A California parents group wants to prevent children of a gay couple from enrolling at a private Catholic school. On the one hand, this is sad -- why punish the children? And as the superintendent points out, "if Catholic beliefs were strictly adhered to, then children whose parents divorced, used birth control or married outside the church would also have to be banned."
On the other hand, the parents "are worried the boys' attendance ... is part of a larger effort by the gay community to change the church." The article doesn't tell us what this "larger effort" is. But could this be more fallout from the priest sex scandal of a few years ago? Could it be these parents are still bitter that the homosexual component of the scandal was seemingly glossed over, and this has made them hyper-sensitive to issues of homosexuality? Or could it be that they simply want to be sure their private school is free from the gay awareness efforts seen in public schools? And does asking these questions make me anti-gay? (Because I'm not.)
But I do think two things are at work: when any institution fails to deal honestly and decisively with an unpleasant issue, it just continues to cause problems. And two, parents don't like being ignored. The Church, like many school districts, can well expect these mini-controversies to continue.
