No Safe Spaces for Freedom of Conscience and Religion Even In the TCDSB

This in a supposedly 'Catholic' school district. Of course, the Catholic schools in Ontario are tax supported, and it is Trudeau's Canada. 

From Everyday For Life Canada

On March 4, a father of two children attending a school with the Toronto Catholic District School Board addressed the Board at a regular meeting. The parent expressed concern that celebrating gay pride month and flying the rainbow flag in all schools this coming June would undermine and contradict Catholic teaching. To make his point, he quoted from the Catechism and the Bible. Little did he know what would follow.

The trustees by a vote of 8 to 3 decided to reject his presentation. Just consider that for a moment. "Catholic" trustees decided that Catholic morals are no longer permissible in separate schools. All in the name of the "inclusive" god of human rights. In fact, the entire address was soon posted on You Tube by Dignity Lighthouse in an effort to discredit the parent by misquoting him and accusing him of hate speech. (Readers can judge for themselves by watching the video of the presentation below.) The parent has already lost his teaching job at McMaster university as a result of a complaint regarding the content of his talk. Can you guess the whistleblower? This same Board has also censured Trustee Michael Del Grande for daring to defend Catholic principles.

Here's the full quote from the presentation in Matthew 18:5-6: "Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me. But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith in me would be better drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck." Some of the relevant words are left out in the description posted with the video.

This is the politically correct TCDSB today. It has become anti-Catholic. The majority of trustees, the director and senior superintendents proudly preach the new "progressive religion" of "equity, tolerance and inclusion." Something is terribly wrong when Catholic schools must reject their own doctrine. It's an attack on religious freedom, conscience and free speech. Are the churches next?

Parents send their children to Catholic schools to help them, along with other educational goals, to transmit and model the faith. Parents have the right to direct their children's learning when it comes to matters of faith, morals and the formation of conscience. This right is also found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It's worth noting that the document makes no mention of sexual rights.

It's plain to everyone that students can't be taught Catholic morality when the majority of TCDSB trustees and those who are running the schools make it impossible to do so. They push diversity while discriminating against anyone who tries to defend Catholic on the issues of marriage, family, sexuality and the person.

We have trustees who are no longer primarily interested in Catholic teaching and student learning. A number of them have become lgbtq+ activists. Consider how quickly they made sure the lgbtq+ resource Youthline was reinstated on the Board website. They are politicians first and trustees second. Most recently, they have gone public on Twitter to support a motion by Toronto Councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Mike Layton. The motion intends to prohibit groups holding a meeting or religious services in public libraries that don't support the lgbtq+ agenda. It's not enough to win an argument. The next step is to censor or cancel people outright who don't agree with them. Where is the inclusion and tolerance? And the right to disagree?

The move to ban certain individuals and groups from public places, unmasks the true "diversity" they're talking about and advocating. If you don't agree with us, there is no place for you. The trustees backing the City Council motion are Ida Li Preti, Maria Rizzo, Markus de Domenico and Norm Di Pasquale. Li Preti is officially the MPP candidate for the Ontario Liberal party for Humber River-Black Creek for 2022. Is this not a conflict of interest?

The trustees in question push their views by saying they're defending human rights. But recognizing dozens of sexual orientations is not a human right. Neither is abortion and euthanasia a human right. We must not force everyone in a free society to accept and promote gender identity. Ontario parents aren't forced to send their children to Catholic schools. But when they do, there is an expectation that on matters of faith, morals and conscience Catholic schools teach what's in the Catechism and the Gospel. It's a violation of religious freedom and undemocratic that students now have no safe spaces for freedom of conscience and religion even in separate schools.