Posted on 04/02/2014 6:57:22 PM PDT by Morgana
CHARLOTTE, NC, April 2, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A North Carolina Roman Catholic school is holding a meeting today to address the concerns of parents and students who say they are outraged about remarks a visiting nun made criticizing homosexuality, divorce, and sex outside of marriage during a recent speech.
Dominican Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, who often speaks to high school and college-age students on matters of sexuality, gave an hour-long presentation to students at Charlotte Catholic High School on March 21 called “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift.” School officials told the Catholic News Herald she spent about half her allotted time discussing homosexuality, blaming its rising influence in part on fatherless homes created by divorce and extramarital sex.
Sister Laurel is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, often called the Nashville Dominicans, which is an order known for its fidelity to the Magisterium.
Although the Catholic Church has always held both homosexual behavior and sex outside of marriage to be gravely sinful, students and parents at the Catholic school reacted to her remarks with shock and anger, launching both an online petition and a letter-writing campaign calling the sister’s words “offensive and unnecessarily derogatory.”
“We the students of Charlotte Catholic High School would like to issue a formal complaint regarding Sr. Jane Dominic’s speech given on on [sic] Friday, March 21st,” the petition begins. “We found some of ideas [sic] expressed to be both offensive and unnecessarily derogatory. We are incensed that you knew the content of this speech and allowed these ideas to be expressed in a school that should be preaching a message of love and acceptance.”
“As rational people, we know that most homosexual people lead healthy, normal and productive lives like their heterosexual counterparts,” the students wrote. “We resent the fact that a school wide assembly became a stage to blast the issue of homosexuality after Pope Francis said in an interview this past fall that ‘we can not [sic] insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptives [sic] methods. We are angry that someone decided they knew better than our Holy Father and invited a speaker who addressed the issue of homosexuality to our school to speak twice in the course of one school year.”
Students weren’t the only ones outraged by the sister’s remarks. Parents have supplemented the students’ petition with an e-mail campaign targeting the Diocese of Charlotte, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the Vatican with complaints about Sr. Jane’s speech.
“In my home, there was outrage, embarrassment, sadness, disbelief, and further reason for my 16-year-old to move as far away from her religion as possible and as soon as she can,” wrote divorcee Shelley Earnhardt, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Click "like" if you want to defend true marriage.
Another letter sent to school officials and signed by current students and alumni said, “Last week’s presentation represents a betrayal of trust. Your responsibility to provide nurturing and informative education to the students of Charlotte Catholic was shrugged off. Your mission to truthfully convey the teachings of the Church—the teachings of love, compassion, and humility—was replaced by teachings of hate and intolerance.”
Parents, alumni and students involved in the petition and letter writing campaigns are demanding that the school and Church apologize.
But not all students were upset by the nun’s presentation. A group of students who adhere to Catholic teaching on sexuality have launched a counter-petition condemning the protesters’ actions. “We are outraged that the topics talked about are being debated within a community where the shared faith teaches us what truly is holy and that anyone would stand up against a nun, who has given her life for the Lord, and blantly [sic] deny God's teachings,” the petition reads.
The students defending Sister Jane say, “We believe that every human regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation, should be treated with love and respect.” They add, “We accept homosexual men and women into our community with open arms.” But they explain, “We do not approve of homosexual marriage or activities, because we understand that it is against the Holy Bible. … We believe that it is important to discuss these topics so that the young people of today may better understand righteousness and God's divine will.”
Reaction from local Church officials has been largely supportive of Sister Jane.
Fr. Tim Reid, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church, sent out a mass email which said in part, “She represented well the Catholic positions on marriage, sex, same-sex attraction and proper gender roles. … The Church has already lost too many generations of Catholic schools students to … a very muddled and watered-down faith.”
Fr. Roger Arnsparger, diocesan vicar for education, stated, "Our students are bombarded with confusing messages about sexuality. Our task in religious formation is always to help people understand the meaning of love and relationships."
Although Sister Jane has the backing of the local bishop and clergy, she has withdrawn from another planned speaking event in Charlotte which had been scheduled for May during the 2014 Diocesan Youth Conference. Fr. Arnsparger announced the change in a statement today, and said Sr. Jane’s mother superior, not the diocese, had made the call.
"I completely understand the decision of Sister’s Mother Superior that the timing is not right for her to make a return visit to the diocese,” Arnsparger wrote. “It was very thoughtful of Sister Jane to withdraw from this planned speaking engagement as the Diocese of Charlotte deals with the concern of parents of Charlotte Catholic High School students. Sister Jane Dominic has been a frequent speaker throughout the country and we look forward to learning from her in the future."
