Thursday, June 10, 2010

Archdiocese of Boston Prints Apology to Homosexuals

The Catholic newspaper, The Pilot, issued regrets concerning it's statement about children of homosexual 'parents' in Catholic Schools: "The tone of the piece was strong, and we apologize if anyone felt offended by it."

-- From "Firestorm over column on gays in Catholic paper" by Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe Staff 6/10/10

In the [original] column, published last week, the writer argued that one reason the children of gay parents should not be admitted to Catholic schools is the "real danger" that they would bring pornography to school.

The controversy began June 4, when The Pilot published a column by Michael Pakaluk, a former philosophy professor at Clark University in Worcester and former visiting scholar at Harvard who now teaches in Virginia. Pakaluk was reflecting on another controversy, regarding the decision by a Hingham priest to rescind the acceptance of a child of a lesbian couple to a local parochial school.

In the column, Pakaluk wrote that pornographic items "go along with the same-sex lifestyle, which — as not being related to procreation — is inherently eroticized and pornographic."

In the column, Pakaluk also expressed concern that by welcoming gay families, Catholic schools could give children the impression that the practice of homosexuality is acceptable, as well as potentially provide an opportunity for a gay parent to "advocate for his lifestyle." He added that gay parents should not be called "parents" unless they are biologically related to their children.

The editor of The Pilot, Antonio M. Enrique, said in a statement to the Globe yesterday that the column did not necessarily reflect the views of the archdiocese or the paper, which he said tries to promote conversation and understanding of the different positions on issues of interest to Catholics.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Inequality and 'iniquity' -- Catholic schools discriminating against the children of gay parents" by Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune 6/10/10

. . . The idea of a school refusing to admit a child not because of anything the child has done or believes but because of who his or her parents are is grotesque though, arguably, Biblical if you believe homosexuality is iniquitous behavior.

. . . Yet I also recognize that there is a certain right to grotesquery inherent in the Constitution, and that if a private group wants to have a private school on private grounds to advance and practice this sort of bigotry and, when it comes to the children, rank unfairness, so be it.

Just don't ask me to support such un-American practices with my tax dollars through, say, school voucher programs.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.