Catholic school bans rainbows

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catholic school bans rainbows

Homophobic Catholic school says NO to rainbows

This is an extreme posture for the school to be sure and an excellent example of homophobia. Among the more discussed forms are institutionalized homophobia (e.g. religious and state-sponsored), lesbophobia – the intersection of homophobia and sexism directed against lesbians, and internalized homophobia – a form of homophobia among people who experience same-sex attraction regardless of whether or not they identify as LGBT and it looks like this school qualifies on more than one count.

One Canadian Catholic school went a step further than banning the word gay: It banned rainbows at a recent anti-homophobia event. “We brought signs and posters with rainbows, and we were told that we can’t put them up,” the founder of St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School’s unofficial gay-straight alliance (GSA) tells Xtra. The district school board “said rainbows are associated with Pride. There’s so many other things that a rainbow could be. It’s ridiculous.”

Catholic school says NO to cupcakes

Despite a ban on any rainbows at the St Joseph Catholic Secondary School anti-homophobia event June 3, the student organizers found a creative way to get their message across: hiding rainbows inside the cupcakes.

Even then, the controversy wasn’t over: The cupcakes raised about $200 for charity, which the students wanted to donate to an LGBT youth line. But the school board “said no,” the founder says, and instructed them to donate it to a Catholic homeless shelter instead. The board had also rejected many of the materials provided for the event by political action committee Queer Ontario, including anti-homophobia booklets and an AIDS Committee of Toronto flyer. “We proposed a whole bunch of resources and only about four got approved, and the ones that were approved were censored,” the founder says.

This is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever read.  It just proves yet another point when it comes to organized religion: discrimination and prejudice rules.  In this case,  Mother Nature, through her rainbows, has also fallen victim to this vicious homophobia.

What do you think about this outrage?  Should  Catholic schools, or any schools for that matter be allowed to discriminate against children?

 

About Post Author

Cindy Moore

A frustrated artist, singer, writer and long time friend to Mr. Mad who so graciously offered me the opportunity to contribute to this fine web magazine.
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A concerned Catholic
12 years ago

Catholic, yes, but shocked at this school’s behavior. It goes against Catholic teaching in a number of ways:

First on rainbows

1) The rainbow first appears as God’s weapon after the flood. Note that the rainbow is laid down AFTER God pledges not to destroy the world again by water. Notice the direction of the bow. It’s aiming at the sky. This is God’s pledge that s/he’d sooner harm himself than the world again.
2) Tradition had it angel’s wings are rainbows or “shifting hues of colors”
3) St. Gregory (Pope Gregory I) established that rainbows are part of the Mandorla or full body halo. Halos began as a way of signifying a holy person is so great they occupy both heaven and earth. Full body halos are usually reserved for Jesus and Mary only and then different types of halos around the heads of holy men and women.

On to homophobia: The church has long declared being homosexual is not a sin. Of course the loophole in this is that all premarital sex is immoral and further more marriage as a sacrament in the Catholic tradition is between a woman and man (for now). Teaching intolerance and hatred is not a Catholic ideal.

On to cupcakes: I think I’ve only had one pastor that wasn’t diabetic so they got me on that one.

However to your question of should schools be allowed to discriminate: This is a private school I assume as most catholic schools I’ve encountered are private. However, and I only speak from knowledge of US laws and in particular NJ state, the state establishes the curriculum and can supplement an under resourced parochial school since it’s deemed for the good of the common citizens to have educated young citizens.

Hey, sorry if organized religion seems like it’s about prejudice and intolerance. This wasn’t about organized religion. This was about a bad decision by unthinking school officials with an agenda. Organized religion is about the ideals and people sharing those ideals coming together.

Reply to  A concerned Catholic
12 years ago

Total BS. The catholic church has a long tradition of discriminating against women and minorities. It’s shameful collaboration with the Nazis in WWII is really just a sub note to the other crimes it has committed. Most recently, there has the protecting, aiding and abetting of pedophiles. That has doubtless gone on for far longer but only recently been exposed.

Organized religion is the greatest scam over committed on humanity and the catholic church is one of the worst offenders. Like it or not, those are facts, Prove they are not true.

12 years ago

Any totalitarian organization knows the first thing they must control is your sex life. When you accept that they can tell you when, how, and with whom to have sex, control of everything else is easy.

That’s why all religions have very specific rules about sex. Often the rules are quite different, and even contradictory withing themselves, but it’s control they need, not rationality.

Can anyone think of any organization, government, social group, or religion more controlling than the catholic church? Or more irrational, for that matter?

12 years ago

The religious mind at its particular level of development according to some social psychologists:

“Absolutistic-obedience mythic order—purposeful/authoritarian
Time of origin: c. 3000 BC
Description: “Sacrifice self for reward to come through obedience to rightful authority in purposeful Way.” Embodied by fundamentalist religions.”

Tamra White
Reply to  Collin Hinds
12 years ago

Curious as to how far this would be taken. God also talks about rainbows. Not a Catholic here, but still Christian. Totally think its ok to say groups are wrong. Good post Collin.

dp1053
12 years ago

This is so unbelievably small and petty even for the Catholics. Jeebus would be so proud. Its an alliance of gay and straight kids trying to promote tolerance, seems like they have some things to teach their elders.

Alysia Hoback
12 years ago

WHat school was it. Time to have my big gay posse all write a letter to the MLA because that is so wrong.

Reply to  Alysia Hoback
12 years ago

St Joseph Catholic Secondary School …. Start writing Alysia, in both senses.

Eddie
12 years ago

You know, Vatican, you guys are plagued by declining power, declining followers, a Hitler Youth Pope, and pedophilia. Do you really have time to worry about two hot girls getting it on?

12 years ago

As always, the religious reich demands to have their sick, twisted way in everything. Religion is a disgusting scam upon the human race. Catholicism is second only to Islam in its disgusting treatment of people.

Judi
12 years ago

I would expect this kind of thing in the US, but not in Canada.

Reply to  Judi
12 years ago

I I was surprised by that Judi.

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