Catholic Schools in Ontario

There is a  creeping anti-Catholicism is changing the landscape of our society. Just this weekend an editorial in the local paper suggested that the Catholic school system was resisting the inevitable end of separate schools and that we must stop insisting that Catholic values, practices and religion classes be upheld in our schools.  Imagine that - students in a Catholic school attending religion classes!

My own feeling when people suggest we should "get with the times" and get rid of all things Catholic is that if the day comes when the only thing that differentiates us is the cross on the wall or the Saint’s name over the door, the public outcry should be loudest, not when we practice our faith in our schools,

Oh sure, people throw that old “publicly funded” argument to suggest we should abandon all Catholic practices.  Tax money goes to support you - therefore you must accept societal norms, they suggest.  I say that they should scream the loudest, we should scream the loudest if we ever do – why then would we need two very separate school systems if one wasn’t decidedly, unabashedly and sometimes uncomfortably Catholic?

That’s worth paying for.

Just One Side of Your Mouth at a Time, Please

If it's OK with everyone, let's just talk out of one side of our mouths for a moment.

Gay-Straight Alliances in Ontario schools
Far from being the champions, the homosexual agenda should be actively objecting to differentiation based on sexual orientation.  Separate boys and girls entrances to grade schools are quaint reminders of a time long past.  Now we divide and define by hetero or homosexual attraction?  The good work of the homosexual lobby of the last thirty odd years in ending discrimination will have been for naught when this happens.

The Most Loving Place for one who Suffers from Same Sex Attraction is the Catholic Church
...and anyone who suggests otherwise isn't paying attention, and yes, I said suffers.  It is not an easy life.  We hold to God's truth that we should love one another, and that homosexual orientation, in and of itself, is not a sin.  Neither is temptation a sin; however acting on it is another story.  We believe that God is the final judge, and we love each other in spite of our failings and differences, and because God commands us to.  Let me clarify - we are to love one another.  We frequently fail.  We should never stop trying.

Critics Claim Catholic Bishops are "Out of Step" with Society
Of course they are, thank God.  Pray that all Catholics are.  We must carefully consider each step, not blindly march to the current whim and changing fancy of modern society.  We are called to be in the world, not of the world.  Truth is, as the Bishops prayerfully consider our world and God's will, I suggest they are actually closer to feeling the true pulse of the people than are politicians. 

The End of Catholic Schools in Ontario?  Not Yet
It is suggested that Separate Schools should no longer be funded by the taxpayer because Catholics refuse to act against our tradtion and beliefs.  In fact the exact opposite is true.  A Catholic school system that goes against it's own beliefs and bends to public will is one that should have it's funding removed, it's union disbanded, it's administration dismissed and the crosses removed from the classroom.  When there is no longer any discernible difference between a Catholic school and a public school we're just going through the motions, aren't we?

A Public Accountability to be Catholic
An educated electorate of all faiths and beliefs should scream bloody murder, clamour, protest and object to funding a Catholic school system that isn't different, to bankrolling one that doesn't put the Catholic faith first, to footing the bill for a Catholic systtem that doesn't obey the local ordinary (the Bishop) or one that doesn't offer a religious objection to the practices of the secular world. 

Pray for the day, but don't hold your breath.

Judge Not

It happened one day in 1969 in West Germany, on a bus filled with boy scouts on a way to a jamboree, we happened into the middle of a protest that had all the signs of developing into a riot.  The hippies, as we knew them to be, surrounded our bus.  My father, the scout leader in charge, told us to press our Canadian flags against the windows.  Badges, sashes, small flags, whatever we had.  We passed in peace.  The prevailing and unsubstantiated wisdom of the day was that Canadians would never encounter harm in Europe not because of our home and native citizenship, but because we weren't American.

Be that as it may, recently in Canada we have had our share of riots first in Vancouver after the Stanley Cup final, and then on March 17 in London, Ontario during the celebration of the life and good works of an Irish saint.  A disquieting trend has emerged, and I speak not of the rioting itself nor of recognizing sainthood by exhibiting decidedly unsaintly behaviour.

In both instances the community has been quick to judge based on videos and pictures.  Alleged rioters are being threatened and hounded, as though merely being photographed taking a big-screen TV through a broken store window or taking a two-by-four to a police vehicle is proof of complicity.  It may well be, but that is for the court to decide.

There is no justice in rushing to judgement.  Offer the evidence if you have it, share the incriminating social media, and then let the system prove guilt and mete out punishment, correction and restitution.

"Vengeance is mine, says the Lord."  Romans 12:19  Vigilante retribution is as bad and perhaps worse than the alleged illegal behaviour it seeks to punish.