Faith

Catholic School Refuses to Admit Child of Same-Sex Couple

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Last Updated on January 27, 2022

Parents have started a petition to pressure an archbishop to reconsider a policy that bans a student whose parents happen to be a same-sex couple.

Sometimes, reading news about the state of Christianity today is as depressing as reading news about crime. Take, for example, the story about a Catholic school in Kansas that decided it wouldn’t allow the admittance of a child whose parents are a same-sex couple.

KCTV-TV reported there’s now a petition that has been signed by more than 1,000 Catholic parishioners.

Some of those signers attend the Prairie Villiage, Kansas, church. Some attend more than 20 other parishes in the area.

But they all have something in common: they disagree with the decision to not admit the child.

If I were a parishioner, I’m sure I’d be signing the petition, too.

No, I don’t need anyone to point out a Bible verse that spells out the Biblical view of homosexuality. And there’s little point in entering into a debate at this moment about the word used in the Bible that was later interpreted as homosexuality even though such a word may or may not have existed back then.

What might be nice, however, is if someone might provide a convincing argument about why it’d possibly be appropriate to punish a child for something the child has absolutely no control of.

A child isn’t responsible for whether his or her parents are straight or gay. It’s a safe bet that the child had no say in such possibilities.

Then there’s the letter.

Some parents have sent a letter to the archbishop along with the petition. The letter takes the decision makers to task.

First, it states, “It is our belief that Christ’s message of inclusion, acceptance, mercy, and love should first and foremost guide such decisions.”

It then describes the welcoming, supportive community of which they are proud to be part:

If someone has a new baby, a sick child, is caring for a sick parent or battling illness we send meals to them, help with monetary needs, childcare, rides, prayers and much more. We do not stop to find out in what specific ways their union is or is not in conformance with the Church’s teaching or ask what sins they may have committed. We do as Jesus would have done and welcome our friends and neighbors when they knock. We treat others as we would like to be treated. We are inclusive and try to refrain from judgment. We are proud of the community that we have built. We are proud of these values that we share with our children.

But wait…it gets better.

They then suggest the refusal to accept a child of same-sex parents “lacks the compassion and mercy of Christ’s message.

And then there’s the suggestion of double standards:

We ask you to consider the many ways that other modern marriages may be inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on Sacramental marriage (i.e. vasectomy, IVF, divorce, and remarriage without approved annulment). Further, St. Ann does accept non-Catholic children and families into our school. Presumably, these families are not in marriages that are conformant to the teachings of the Church. We respectfully, ask you to consider why non-conformity to some of the Church’s teachings rise to the level of refusing admission to children, while others do not.

Too often, the church — all churches — are so determined to speak out against that one particular issue that they’re willing to slip passes to all sorts of others.

If there’s even one child who’s attending that church that breaks any of the other rules, then this poor child who isn’t allowed to attend the church through absolutely no fault of her own should be equally welcomed.

The biggest shock I find is that anyone would have to point that out.

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.