PETITION: Support Abp. Thompson for stripping Catholic label from dissident Jesuit school

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Archbishop Thompson of Indianapolis has stripped a Jesuit-run school of its 'Catholic' label after the school refused the archbishop’s directive that it not renew a teacher’s contract who had ‘married’ a same-sex partner. 

As has been now made public by the school administration, Archbishop Thompson's request that this member of staff be let go was made to the school two years ago. But, since then, the Archbishop's directive has not been respected.

"Every archdiocesan Catholic school and private Catholic school has been instructed to clearly state in its contracts and ministerial job descriptions that all ministers must convey and be supportive of all teachings of the Catholic Church,” the Archdiocese stated. “Regrettably, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School has freely chosen not to enter into such agreements that protect the important ministry of communicating the fullness of Catholic teaching to students."

In essence, the school's administration has disobeyed a direct request from the Archbishop, who gave the school ample time to comply with the request.

OUR PETITION SUPPORTS the Archbishop in making this difficult decision to officially revoke the school's Catholic identity.

A school that betrays Catholic parents who send their children to a Catholic school to be educated in the Catholic faith and that also defies the Archbishop's legitimate authority in this matter should not be allowed to call itself a Catholic school. 

Being Jesuits doesn't somehow make them any less subject to Catholic teaching and Church authority.

If 'Catholic' is to mean anything at all, it must mean an adherence to Church teaching on core issues, like marriage.

It also must mean that teachers of children at a Catholic school must live out a Catholic understanding of marriage and family - both in their professional and private lives.

This is something which is spelled-out in contracts with staff at Catholic schools, so it should come as no surprise that, when a civil 'marriage' between a member of staff and a member of the same sex becomes public, it will result in the loss of their job.

The reason for this is that being in a position to role model to children, teachers have a very big responsibility. And, one cannot carry out that responsibility in a Catholic school, if one's own personal life is at fundamental odds with a core teaching of the Church. Those two things are incompatible.

In this case, the Archbishop is only declaring the obvious: For the school, the incompatibility between how the school behaves in practice and authentic Catholic teaching is so great that the school no longer merits being called 'Catholic'.

If the school administration refuses to adhere to authentic Catholic teaching, then the school administrators themselves are responsible for separating themselves from their own Catholic identity.

Please SUPPORT Archbishop Thompson who has acted boldly to defend the faith in his archdiocese by not allowing a school to deceive parents into thinking they are sending their children to a "Catholic" school when that school refuses to follow Catholic teaching on marriage as between one man and one woman. 

Please SIGN this petition, TODAY!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archbishop-strips-jesuit-school-of-catholic-label-for-refusing-to-let-go-gay-married-teacher