(Everyday for Life Canada) — The Halton Catholic District School Board director, John Klein, has issued a letter to staff and teachers titled, “Nurturing Love and Inclusion Across our HCDSB Community.” It would be more accurate to call it, “Nurturing Love and inclusion for homosexuality across the school community.” The director uses the month of June, which is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to tell the school community it must accept and embrace pride month and its related activities. Will it include a school wide field trip to the pride parade or bringing the drag queen story hour to the school? The director says that Christ gave us an example of inclusion and the Sacred Heart of Jesus is “a symbol of God’s boundless and passionate love for all humanity.”
Moreover, Christ gave humanity “a message of love and inclusion throughout His ministry” So, according to Klein, “our Catholic schools are called to ensure we are nurturing safe and inclusive learning environments, where every student and every member of the community is welcomed, valued, and respected.” And this, in plain English, must mean the inclusion and acceptance of homosexuality.
UPDATE (05/30/23): Major victory as York Catholic District School Board votes against raising LGBT flag
Your committment to this campaign has paid off – please continue circulating the petition far and wide, and read below about our huge victory at YCDSB thanks to people like you.
(LifeSiteNews) – During a May 29 York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) meeting, trustees voted 6-4 against flying the pro-LGBT flag atop of its schools and other buildings in celebration of so-called “Pride Month”, in a move that has been met with pleasant surprise by pro-family advocates.
While the decision brought cheers from the crowd, some angrily shouted in protest and had to be escorted out by YCDSB security.
“The Cross represents all!” Myles Vosylius, a former student at Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora, Ontario, tweeted, celebrating the decision.
“The cross represents all!” – Faithful Catholic attending the @YCDSB meeting tonight, where the victorious decision was made NOT to fly the ‘pride’ flag! #YCDSB #CdnPoli #OnPoli pic.twitter.com/CSNCEQbS0c
— Myles Vosylius (@TheMylesV) May 30, 2023
While the YCDSB represents a victory for faithful Catholics in York region, many Catholic school boards have caved to pressure by LGBT activists and will fly “pride flags” during the month of June. However, increasingly, Ontario parents are fighting back as hundreds of students, reportedly predominantly Muslim, stayed home earlier this month when their schools flew the flag.
Parents have also begun to speak out against LGBT agenda being promoted to their children in schools. Pro-LGBT trustee for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) Wendy Ashby recently resigned after over 3,000 parents petitioned for her ousting.
Similarly, last month, a group of young Canadians protested a school-sponsored drag queen event in front of York Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto.
Furthermore, Campaign Life Coalition is calling for parents to keep their children home from school on June 1 to protest schools flying the “pride flag.”
“Parents need to keep up the pressure, just like this, right across the country!” Fonseca encouraged.
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As Catholics, we are taught that we must love our neighbour and treat every individual as a child of God, accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity.
Parents make a clear choice when they decide that their children will attend a Catholic school. They rightly expect that trustees, principals, teachers all partners in education will ensure that Catholic teaching is presented, lived and infused in all that we do. In that regard, the appropriate symbol that represents our faith, and the inclusion and acceptance of others, is the cross, which is visible at the entrance of every Catholic school. It is the primary symbol of our Christian faith.
We have created this petition to express opposition of flying the pride flag at schools for the month of June. Our kids should not be forced to celebrate anyones sexuality, and a flag will do nothing to keep anyone more safe. Its nothing more than a symbol of sexual celebration, completely inappropriate.
Catholicism and parental rights are being threatened, and we will not allow teachers who are LGBTQ to influence our children.
We are not homophobes. We are trying to shield our children from any sexual ideologies, both gay and straight. Children are minors who have a right to a normal and innocent childhood. We are not STAKEHOLDERS. We are parents. EQUITY is not and will never be the same as EQUALITY. Inclusion means EVERYONE and the York Region Catholic District School Board & its Union members are infringing upon our religious beliefs by suffocating our children with woke political agendas & indoctrinations when they should be focusing on educating our kids!
We love all humans equally. Hate is the wrong word to describe parents feelings about the climate in schools today. Parents protesting the pride flag at school do not harbour any negative feelings towards the LGBTQ+ community. We do however feel that their rights seem to supersede everyone elses. We also believe that kids should never learn about sex at school and we condemn any classroom discussion or public display that encourages or promotes gender confusion and same sex lifestyles in a classroom setting. We also strongly condemn the nature of several library books that contain sensitive material on homosexuality and transgender issues in elementary school libraries. Similarly, we harbour no contempt for transgenders as individuals but their insistence on using female-only spaces is invasive.
