Posted on 03/18/2012 5:28:29 AM PDT by Morgana
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, March 16, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A self-proclaimed ‘lesbian’ whose two children attend a Catholic school near Peterborough is demanding that the Peterborough Catholic school board remove a Catechism quote dealing with homosexuality from a school pamphlet. Ann Michelle Tesluk has started an online petition to pressure the board to action and describes her activities as gearing to make the Catholic Church into an “openly gay friendly church.”
The pamphlet in question, however, is controversial from more than one perspective. While quoting the Catechism that the homosexual inclination is “objectively disordered”, the pamphlet also misrepresents Catholic teaching in numerous ways. The pamphlet calls on schools to highlight homosexual role models and familiarize students with terms like “LGBTQQ” and “two-spirited.” It indicates that Canada legalized same-sex “marriage” in 2005 without mentioning that the Church opposes such unions. The heading for the equity pamphlet's section on "homophobia".
Greg Reeves, director of education for the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board (PVNCCDSB), told LifeSiteNews that they have had enough complaints about the pamphlet, called The Colour of Equity, to give the wording a “relook” to see if they can explain the Church’s teaching better.
The trustees voted 6 to 8 last Tuesday against a request to remove the passage, but Nancy Sharpe, the board’s head of communications, said that the pamphlet has been sent for review to the Equity and Inclusive Education committee.
Reeves says the school board felt they needed to include the Catechism passage because they are “under the Magisterium of the Church, the teaching and the authority of the Church.”
“When we were going into the section on orientation, we felt it important that people understand what the Catholic Catechism would say,” he explained.
In her online petition, which has garnered 86 signatures thus far, Tesluk says the Catholic Church’s teachings on homosexuality are “outdated and harmful” and suggests the teachings have exacerbated the problem of teen suicides.
“As it is right now, it is derogatory, patronizing and discriminatory, not to mention lacking in scientific evidence,” she says. “Any child who reads this will be faced, at minimum, with a negative attitude towards homosexuality,” she continues. “Isn’t this what we are trying to prevent? How can we allow any school in Ontario to teach this to our children?”
Reeves said the complaints are largely a result of confusion over the Church’s teaching, saying that the Catechism’s “phraseology is old.”
According to Reeves, by calling the homosexual inclination “objectively disordered,” the Church means that homosexual relationships are disordered. According to Church teaching, he explained, authentic sexual relationships must be both unitive and procreative.
“It’s not the person who’s disordered,” he said. “It’s the concept that the relationship, in the eyes of the Catholic Church in this definition, is disordered.”
But Prof. Scott Nicholson, chair of theology at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry’s Bay, Ontario, said the Catechism teaching is not about the homosexual relationship per se, but a disorder in the person’s sexual drive.
“It is true that acting on it is disordered,” he explained, “but above and beyond that the inclination itself isn’t something that you’d find in human beings except for original sin.”
“In a fallen world, individuals have various disorders in them that may not be any fault of their own but they remain disordered,” he continued. “Someone born blind, that’s an objective disorder because we’re meant to see, that’s what eyes are for. The sexual drive is meant to be inclined and lead people toward reproduction.”
“If it’s ordered in a particular individual in a way that isn’t inclined towards reproduction then it’s disordered. It’s out of the order for which it’s meant,” he added.
Sharpe said the Equity and Inclusive Education committee will decide whether to remove the language or perhaps explain it, and then make a recommendation to the trustees.
“I know that the language of that passage will have to be explained at the committee meeting because many of us don’t understand it because it was written by theologians,” she said.
Prof. Nicholson noted that the Catechism is not a work of high theology but intended for a “wide audience.” “It’s really intended for every educated, and I’d even go so far as to say semi-educated, Catholic,” he said.
The Church needs to use precise language, he added, to say exactly what it means on issues of importance.
As the province’s Catholic school boards adopted McGuinty’s equity and inclusive education strategy in the last two years, pro-family advocates warned that it would give homosexual activists a foothold to further undermine the effort to impart Catholic sexual teaching.
According to Tesluk, during the six years her children have attended school in the board, she has held various positions on the local school council.
Contact info:
Greg Reeves, Director of Education Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board 1355 Lansdowne St. W. Peterborough, ON K9J 7M3 Tel: (705) 748-4861, Ext. 224 Fax: (705) 748-9734 greeves@pvnccdsb.on.ca
Contact info for trustees.
http://www.pvnccdsb.on.ca/en/ourboard/resources/talktotheBoard.pdf
To quote the perverted homosexual lady gag gag. If this dyke does not like it, then leave!
“Ann Michelle Tesluk has started an online petition to pressure the board to action and describes her activities as gearing to make the Catholic Church into an “openly gay friendly church.””
Well, we didn’t see that coming, did we? /ultra-mega-sarcasm
I would not be surprised if Ms. Tesluk enrolled the kids at the Catholic school simply to start this campaign of hers.
I'd like to see her DEMAND the Koran and its teachings be reworded. I'm sure the local Imam would be most accommodating.
maybe she should send her kid to another religious school for ROPers and then the kid will try to throw momma from the tower.....
This is an example of Fluk-ism syndrome, enroll in a religious institioin and then claim that they are being “mean” towards you or your family because their belief system doesn’t like the way you behave....
I doubt that very much. I think that now that "gay rights" are such a hot button issue (attorneys) we will have to confront the arrogance and stupidity of homosexuals and poorly written (Catholic) pamphlets.
It's ALMOST boring.
Obviously still interesting enough to respond to this article. :o)
Throw the Kids out of your school. let her put them in a Public School where deviant, perverted, sexual behavior is acceptable.
I am getting darned tired of this. It makes my blood boil and that it the reaction that they want. They wonder why people go over the edge.
She put her kid into a Catholic school, with all that that entails, including a degree of religious influence, if not outright instruction. I have family members in Catholic schools. None of my family are Catholic. They knew what they were getting when they enrolled, or in one instance accepted a scholarship. Our faith is strong, we do not fear or dislike Catholics although we disagree upon certain matters of faith. The schools in question are fine schools, better than the public schools in their area, and so attending made sense and they're proud to be at Bishop McGuinness.
Perhaps this woman's “faith” in lesbianism is what is so weak, that she cannot deal with any opposing viewpoint? What did she think she was getting?
Kick the kids out of the school.
she is catholic, she knows what it teaches, don’t like it, leave.
“They shall not pass!”
):^(
If a gay gene is discovered, will Christians be aborting "gay" babies?
Homosexual teen suicide is another lie created by the left to gamer sympathy for their perversion.....
“...been sent for review to the Equity and Inclusive Education committee.”
What kind of person would want to belong to something called the “Equity and Inclusive Education committee”? I mean I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Sounds like it’s right next to the soylent green factory.
Freegards
Nice try....but really lame
It's an aberration of nature. It should be called that. They hate it because they know its true.
I will be gladly called an "abberaphobe".
Kick out her kid. It’s a private school and she is demanding that they become non-Catholic.
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