by Patrick B. Craine OAKVILLE, Ontario, December 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The recent election of a homosexual activist to the Halton Catholic District School Board could jeopardize the strong equity policy passed last month, warns Campaign Life Coalition National President Jim Hughes.
Paul Marai, a 21-year-old recent University of Toronto graduate who captured the fourth Oakville seat in the October 25th elections, is listed as the co-chair of the homosexualist group Out on Bay Street (OBS).
This group runs an annual conference for homosexual business and law students and says on its website that it aims to “empower” homosexual students and promote “inclusiveness” and “diversity” in the workplace. At their conference in September this year, they hosted a keynote by openly homosexual Liberal MP Scott Brison.
On their Facebook and Twitter pages, OBS is promoting a campaign called ‘FCKH8’, linking to a video with a slew of actors shouting at the viewer to “F—- hate” against homosexuals. The video targets religious groups in particular as a source of “hate”. Those shouting include drag queens, as well as several children - among them a girl who looks to be about 6 years old. It also features naked men who hold signs to cover their crotches.
Halton’s equity policy, which passed November 2, was developed in response to the Ontario government’s equity and inclusive education strategy, which requires such a policy from every board in the province.
The Halton policy emphasizes that “equity” and “inclusion” must be interpreted in accordance with Catholic teaching, and that they are not acceptable unless they do. It includes, in particular, explicit wording to prevent instruction that undermines Catholic teaching in the area of homosexuality, which has been Catholics’ central concern about the government’s equity strategy.
“We praised the Halton board for their efforts to protect the faith and morals of their students,” said Hughes, “but we’re concerned that this fellow (Marai) will use his influence to undermine the school board’s teaching of Catholic doctrine.”
“We join the Catholic Church in condemning all unjust discrimination against homosexuals,” he continued. “But the Church has made clear that homosexuals are called to seek an ordered and chaste sexuality, rather than trying to get their disorder accepted.”
The Halton board also explicitly banned “gay-straight alliances” and similar clubs, and required that teachers consult the Catholic Catechism’s teaching on homosexuality (paragraphs 2357-2358) when they address the topic. In that section, the homosexual inclination is called “objectively disordered” and homosexual acts called “gravely depraved.”
Despite praising it as much more faithful than the policy approved by the Ontario bishops, CLC did say the Halton policy is still not explicit enough. They pointed out, for example, that the board did not actually require the Catechism doctrine on homosexuality to be taught, but merely consulted.
Marai refused to answer the Campaign Life Coalition questionnaire, which asked about candidates’ commitment to the Church’s moral teachings. His involvement with Out on Bay Street is not listed on his campaign website, and it appears that he avoided the issue in his campaign.
“We understand that this young man is in leadership in a group advocating the homosexual lifestyle. If this is true, it is at odds with his service on a Catholic school board, which has the primary purpose of promoting faithfulness,” said Hughes. “We’ll be watching the board closely in the coming months.”
LifeSiteNews left messages with Marai, but did not hear back by press time.
To respectfully express concerns, please contact:
Most Rev. Douglas Crosby, O.M.I.
Bishop of Hamilton
700 King Street West
Hamilton (ON) L8P 1C7
CANADA
Tel: (905) 528-7988
E-mail: wdunn@hamiltondiocese.com
Find e-mail addresses for the trustees at the Halton Catholic District School Board here (http://www.hcdsb.org/Board/Trustees/Pages/default.aspx).
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