The April 2 meeting will take place in the school’s gym. Representatives from both the school and the diocese will be on hand for the discussion.
Contact:
Charlotte Catholic High School Phone: 704-543-1127
Diocese of Charlotte Phone: (704) 370-6299 E-mail: chancery@charlottediocese.org
If this Catholic school was in Massachusetts or New York City, or San Francisco I might not be surprised. But I always thought that North Carolina was considered part of the Bible Belt. Very surprising that Catholics there find the Church’s teachings on sex to be offensive and unacceptable for their children.
If your referring to me personally. Don't hold your breath. Unlike most of the degenerate homosexual population (for the sake of argument lets call it 2% and even that is probably too high). Only a very tiny fraction was actually born homosexual. Whats the difference you ask? I'll be the first to say that homosexuality is not normal and anyone that says otherwise is lying or deluding themselves. I am completely opposed to the homosexual Mafia and the way they go about achieving it. They are dangerous to society. I do not wish to teach your children about it or even expose them to it.
Those of us that are like me, you would never know we were homosexual. I for example, do not have short hair, I do not wear flannel shirts or belt buckles, I do not wear men's shoes or clothes or dress like a man or pretend to be man or wish I was a man. (I do dove, quail, deer, and javelina hunt so that's the only exception). Nor do I hate men. This distinguishes me from your average, run of the mill, typical, self hating, homosexual woman or a dyke as I refer to them.
Even so, it wouldn't be that easy to stop my “habit”. 13 years ago I did Evenings for the Engaged and made vows to my spouse's Deacon, promised to raise any children Catholic. I also have 2 sons and a daughter so I am not walking away from my family. My spouse goes to church every Sunday with our sons and gets Communion and yes, the Church is well aware of our family. There is no govt license, it is a Precious Moments certificate with a few legal docs behind it and a lifelong vow. I don't need the govt or by extension the people to approve or disapprove of our commitment. Do I call it Marriage? I try not to because we do not wish to intrude upon something that is historically and rightfully something that belongs to 1 man and 1 woman. Do I call it a civil union? No because that is a concept created by the homosexual Mafia to eventually hijack marriage and I am opposed to that. We are merely a committed monogamous couple that live by church teachings as best we can. Yes we have our one sin, but who among us does not have one?
>>Dominican Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, who often speaks to high school and college-age students on matters of sexuality, gave an hour-long presentation to students at Charlotte Catholic High School on March 21 called “Masculinity and Femininity: Difference and Gift.” School officials told the Catholic News Herald she spent about half her allotted time discussing homosexuality, blaming its rising influence in part on fatherless homes created by divorce and extramarital sex.<<
Imagine that! Sister Laurel God Bless you for speaking truth.
A large number of students in Catholic schools are from secular or non practicing Catholic families. Back when I went to Catholic school in the 80s maybe a handful were such. But today the numbers have swelled due to parents wanting a better education than the zoo environment of public schools. At least in heavily northern urban/suburban areas.
Bullsh!t.
I did not think of that. Interesting. So took a visiting sister to shake things up.
“I did not think of that”
I sure did! This is a Catholic school, those kids should have been learning this since the 1st grade! I was so shocked to read this article.
““We found some of ideas [sic] expressed to be both offensive and unnecessarily derogatory. We are incensed that you knew the content of this speech and allowed these ideas to be expressed in a school that should be preaching a message of love and acceptance.””
You’ve got to be kidding me!!! Offensive? Derogatory? It’s called basic Catholic Catechism that these kids should have already known not this neo hippie love fest crap. Sounds like Sister Jane needs to be principal of the school.
“How can anyone be a member of the Church and be offended by the truth?Just pathetic.”
Change the word “the” to “any.” Then send it off to Joe Biden, Nazi Pelousey, Dingy Harry, Dianne Fineswine, et.al. If the “so-called churches” can’t even articulate their centuries old tenets, and have their “members” agree, then they are in deep yogurt. Transgressors should be excommunicated. I would not be a member of most of them today simply because they are unwilling to defend their faiths. Enough money and/or power and you can write your own “rules” with most of them. But then it’s really just another “business,” the only difference is the “product.”
Morgana is exactly right
If cutting your life expectancy in half, burning through excessive healthcare using other people's money, using drugs, living in violent domestic arrangements, chasing children for sex and eating poop, is healthy, normal and productive, then the kids are right.
