After a couple of years where Catholic school boards around the province rejected gay-straight alliance groups for forming within their schools as it stands opposed to their religious views, a resolution has been found - if you want to call it that. The Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) issued a report that stated that these anti-bullying groups be named "Respecting Differences" clubs.
The idea is that it would allow anyone prone to bullying, not just homosexuals, from joining the club. While that makes sense to broaden the search and help anyone being teased and picked on, the thing that instantly smacks you over the head is the fact that this is alienating and isolating those within the group, hoping to escape from being bullied, by calling them different. It's impossible to miss at it is right there in the title of the group itself.
And it also solves that lingering 'how do we keep from having identifiable homosexual groups in our schools' question in Catholic schools. This move was based around that segment of the population in the end.
The decision will certainly not offend devout followers, and it will not offend the Church either. Nobody at the OCSTA will be receiving any calls from Rome condemning their actions here. But it's disappointing for many within the province of Ontario, a place that could be considered on the more progressive side of the spectrum, to see a very conservative and still exclusionary stance taken regarding sexual orientation, even when officials say they are just trying to make people feel safe.
In an interview with the Toronto Star the president of the OCSTA said:
“This is about helping kids feel safe against bullying, not as advocacy for a lifestyle,” said Nancy Kirby, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association. “We have nothing against homosexuals, but it’s the (homosexual) act that is in contradiction of the teachings of the church.”
In other words this is not a victory for gay youth within Cathoilc high schools who will remain an outgroup within the school hallways, their lifestyles remain a sin. But they are being allowed to be part of the club labelled 'different.' At least if Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered was identified in the name people could decide their own beliefs on the matter. Instead, these students are just 'different.' Wonder how many are going to want to sign up for that...
That it took the OCSTA eight months to reach this conclusion is nothing short of astonishing. All they did was pick the nicest sounding term they felt they could find to keep a portion of the student population marginalized within their own community.
Racism still exists, even if it has finally been widely condemned for its heinous acts it is sadly still found in places and among some people. But homophobia is far from reaching even that point within many reaches of our society. One faculty adviser I was speaking with at my College said that homophobia is still most prevalent in the older generations, and while it does exist within some youth it is becoming less of an issue with each passing year. Even if that is true a roadblock to that growth is helping queer teens avoid bullying by carefully selecting the word "different" to describe them to their peers.
The Ontario government passed a ruling that said there must be an inclusive environment present in schools, and that bullying based on sexual orientation must come to an end. It's worth asking whether or not any rulings in favour of protecting these gay students in Catholic schools would have been passed were it not mandated by the government. While public schools can have gay-straight alliances, Catholic schools refuse to allow that kind of acceptance.It is really a shame.
They will accept that those students are being bullied but will only go so far to bring them back into the flock. They still stand opposed to the very nature of these students. One day, with any luck, the more progressive younger generations will gain control of the schools and change this backwards decision. Here's hoping that day comes soon rather than later.
We shouldn't be funding the Catholic school system. If they're going to take their orders from the Vatican and Catholic dogma, then they don't deserve our money.