As the Catholic Church struggles to get seats in the pews these days they still remain decades behind the rest of the world with its antiquated beliefs. (Let’s not forget they never really apologized for that whole pedophilia ring sex scandal…see the Oscar-winning Best Picture ‘Spotlight’ for more information.) The latest nail in their soon-to-be coffin: a Massachusetts school has just been stripped of its Catholic status by Bishop Robert J. McManus. What did they do you ask? It’s horrific so be prepared…
They flew a Gay Pride Flag and a Black Lives Matter flag. OH MY GOD! How dare they!
I’m a proud, openly gay alumnus of the Nativity School of Worcester.
I am proud of the leadership the school has taken to promote inclusivity.
The Bishop’s outdated rhetoric has no place in Worcester. It’s time to continue promoting inclusion and acceptance in the church. pic.twitter.com/Ec4Il3hCNz
— Guillermo Creamer Jr (@GuillermoCJr) June 16, 2022
Related: Calling out bigotry in Catholicism — again!
McManus issued a decree, (ooh a decree this must be really important), explaining his decision writing,
“I publicly stated in an open letter dated, May 4, 2022, that ‘these symbols (flags) embody specific agendas or ideologies (that) contradict Catholic social and moral teaching. It is my contention that the ‘Gay Pride’ flag represents support of gay marriage and actively living a LGBTQ+ lifestyle.”
Worcester Bishop Robert McManus has prohibited Nativity School of Worcester from identifying itself as a Catholic school and using the title Catholic to describe itself over its decision to fly Black Lives Matter and gay pride flags “which are inconsistent with Catholic teaching” pic.twitter.com/KCl5GudqyL
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) June 16, 2022
The homophobic, racist Bishop continued his statement commenting,
“This is also true of ‘Black Lives Matter. The Catholic Church teaches that all life is sacred and the Church certainly stands unequivocally behind the phrase ‘black lives matter’ and strongly affirms that all lives matter. However, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has co-opted the phrase and promotes a platform that directly contradicts Catholic social teaching on the importance and role of the nuclear family and seeks to disrupt the family structure in clear opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
As a former Catholic – who fully drank the Kool-Aid back in the day, even going to a Jesuit college – quitting the Church decades ago and never looking back is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
But back to the Bishop, who continued to double down on the hatred saying, “the flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church’s stance on these important moral and social issues.” Scandalous! The hypocrisy that is exhibited is laughable. There’s more though. His holiness punished the Nativity School in Worcester,
“Despite my insistence that the school administration remove these flags because of the confusion and the properly theological scandal that they do and can promote, they refuse to do so. This leaves me no other option but to take canonical action.”
To be clear: Mary Magdalene sups with Jesus because he isn’t a judge. But, McManus is & middle schoolers aren’t Catholic anymore.
Born & raised Catholic the children at Nativity school will always be Catholic &/or inclusive, their grace appears lost on the diocese of Worcester. https://t.co/50EORD8tAx
— The OhNoRabble Willie Eckerslike, Esq. ⭐⭐ (@cit_collins) June 17, 2022
Thomas McKenney, President of the Nativity School, vowed to fight back for the school and his students, the majority of who identify as people of color. McKenney wrote a letter to the community detailing his feelings,
In January 2021, Nativity started flying the Pride and Black Lives Matter flags following our students’ (the majority of whom are people of color) call to express support for making our communities more just and inclusive. [The flags are] “not an endorsement of any organization or ideology, they fly in support of marginalized people.”
According to CBS News, “Nativity School is independently funded and does not receive money from the Diocese.” McKennedy ended his letter to the community by stating,
“As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people. These flags simply state that all are welcome at Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching.”
From what I know and remember about Jesus and his teachings, he would proudly fly both the BLM and Gay Pride flags.
{**This post is solely the opinion of this contributing writer and may not reflect the opinion of other writers, staff, or owners of Instinct Magazine.”}
Sources: CBS News
