Posted on 11/03/2021 8:43:12 PM PDT by Morgana
A TikTok video of students walking out of a pro-life presentation has gone viral. Archbishop Riordan Catholic High School in San Francisco planned an assembly with speaker Megan Almon of Life Training Institute (LTI), and offered an alternative venue for students who did not wish to attend. Instead, some students chose to attend the pro-life talk solely for the purpose of staging a walkout (and apparently for the purpose of gaining attention via social media) before even hearing what Almon had to say.
“Instead of listening to the speaker, a majority of the student body stood and walked out of the assembly a few minutes into the presentation,” said LTI president Scott Klusendorf on Facebook. “The walkout was orchestrated in advance and had nothing to do with the content the speaker actually presented.”
He added, “The media quoted sources who applauded the students for their bravery and for taking a stand. But what, exactly, were they standing against — a presentation they never stuck around to hear? The students who walked out were not courageous. They were close-minded and intolerant. They simply refused to consider a viewpoint different from their own. Instead of intellectual curiosity, they demonstrated intellectual cowardice, and for that, thus far, the press has congratulated them.”
Catholic teaching is strongly pro-life, so it is to be expected that a Catholic high school would feature a pro-life assembly. Almon’s presentation was focused on pro-life apologetics, arguing why abortion is wrong from a scientific and philosophical standpoint, and how pro-lifers can better defend the pro-life case.
“Embryology will tell you from the very beginning that at fertilization the unborn is a living distinct whole human being,” Almon told Ryan Pauly in an interview, adding:
[…] We know that the unborn is alive. It fits the definition of an organism. […] The unborn undergoes cellular reproduction so we know that it grows. Nobody’s really arguing about that. Something is growing. But dead things don’t grow. The unborn metabolizes because it turns food into energy. It responds to stimuli. It even has been shown that embryos are excellent at repairing wounds, which is incredible. […] So we know that the unborn is alive.
We know that it is distinct, that is, it is a separate entity from its mother. It is not part of her body in the way that my arm is part of my body. It is attached to its mother, yes, but it is not part of her. And we know that the unborn has its own unique genetic code that differs from its mother’s and its father’s.
This is some of what the students would have heard during the assembly, but as Newsweek reported, the students walked out after just five minutes, meaning they barely heard anything Almon had to say. After the students walked out and denied themselves the opportunity to learn these scientific facts about life inside the womb, Almon agreed to visit the classrooms to discuss the issue. But some students refused to engage, said Klusendorf. Instead, they complained about the fact that Almon was even allowed to speak, while other students engaged respectfully.
“The assembly was an opportunity to come together in order to learn more about the dignity of human life,” said Archbishop Riordan High School Principal Tim Reardon. “We recognize that members of our school community, whether they are Catholic or not, have different viewpoints on this topic. We appreciate that those with different views shared those respectfully today. We offered an alternative safe venue for students.”
Klusendorf stated that education should be “committed to following the evidence wherever it leads.” Listening to those with an opposing viewpoint isn’t just about freedom of speech, but about “intellectual strength,” he said. “LTI is saddened that some students at Archbishop Riordan […] walked away from their own intellectual development.”
“Then came his day to stand before the Lord, and give account of his life...”
Right now I’m thinking “these are kids and they have time to change their minds” but what really worries me is their parents. Their parents did not teach them any better? Send them to a Catholic school, pay all that money and the kids do this? Somewhere along the line those parents were failed.
“these are kids and they have time”
“for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man cometh”
Really? Walk out? Then keep going.
Notice anything familiar about the fetuses? Do they look like bunches of cells, or do they look like something else?
I was shocked to learn the number of pro-abort moms of girls in my daughter’s all-girl Catholic high School. I discovered this in casual conversation with a group of them one day. This was over 10 years ago.
children aRE A heritage and a blessing provided by the Lord- A Gift- Apparent those walking out don’t believe that- The bible speaks of them as such- Guess these kids either don’t read their bible or they want to create a god i n their own image that allows murder of unborns-
All those who walked out should be expelled.
What do you expect from kids who have had their noses in social media, video games, etc. 8 + hours a day. . . .I read an article on FR which emphasized that during the pandemic it more than doubled and has stayed the same. (https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4009180/posts)
I noticed the sidewalks and yards have been mostly devoid of children of all ages playing during most of the summer and nice fall days in our small town. Rather eerie.
In the last days you know what happens about children of all ages and their parents. (2 Timothy 3:1-4:22) But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, -———disobedient to their parents-———, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. .
All students should be required to write a paper explaining the pros and cons of abortion. If they can only explain one side reasonably well they should fail.
To add a bit of local color, Abp. Riordan High ranks lowest in the hierarchy of Catholic high schools in San Francisco. It’s been co-ed for a couple years now, but for decades it enjoyed the reputation as the destination for dumbest males in the city whose parents desired for them a Catholic secondary school. I’d imagine that most of the young women now attending are of similarly limited intellectual capacity.
With that said, this incident is illustrative of the malaise in Catholic education. Most of these youngsters likely attended Catholic grammar schools where they heard not a word about the abortion issue. What little these ignoramuses know about abortion, they learned from “celebrity” sloganeering on TikTok, Instagram etc.
This is sad. These students have been brainwashed to support killing babies in the womb.
Your daughter is grown now but I will tell you that the only real Catholic high schools are SSPX or FSSP (and possibly some others under traditional Catholic sects). A post-conciliar “Catholic” high school is no better than a public school and a lot more expensive. No Catholic school which follows this “pope” is legitimate, although FSSP is kind of stuck in not being able to disavow him totally.
Here's a sample:
"Nov 1
I once wrote abt teen pregnancy & initially said there shld be more teen abortion. My editor asked if I was sure I wanted to say that, given the blowback I'd get & I backed off bc it wasn't The Point of the piece. I've always regretted it.
Abortion saves lives. Abortion is good."
What a dickhead that principal is. First, offering an alternate venue and then speaking respectfully of those who had non-Catholic views even if they are “Catholic”.
School should have all these walkouters go into the auditorium, and then lock the doors, tell them they are all being aborted and poison gas will start filling the room in 60 seconds. All those who want to reconsider their views on abortion will be allowed to leave and see a video of the speaker walked out on.
“All those who walked out should be expelled.”
I agree. The school should also make sure the kids were not led to this conclusion by anyone on their staff.
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