I really don’t understand people - if I was part of a group and found that I did not like what they were saying I would leave not jump up and down, bitch, scream and whine and then insist they change!
Exactly! Why do these dufus parents send their children to religious christian schools if they get bent out of shape when the truth of that religion is discussed?!
Parents are NOT PARENTS anymore!!! They can’;t even tell their own children TRUTHS about life!! Very bad.
this
these CINO’s and non Catholics send their kids to (pollute) Catholic schools because they are still a bastion of “white” traditional values of respecting teachers in the classroom and striving for grades, while the public schools have a breakdown of discipline and respect for authority and are chaotic
So they cloak themselves in faux religiousity that is exposed when they get outraged at their kid being taught the tenets of that religion
The nun was professing from the standpoint of morality, which seems in great decline in this country. The catholics by the way, have no monopoly on the decline in morality.
One option is to take the names of those protesting against the truth and expel them, thereby taking a stand in the community. The protestors will then picket the school. The protests and the expulsions will re-establish the school's reputation and reality as an actually CATHOLIC school and the protesting students will be easily replaced by students seeking an actually Catholic education. This will also set a strong example in the greater community.
Then, if the protestors' parents want to depart for the Unitarian Universalist "church" or whatever, so be it. That would be another benefit.
One thing that is not needed is a Touchy Feely sucking up to the anti-Catholic students and their parents.
The school and the diocese owe nothing less to the faithfully Catholic students at the school. This would also be a good opportunity to sharply stiffen the theology curriculum and, perhaps, to make Latin mandatory.
I am a Knight of Columbus in Illinois. While the Knights have never been either Republican or Democrat as an organization and politics, as such, is not to be part of our order, we have non-political ways of expressing ourselves.
When, shamefully, Notre Shame University invited Obozo to be its commencement speaker and to receive an honorary degree, the Illinois Knights of Columbus State Convention passed and publicized a resolution condemning Notre Shame and Obzo's presence there. We did this with the support of each and every presiding diocesan bishop in Illinois. My bishop in Rockford, himself a Knight, publicly urged parents not to consider a Notre Shame education for their offspring since Notre Shame was no longer a university where genuinely Catholic education was available.
I grew up in New Haven where the K of C is headquartered and used to spend time at the HQ as an active member of the junior order of Columbian Squires. While the Knights were proud of having Kennedy, a Knight, elected as the first Catholic POTUS, the blush was soon off the rose and the novelty wore off. One key to the attitude of the K of C is the identities of the Supreme Knights.
The Supreme Knight when Kennedy was elected was Luke Hart. He was an older man, a strong conservative in all respects and a Republican from Missouri. He was the first Republican to be Supreme Knight.
Hart was briefly succeeded, upon his death by John McDevitt, a left Democrat from Massachusetts who had been a gummint skewel superintendent. In that brief era of Vatican II enthusiasm, McDevitt tried to liberalize the order and the order struck back by electing Virgil Dechant who served for about thirty years.
Dechant was a very conservative GOP State Central Committeeman in Kansas when elected and he undid the liberalizing efforts of McDevitt. He also enjoyed a cordial relationship with Blessed John Paul II who will be canonized as a saint in about a month. Dechant may well be the very best Supreme Knight we have had.
Virgil Dechant was, upon retirement, succeeded by Carl Anderson, a former Reagan White House staffer and a former staffer at the John Paul II Institute for the Family in Maryland.
Perhaps you have some evidence for your accusation that the Knights are used by Democrat Party workers to get votes. If so, present it. If not.....
Err... Yeah... That’s what I was taught in Sunday School...
I fail to see how this is an issue for a nun. It’s her JOB to lay down the law to her students.
You go sister... you go!
I encourage all on this board to contact both the school and the diocese and offer their support.
Catholic schools need not apologize being Catholic and for teaching the faith.
“Hate the sin, love the sinner” - Cardinal O’Connor.
Generations have been lost to the faith at the hands of parents, lay people and religious who wanted to be liked. Rather than teach doctrine and risk not being thought of as nice, cool and “with it”, they talked only of peace, love and brotherhood. They didn’t lead by example, they made collages. It started in the 60’s with that touchy, feely mush. The results are evident. Rudderless “Catholics” who are ashamed and ignorant of the TRUTH.
Stand for nothing - fall for everything. The culture has brainwashed the masses into believing it is better to be liked and that selfish desires are our right.
No thought to the hereafter.
Happiness was not promised to us in this world, but so many believe that to be the goal.
Say a prayer for this good sister and all involved on both sides.
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