One bishop is drawing the line.
A nominally Catholic school in Massachusetts is barred from describing itself as a Catholic school after refusing to cease displaying the homosexual pride flag and a Black Lives Matter flag on church property.
Bishop Robert J. McManus laid down the law after a months-long dispute between the Nativity School of Worcester and the Catholic Diocese of Worcester.
“The Nativity School of Worcester is prohibited from this time forward from identifying itself as a “Catholic” school and may no longer use the title “Catholic” to describe itself,” declared Bishop McManus in a Thursday statement published on the diocesan website.
According to the bishop’s statement, the Jesuit school has flown the left-wing flags on its school property for months.
“The flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church’s stance on these important moral and social issues,” said Bishop McManus on the school’s decision.
McManus went on to explain why the ideas behind Black Lives Matter and homosexual pride contradict Catholic teachings.
“It is my contention that the ‘Gay Pride’ flag represents support of gay marriage and actively living a LGBTQ+ lifestyle,” said the bishop.
“The Catholic Church teaches that all life is sacred and the Church certainly stands unequivocally behind the phrase ‘black lives matter’ and strongly affirms that all lives matter.”
Is he justified?
“However, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has co-opted the phrase and promotes a platform that directly contradicts Catholic social teaching on the importance and role of the nuclear family and seeks to disrupt the family structure in clear opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Black Lives Matter activists have spoken openly of their desire to do away with the family structure emphasized in the Bible.
The Nativity School is barred from hosting Catholic liturgy on its premises, as well as administering the Catholic sacraments.
The diocese had told the school to stop flying the leftist flags in March, warning that they’d face official sanction if they continued displaying them, according to CBS News.
The school touts its allegiance to “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Anti-Racism” on its official website.
Thomas McKenney, the school’s president, has indicated that they’ll continue to fly the flags and will appeal the bishop’s decision.
