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A Catholic school has announced they will not be in the South Boston Saint Patrick’s Day Parade this year because a gay organization will, for the first time ever, be marching. The Immaculate Heart of Mary School pulled out of the parade after a quarter-century of participating, because a group of gay military veterans was just allowed to march under the banner of MassEquality, a Massachusetts LGBT organization.
“We must stand firm with the Church which states in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope John Paul II, that ‘homosexual acts are acts of grave depravity’ and ‘are intrinsically disordered…Under no circumstances can they be approved,’†Br. Thomas Dalton, principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, said in a statement.
Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, was succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned a year ago. His successor, Pope Francis I, has famously said of gay people, “Who am I to judge?”
Brother Dalton says his school “does not condone and will not appear to condone the homosexual lifestyle.” He neglected to explain just exactly what “the homosexual lifestyle” is, and how the men and women who bravely served our nation’s military are “intrinsically disordered.”
The school’s band director noted in the statement that this year “would have been the band’s 25th time in the parade; you can imagine the disappointment of the students on not going and yet they are happy to stand up for their Faith.”
None of the students were quoted in the school’s press release, which was titled, “No Blessing for Boston.”
The gay vets, by the way, will not be allowed “to wear clothing or hold signs that refer to sexual orientation,” according to WBUR.
The students, however, were they to reconsider, could, however, wear clothing and hold signs that refer to sexual orientation, religion, or anything else.
But, perhaps this is just heir way of expressing their religious liberty.
Image via St. Benedict