Association, sacrificing control over currucilum to the “experts”. It will doom Catholic education if allowed to proceed. Who will pay thousands of dollars a year in tuition for a public school curriculum with a few Hail Mary’s thrown into the mix?

    I, too, was suprised to see that the Youngstown diocese signed on.
    Here’s the link for a very interesting essay about Catholic education v the Common Core:

    http://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/saving-the-uncommon-core-of-catholic-education?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrisisMagazine+%28Crisis+Magazine%29

  68. JacobWall says:

    For anyone following the Ontario “Gay-school” bill and the response from Catholics, read this:

    http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/toronto-catholic-school-officials-tried-to-block-gsa-ban-claimed-it-broke-l

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