This was originally an update to my previous post about homophobia in Halton, but I got pissed off enough that I thought it warranted it’s own post. The Ottawa Catholic School Board is just as homophobic, but they learned from Halton’s public relations disaster. They learned how to spin their anti-LGBT actions as equity and justice.
Officials for the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) were interviewed by the Ottawa Citizen last week. According to Tom D’Amico, a superintendent for the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Gay-Straight Alliance clubs are banned in his schools as well. The reasoning, to quote the Citizen:
Here in Ottawa, D’Amico said the English Catholic school board doesn’t use the name “gay-straight alliance” because the Assembly of Ontario Bishops — to whom school boards look for spiritual guidance — prefer a name that reflects a more general focus on equity and social justice.
They Assembly of Ontario Bishops, which the school turns to for spiritual guidance, has this to say about gay students:
Teachers must consult the following: Section 2357 and 2358 (always together) of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 2357 reads:
…tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
This is a brilliant marketing spin. It’s an anti-gay policy, under the guise of… equity and justice? Simple rhetorical question: are Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs allowed? No. Would the same club be under a different name? Not if we’re to believe D’Amico. The Board wants something with a different focus.
It seems they would approve clubs with a broader scope if it meant that LGBT students and the issues they have are marginalized. Heaven forbid there’d be a club in the Ottawa Catholic schools that’s specifically there to provide a safe space for queer students and their allies to discuss. Tom D’Amico noted:
“A student who is openly gay in our schools, we want all of our students and staff to accept (them) … We don’t want to see them marginalized in any manner.”
That reminded me of a quote by Michael Pautler, of the gay-students-are-lesser-beings Halton Catholic District School Board:
“All students that attend school should be able to feel free of harassment and are protected from any forms of persecution or anything that makes them feel marginalized.”
Seems like we have a different definition of what it is to be marginalized. Would the Ottawa Catholic School Board outright ban chess clubs or clubs for anime fans, citing that their focus wasn’t “general” enough? I don’t think so.
I digress. The OCSB has the same policy as Halton, but the former had a much better public relations campaign. It doesn’t change the fact that both school boards are led by those who marginalize and actively seek to undermine students on a basis of gender orientation and identity.