The promotion of a pride sticker and the likelihood that a flag will go up in June at all schools suggests a particular political agenda, which warrants examination. Concern about alleged incidents of bullying directed at the LGBTQ community within schools has been raised. However when requesting specific information on the actual number of such reports, it was communicated that the data is currently confidential and not publicly available. Despite clarifying that only the number of incidents was desired, the same response was given.
The lack of transparency and information provided by the York Region Catholic District School Board concerning alleged incidents combined with these extreme campaigns using safe space stickers to promote political agendas, raises necessary questions about their motives. Despite facing opposition from relevant individuals, including the Archbishop of Toronto and Cardinal Collins, who have both explicitly expressed their disapproval of such displays, the union and its members have vehemently insisted the stickers remain.
We must stand up against this before the Board caves to the pressure of political correctness and decide to raise the pride flag too.
Please share this. We must get as many signatures as possible before May 20th so that we may present a united front at this months meeting with this petition in hand that will speak for itself and will represent all of us.
Thank you.
Sheree D
In addition, he argues because Catholics believe we are made in the image and likeness of God, we must love everyone unconditionally. What happened to the commandments? Church teaching? The director states in his letter:
As Catholics, we believe that we are all made in the image and likeness of God, who created us and loves us unconditionally – just as we are. We are called to know, love and celebrate one another, just as God knows, loves and celebrates each one of us because we are “wonderfully made.” We honour the inherent dignity in each other by treating one another with sensitivity, compassion and respect.
During the month of June, our HCDSB schools will be raising awareness around Pride Month and will journey alongside the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in creating spaces of welcome in a search of dignity and justice for all. The information shared with students will be age-appropriate and consistent with grade-level curriculum expectations. As with all material that is taught in our Catholic schools, it will be presented through the lens of our Catholic faith.
Parents notice that there is nothing mentioned about celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Instead, this important Catholic devotion has been misused to promote pride month and all its related activities. It’s blasphemy. It would also appear that Hamilton Bishop Douglas Crosby by his silence is in agreement with Klein’s letter. In fact, he has a parish priest tweeting in support of pride month.
READ: Taxpayer-funded CBC releases video of child explaining what ‘LGBTQQIPAA+’ means
The letter lists all the Board activities for the month for all grade levels. We post it here before it is taken down. Parents again notice that there is not one activity about the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pride Month
Learning Goals by DivisionKindergarten to Grade 4
• Identifying and celebrating what makes us unique
• Identifying the connection between “inclusion” and “belonging”
• Creating learning environments that are welcoming and safe for every one of our peers especially our 2SLGBTQIA+ community
• Creating learning environments that are welcoming for us and for our peers
• Identifying what to do if a learning environment doesn’t feel welcoming for us or for our peers
• Explaining Pride Month as a way of celebrating being proud of being wonderfully made by God
• Celebrating the different ways people live in familyGrades 9-12
At the secondary school level, student learning goals will be focused on:
• Explaining the history of Pride and the significance of Pride Month to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
• Reaffirming that members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ belong, are loved and valued in our HCDSB Catholic schools.
• Connecting students, staff and parents to resources in the community to support 2SLGBTQIA+ identity and wellness.
• Establishing a knowledge base and foundation that can be built upon within the HCDSB to affirm the dignity and belonging of 2SLGBTQIA+ students throughout the year• Identifying and celebrating what makes us unique
• Identifying the connection between “inclusion” and “belonging”
• Creating learning environments that are welcoming and safe for every one of our peers especially our 2SLGBTQIA+ community
• Creating learning environments that are welcoming for us and for our peers
• Identifying what to do if a learning environment doesn’t feel welcoming for us or for our peers
• Explaining Pride Month as a way of celebrating being proud of being wonderfully made by God
• Celebrating the different ways people live in familyGrades 9-12
At the secondary school level, student learning goals will be focused on:
• Explaining the history of Pride and the significance of Pride Month to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
• Reaffirming that members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ belong, are loved and valued in our HCDSB Catholic schools.
• Connecting students, staff and parents to resources in the community to support 2SLGBTQIA+ identity and wellness.• Establishing a knowledge base and foundation that can be built upon within the HCDSB to affirm the dignity and belonging of 2SLGBTQIA+ students throughout the year.
Once we take out all the abstract language about love, pride, inclusion, nurturing and being wonderfully made, it comes down to this: HCDSB has decided to celebrate June as homosexuality month. In truth, it should be called anti-Catholic month. Innocent school children must not be exposed to any of this early and abusive sexualization. It has nothing to do with real student learning and safety. And it’s a true case of false advertising. Parents have a right to expect a Catholic education when they send their children to Catholic schools. Where are the trustees? Where are the bishops of Ontario and even Canada?
READ: Massachusetts middle school students tear down ‘pride’ banners, chant ‘USA are my pronouns’