Students from a predominantly Black Catholic middle school in Worcester, Massachusetts clearly expressed their wishes in January 2021.
But more than a year later, Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester told the staff of the Nativity School to remove the flag aimed at supporting the justice and equality of blacks and LGBTQ people. If it did not comply, it was forbidden to identify itself as a Catholic school. “
The school refused. This week, Bishop McManus said in a letter, “There is no other choice,” but declared that the school is no longer Catholic.
“It is my sacred duty and my own responsibility to decide when a school that claims to be’Catholic’will act in a way that goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church and disregards my legitimate authority. Bishop McManus wrote in the published decree. On thursday.
He added that the school “may no longer use the title” Catholic “to describe itself.”
In an open letter, Worcester’s President of the School of Christ’s Birth, Thomas McKenny, appealed the decision, “to visibly testify to the school’s solidarity with students, families, and their communities. He said he would continue to raise the flag.
As of Saturday, the school still listed its religious affiliation as Roman Catholic on its website.
McKennie and Bishop McKennie didn’t immediately answer the call for comment on Saturday.
Clashes at a school run by the Jesuits, serving boys who are experiencing financial instability, with no tuition fees, confused and frustrated LGBTQ people who heard various messages from the Vatican. It comes from the Catholic Church’s attitude towards the ongoing LGBTQ rights.
Pope Francis, who famously answered, “Who will I judge?” With regard to gay priests in the church, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify where he stands in question: a congregation for the doctrine of faith last year, a Catholic priest congratulates a gay union. When asked if he had authority, Francis approved the answer, was: “Negative.”
Bishop McManus, in his command, states that the church stands clearly behind the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” but the movement contradicts the Catholic teaching of “the importance and role of the nuclear family.” He says he believes he used. He objected because the pride flag represents “support for gay marriage” and LGBTQ “lifestyle.” He states that those messages are contrary to “Catholic social and moral teachings.”
But some parents and faculty wonder why his orders approached June 16th, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery celebrated by black Americans from the late 1800s. A graduate of the Nativity School, who is currently one of the associate councilors.
He described the bishop’s public order and morals as “theatre,” and asked, “Why now?”
The official nature of the order “very conveys the true motive of this,” Creamer said.
In a statement, Worcester parish spokesman Ray Delisle said the bishop was waiting to issue orders until the end of the school year.
The wording of the decree “confirms our responsibility to love everyone, regardless of race,” he added.
According to Creamer, the impact on the school doesn’t seem to be serious. According to the website, all the funds come from donors, not from the parish, and the school’s operations are independent of the church.
“As a multicultural school, the flag represents the inclusion and respect of all,” McKennie wrote in his letter. “These flags only show that everyone is welcome in the Nativity, and the value of this inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching.”
It is unclear how the appeal process will be carried out. In a similar incident from 2019, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis told the Jesuit Preparatory School that it would no longer be recognized as Catholic because it refused to dismiss a same-sex married teacher.
Sandra Yocam, a professor of faith and culture at the University of Dayton, Ohio, said the proceeding was appealed to the Vatican, which has not yet made a decision.
“This doesn’t happen very often, probably because many Catholic schools don’t necessarily raise those particular flags,” she said.
However, for those who do, she said, similar conflicts are unlikely to occur.
“I don’t think most bishops want to do it,” said Professor Yocum because of the negative attention.
Still, Mr. Creamer said he was afraid that Bishop McManus’s orders could lead to similar steps in other parts of the country.
“At the end of the day, Jesus was reaching out to those who were left behind,” he said. “And this is an attack on the marginalized group.”