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 May 2021 issue of 'Catholic Teacher'

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ONTARIO, May 24, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has published an article advocating the flying of the LGBT “pride” flag by Catholic organizations.

The OECTA article follows the news that earlier this month the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) voted to declare June “Pride Month” and to fly the homosexual rainbow “pride” flag at all schools within the board for the entire month of June, in defiance of Catholic moral teaching that warns against the spiritual dangers of homosexual behavior.

In the cover story of the May 2021 issue of the Catholic Teacher magazine, the group argues that flying the LGBT flag shows the “Gospel value of unconditional love.”

The article by Shannon Hogan, a Staff Officer for OECTA, opens with a quote by St. Paul to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (3:28) 

Hogan uses the verse as the premise for her argument that a promotion of the LGBT “pride” movement is an act of “love.” Hogan says that “many parents have children who identify as LGBTQ2SI,” that such parents “count on us [Catholic teachers] to teach and nurture them” and that flying the “pride” flag is a key part of that.

“Seeing the Pride flag and our OECTA pride flag visible at our buildings is a sign that all students in our care are being taught the Gospel value of unconditional love,” she says.

Prior to the TCDSB announcing their decision to fly the LGBT “pride” flag over Catholic schools, the Archdiocese of Toronto, which is led by Cardinal Thomas Collins, published a letter stating that parents “make a clear choice when they decide that their children will attend a Catholic school” and that parents “rightly expect that trustees, principals, teachers — all partners in education — will ensure that Catholic teaching is presented, lived and infused in all that we do.” 

Jack Fonseca of Canada’s pro-life and pro-family organization Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews that the Archdiocese of Toronto and Cardinal Collins did not do enough to stop the TCDSB from voting to fly the LGBT “pride” flag over Catholic schools, a move which he described as stepping “into apostasy.”

“The Cardinal’s May 4 letter to the board was half-hearted,” Fonseca said. “The last paragraph gave the dissident trustees an out, by essentially saying they could do what they want. The Cardinal did not threaten to impose any penalty on the board or individual trustees.  The pending apostasy was grave enough that Cardinal Collins could easily have warned trustees, either privately or publicly, that they would face excommunication if they voted to embrace the sin-laden secular symbol.”

The Catholic Church, LifeSiteNews journalist Pete Baklinksi explains, bases “itself on the Bible and tradition, [and] teaches that homosexual behavior is “intrinsically disordered” and a grave sin. St. Paul in one of his letters warns the Corinthians that “homosexuals” along with others, such as “idolaters” and “adulterers,” will “not inherit the kingdom of God.” The Church’s teaching on homosexuality and other sexual moral matters comes strictly from a place of love where the Church desires that men and women live lives pleasing to God that lead to human flourishing and ultimately to heaven.”

Hogan’s article states that, “Through the grace of God, the love for our students, and our listening to all parents, we continue as we always have, putting knowledge over ignorance and community over isolation.” Hogan does not clarify if the “knowledge” that she says the OECTA always puts “over ignorance” is the knowledge of the teachings of the Catholic Church, or the knowledge of progressive, modern, liberal ideologies.  

LifeSiteNews contacted OECTA to ask if it has considered the parents who do not feel affirmed by their promotion of the LGBT movement, but rather are angry about the “pride” flag being flown at Catholic schools. We did not receive a response by the time of publication.

LifeSiteNews also contacted Cardinal Thomas Collins to ask him to clarify where he believes the line is between accepting and celebrating a disordered orientation, and loving all students.  We did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The OECTA has been promoting the LGBT agenda for a number of years.  In their May 2019 issue, an article titled, Being the Change by Walt Chaisson, a male teacher who is “married” to another man, lamented that there were so few homosexual mentors for him in the Catholic school system.  

In the February/March 2020 issue, there were two articles published on the LGBT agenda.  The first, “Male and Female He created them,” Shannon Hogan responds to the document by the Congregation for Catholic Education on transgenderism at the Vatican stating, their contribution to the discussion “is a contribution to further harm.” The second article, Welcome and Solidarity: the Journey of a Gay Straight Alliance celebrates the rights of homosexual students to have sanctioned clubs in the Catholic schools.

In the June 2020 issue, OECTA published an article explaining that, “Jesus would be the first one hoisting the [LGBT] flag.” “Would Jesus raise a Pride flag? Mine would, and I am hoping yours would too.”