Ottawa Catholic School gives course credit for work at gay activist group

OTTAWA, December 19, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Ottawa Catholic high school has come under fire for permitting one of its students to earn graduation credits in a co-op opportunity run by homosexual activists.

St. Paul’s high school student Kate Forman travels more than an hour each day during school hours to work at Jer’s Vision, a homosexual organization that seeks to eliminate “homophobia” and “transphobia” in schools and youth communities. She has become the organization’s “artistic coordinator”.

Faye Estrella, Jer’s Vision manager of conference programming, confirmed to LifeSiteNews.com that Forman is receiving “co-op hours” for time spent with the organization.

One pro-family leader expressed outraged in discovering Ottawa’s Catholic Schools catering to homosexual activists.

“As a Catholic school, [St. Paul’s] is certainly not adhering to Catholic teaching,” said Gwen Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women Canada, to LifeSiteNews. “Something is desperately wrong with the principal who made the decision — and the teachers who authorized it — because they are not conforming to Catholic teaching and Catholic education.”

Catholic sexual morality holds that sexual acts are exclusively reserved for a man and woman committed to one another in the life-long covenant of marriage. Following scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” since they are “contrary to the natural law” in that they “close the sexual act to the gift of life”.

While holding that the homosexual “inclination” is “objectively disordered,” the Church stresses that people struggling with homosexual tendencies are to be “accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity”.

Forman recently told CTV that she was originally “offered” the position of “artistic coordinator” at Jer’s Vision.

“I saw the position that I was offered and I just thought that it was perfect for me, because it’s artistic, and it’s aimed to end bullying,” she told the show’s host.

Jer’s Vision was founded in 2005 by homosexual activist Jeremy Dias who won a suit before a Human Rights court over claims that his high school discriminated against him based on sexual orientation. Jer’s Vision’s 2005 inaugural gala featured performances by a drag queen Robyn DeCradle whose show includes fake breasts that squirt water onto the audience, a giant inflatable penis, and a nun’s habit.

Jer’s Vision organized a field trip for high school students last year that included a drag show. The organization offers an LGBTQ curriculum that runs from kindergarten through grade 8.

Jer’s Vision partners with pro-abortion groups such as Canadian’s for Choice and pro-prostitution groups such as Maggie’s Sex Work, as well as many pro-homosexual groups.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board’s “spiritual theme” for the next two years is “By Our Works We Show Our Faith”.

LifeSiteNews contacted the Ottawa Catholic School Board by phone and e-mail, asking if Jer’s Vision was an appropriate co-op opportunity for a student at a Catholic school, but communications were not returned by press time.

Landolt pointed out that it is “simply unacceptable” for a Catholic school to be promoting co-op opportunities for students that oppose Catholic teaching on sexual morality.

“This is a failure of the Catholic School. It has failed this girl, because she will have no grasp of Catholic teaching on homosexuality,” she said. “If they really cared to nurture her in the Catholic faith, they would never have done this. They obviously seem to be indifferent to her.”

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Landolt suggested that Ottawa’s Catholic school system should be “thoroughly ashamed and reprimanded for dissociating the girl from Catholic education”.

“They are negligent. They are actually cruel to her in that they have just tossed her out to the wolves,” she said.

Alissa Golob, head of Campaign Life Coalition Youth, told LifeSiteNews that while she can appreciate a young person getting involved to make a difference, she said that not every cause can be morally supported.

“It goes against core Catholic principles for a Catholic School to offer credits for work in an organization that pushes to normalize the homosexual lifestyle,” she said. “This is also counterproductive since the gay lifestyle has been medically proven to be mentally and physically detrimental to people who engage in it.”

Forman has just completed a “holiday card” campaign for Jer’s Vision to raise funds for the organization’s future projects. She has started work on promotional posters for next year’s LGBTQ youth events.

Contact:

Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB)
Julian Hanlon, Director of Education
Ph: (613) 224-4455 ext 2272
E-mail: [email protected]

Gordon Butler, OCSB trustee for St. Paul High School
Ph: (613) 291-2775
Email: [email protected]

St. Paul High School
Danielle Novak, Principal
Phone: (613) 820-9705
E-mail: [email protected]

Archdiocese of Ottawa
Most Rev. Terrence Prendergast, Archbishop of Ottawa
Phone: (613) 738-5025 ext 233
E-mail: [email protected]