Catholic school identity 'eroding'

“Explicit policy” needed to uphold goals of education

Presenter Brian Lilley, Sun Media columnist, is a parent to four children in the Ottawa Catholic school system.

About 100 concerned ratepayers joined the Jan. 22 meeting of the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB), insisting on tighter protocols for vetting speakers and school trips.

In a presentation to the board, Parents as First Educators (PAFE) Ottawa chapter president Andy Pocrnic cited four recent “public scandals” that have led to “the public perception of a weakening of our board’s Catholic identity, sowed confusion in the minds of our students and demoralized parents.”

Pocrnic listed a proposed civics trip by high school students to campaign for American President Obama; a visit by Liberal leadership hopeful MP Justin Trudeau to a Catholic elementary school to talk about bullying; an upcoming social justice trip involving visits to El Salvador; and the co-op placement of a student with “a homosexual activist organization.”

“President Obama’s advocacy for abortion is public knowledge as is the Church’s teaching that the killing of an unborn child is always intrinsically evil and can never be justified,” he said. He outlined Trudeau’s stands in favor of abortion and same-sex marriage, noting the MP had said he would support Quebec separation if Canada ever brought back restrictions on abortion or overturned same-sex marriage.

The El Salvador trip involves visits with “groups that have publicly advocated for the legalization of abortion, for the legalization of prostitution, for the promotion of contraception and the right to adoption for lesbian couples,” Pocrnic charged.

He urged the OCSB to develop an “explicit policy” that board partners “may not publicly undermine the goals of Catholic education.” He also suggested a vetting process that takes the whole of Catholic teaching into account when speakers are invited or school trips planned. (more…)