(Campaign Life Coalition) — Trustee Mike Del Grande has done it again!
I’ve written you many times about his courage and heroism in defending Catholic teaching at the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) with regard to the push for gender ideology. In fact, he is still paying the price of that heroism by defending himself in two different court cases!
This time, Mike is standing up for the lives of the unborn babies whom our federal politicians refuse to protect from the evil of abortion!
He just introduced a motion that will be debated and voted on at the April 23 public board meeting, which, if passed, will require every TCDSB school, plus the board office, to fly the international pro-life flag, annually, throughout the entire month of May, starting this year!
From Trustee Del Grande’s motion:
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED:
As a public expression of this Board’s fidelity to the pro-life teachings of the Church and to Catholic education, all TCDSB schools, the Catholic Education Center, and Office of the Board, shall fly the International Pro-Life Flag, annually, throughout the month of May, commencing May 1, 2024.
If it passes, this month-long campaign will serve as a powerful symbol of solidarity with the National March for Life taking place on May 9 in Ottawa, and will help to invigorate a culture of life in all students and staff.
But that’s not all….
To benefit students and staff who cannot attend the National March for Life in person, Del Grande’s motion would require every TCDSB school to spend the day of the March studying a special pro-life curriculum! Here’s an excerpt from the motion:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
As an alternative to those staff, students, teachers and supporters of the TCDSB who are unable for any reason to attend in person the National March for Life, the Board mandates that for the duration of the time the March occurs during the normal school day, that the entire teaching curriculum be exclusively devoted to explicitly teaching the portions of the Catechism identified in this motion, the book entitled, the Gospel of Life, authored by Pope John-Paul II, and the corresponding portions of the HOLY Bible, that is the source and foundation of the Church’s teachings.
This TCDSB development fills me with such joy.
Imagine the culture shift that can happen if the 90,000-strong student body, plus all TCDSB staff begin to radically support the pro-life cause in this way!
I urge you to pray for the success of Trustee Del Grande’s motion. Pray that we will see the pro-life flag flying atop 197 Toronto Catholic schools this coming May!
But now, I have to address an issue that’s not so joyful.
In fact, it’s pretty grim.
To be honest, myself and other CLC staff have been losing sleep over it….
Mike’s legal defense fund in big trouble
For almost four years, CLC has been crowdfunding the bulk of Mike’s legal defense costs, both his lawsuit against the TCDSB in an Ontario court, and at the Ontario College of Teachers tribunal where they’re trying to strip him of his teaching license.
It’s because of this financial support, with the goal of clearing his name and getting a judge to overturn the unfair and humiliating sanctions laid against him by his leftist Trustee colleagues, that Mike has been able to hang on. Had CLC’s supporters not been there to financially back Mike’s legal defense, he would’ve likely resigned back in 2019 when the board unjustly found him guilty of “misconduct.”
One of the sanctions imposed on him – and which still hangs over his head like the sword of Damocles until the legal process plays out – is a requirement to apologize to the LGBT community for his thoughtcrime of opposing the addition of “Gender Identity” and “Gender Expression” to the TCDSB’s code of conduct.
How could Mike possibly apologize for defending biblical teaching and Catholic doctrine? He could not. He would surely have been forced to quit, rather than violate his conscience with a forced and insincere apology.
Another sanction was to submit himself to an LGBT re-education camp, where they would try to stamp the Catholicism out of him. Can you envision Mike, a devout Catholic man, sticking around for that? I highly doubt it.
CLC’s legal defense is what has kept Mike on the TCDSB Board of Trustees. It is what has made the upcoming international pro-life flag motion possible.However, CLC’s donations have taken a steep drop, both this year and throughout 2023, while at the same time, Mike’s legal bills continued to pile up. This dangerous combination has left us in the position of not being able to continue funding Mike’s legal defense.
It’s almost to the point where we have to choose between paying employee wages…. or Mike’s lawyers.
Unless something changes dramatically, we’ll have to drop his case.
And that probably means Mike will have to abandon his legal actions. Then, he’ll be ordered to submit to those impossible sanctions I mentioned and would likely step down rather than violate his conscience.
If you value the work Mike Del Grande has been doing to defend preborn children, family values and the Christian faith in our schools, please come to his aid.Make as generous a donation as you possibly can to his legal defense fund by clicking here.
Most of our supporters who’ve contributed to the defense fund have made $25 and $50 donations. Each dollar is treasured and greatly appreciated, believe me.However, the same rate of $25 and $50 donations simply won’t solve our financial problem. We need to appeal to supporters who can afford to make large donations to Mike’s cause.
Like gifts of $1,000 or even $5,000. If you are someone who is in a position to make a large contribution, I’d ask you to prayerfully consider doing it now, to save Mike from having to abandon his legal defense… and eventually, his trustee seat.
In closing, if you want to see Trustee Del Grande continue to introduce important motions for years to come, like the upcoming pro-life flag motion, please come to his aid now. Otherwise, we may lose his voice… and the cancel culture leftists will claim one more scalp.
Reprinted with permission from Campaign Life Coalition.