The Catholic Education Service of England and Wales has written to all Roman Catholic secondary schools in England and Wales asking that they draw attention to a recent letter published by senior archbishops that told Catholics it was their “duty” to oppose gay marriage, as well as for schools to draw attention to an online campaign petition opposing civil marriage equality.
This new revelation follows in the footsteps of a recent controversy surrounding the inaction of central Government to counter homophobic material being promoted in schools, after it was revealed that a Catholic school in Lancashire distributed a booklet entitled “Pure Manhood: How to become the man God wants you to be”.
The booklet discusses a boy dealing with “homosexual attractions” which it suggested may “stem from an unhealthy relationship with his father, an inability to relate to other guys, or even sexual abuse”. It also claims that “scientifically speaking, safe sex is a joke”, explains that “the homosexual act is disordered, much like contraceptive sex between heterosexuals. Both acts are directed against God’s natural purpose for sex – babies and bonding.”
Chair of the Accord Coalition, Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE said ‘schools should teach about a range of religious and cultural perspectives surrounding matters of sexual diversity and gender. However, first and foremost, they should have a duty to promote an acceptance of sexual diversity and transgendered people that should trump all other considerations, which should be embraced with enthusiasm.
‘When many LGBT staff and pupils have a concealed miserable experience at school, and we know that homophobia is worse within the faith school sector, it seems therefore all the more inappropriate that the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales should ask Catholic schools to advance a one sided perspective on same sex marriage, and for their pupils to advance this as a political aim.
‘The Education Service have shown a shocking disregard for the condition of LGBT people; have failed to properly embrace the much more important obligation of ensuring that everyone is treated with respect and kindness, and in doing so have undermined public trust.’
Notes
This story was first broken this afternoon by Pink News at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/04/25/exclusive-catholic-school-urged-pupils-as-young-as-11-to-sign-anti-gay-marriage-petition/.
Stonewall’s 2007 ‘The School Report‘ showed that two thirds of young gay people at secondary schools have experienced homophobic bullying, but in faith schools that figure rises to three in four. The report also showed that lesbian and gay pupils who attended faith schools were 23% less likely to report bullying than those at non-faith schools.
Page 29 of ‘The Coalition: our programme for Government’ stated “We will help schools tackle bullying in schools, especially homophobic bullying.”
