Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Archbishop Chaput defends school’s decision not to re-enroll lesbian’s children

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver has written a newspaper column defending an archdiocesan school’s decision not to re-enroll two children being raised by an openly lesbian couple.

“The policies of our Catholic school system exist to protect all parties involved, including the children of homosexual couples and the couples themselves,” he writes. “Our schools are meant to be ‘partners in faith’ with parents. If parents don’t respect the beliefs of the Church, or live in a manner that openly rejects those beliefs, then partnering with those parents becomes very difficult, if not impossible. It also places unfair stress on the children, who find themselves caught in the middle, and on their teachers, who have an obligation to teach the authentic faith of the Church.”

Read the full statement here...

5 comments:

  1. Very weak rationalization and demonstration of faith. Are we to allow the little ones access to Jesus?

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  2. Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.

    So if we delved into the lives of the other parents of the kids enrolled and found some of them using birth control, or have mistresses, or maybe they're not even married in the Church (as most Catholic schools allow students who are not of the faith), do we send those kids packing as well?

    If this is the case, then we should be more scrutinizing about ALL who wish to send their kids to receive a Catholic education. It'll make our kids less confused about their faith in the long run.

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  3. Al was saying recently that in this world today we are being told that it is disordered to think that homosexual acts are disordered and this seems to apply here.

    What this is about is not our love and care for students, or even or merciful and loving care for those dealing with same sex attraction, what this is about is the partnership in raising kids in the faith that parents enter into with a school. How can a school teach about the exclusive life-giving love of married relationship that a husband and wife can provide if this is directly at odds with the very foundations of the home the students are being raised in. Either the student will be raised to ignore teachings of the teacher from great matters to small matters, or the student will be taught to disregard parental authority. Neither one of these promotes a solid partnership for teaching a child.

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  4. JohnnyK, I've got agree on some level. I would only add that it seems to me that Patrick and Ron both raise arguments that point to the fact that what we are dealing with in refusing attendance by children with homosexual "parents" is a problem of DEGREE, and not a problem of KIND, in regards to "drawing the line". I do see how admitting children whose parents practice artificial contraception (an evil in the eyes of Holy Mother Church, and God for that matter if our Faith means anything to us) is a problem similar, but not equal, to the one addressed by Archbishop Chaput and the Diocese of Denver. We have to draw the line somewhere, though, and prudence must inform all of our decisions. Add to that the fact that it's purely the Archbishop's call in this matter at this time, and the stature of such a specific man as Archbishop Chaput, and we have a decision that no faithful Catholic should really question. God bless.

    Sincerely,

    Matthew Wade

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  5. I am a faithful Catholic and my faith requires that I question his decision. There are alternatives that were never addressed. Why? The Truth of our faith is God is Love and in this infinite love there are no lines drawn when we are in union with God's Love. There is only revelation of another way that God's Love works. By drawing a line like the archbishop did he created an arbitrary limit in which he was imprisoned in his limited awareness of the infinite Love of God.

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