Religion: Canadian Catholic Schools Now Viewed As Too Liberal – By Some
After facing efforts by Governor Rick Perry (R-TX), the American Family Association (AFA), and other religious right groups, the U.S. LGBT community is bracing for the next wave of heightened attacks running up to the current election. With that being said, it is interesting to see what is happening north of the border in Canada.
This week, the Canadian Egyptian Congress issued a call urging parents to reject the direction of a Coptic Orthodox priest. The Catholic school system in Canada is facing a pull towards inclusion of homosexuality and religious difference. The priest called on Canadian parents to pull almost 4,000 children out of the Catholic school system if it moved towards a more open, progressive and inclusive way of being.
The Equity and Inclusive Education policy is to be voted on at the end of this month, and is structured in a way that would help to create a softer and more open-minded policy on some strictures of Catholic doctrine so that they meet more closely with provincial standards, from whom they receive money.
“The kids have friends, they have a place to go, and they would lose that,†Nazeer Bishay, President of the Canadian Egyptian Congress, said Sunday. “And besides, we don’t have enough schools for all of them. So we will lobby, we will pressure the board, we will keep up the fight. But we do not recommend withdrawal.â€
Mr. Bishay is a prominent member in his social and religious community. When he went forward and proclaimed publicly that Father Jeremiah Attaalla spoke out of turn when he suggested that the board’s proposed equity policy would result in Coptic Orthodox students being pulled from class in September, the Egyptian Congress president sent out an email to hundreds of families Sunday, urging them to maintain their children’s enrolment in the Catholic system.
Attaalla’s foundation is from an article in the policy where the Catholic School Board will commit to providing “a learning and working environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity regardless of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.â€
The Coptic Orthodox community has often sent their children to Catholic schools. While they are not of the Catholic faith they do hold to the same liturgies. They however believe that the Pope is human, not a divine person.
Prominent members of his congregation have suggested that Father Attaalla’s reaction to potential anti-homophobia policies within the school system were foolhardy and overblown.
“I have no concern about it at all,†said one father. “You have to be realistic now — it’s a fact of life. I’d just be concerned about teaching these things at an age when they’re able to understand it.â€
Father Attaalla has gone as far as state that he would start his own school. It would be the first private Coptic Orthodox School in Canada that would hold to such strict homophobic teachings.
Were it possible to remove 4,000 children, as Attaalla has threatened, it would be a total loss of almost $40 million dollars per year to the Catholic School system. With a budget of almost $1 billion and more than 90,000 students, it would definitely be able to survive with the removal of the students however it would be one of the worst precedents in Canadian history.
Homosexuality being taught and the creation of gay-straight alliances are issues most often brought up by parents.
“Our policies are always fluid so they’re always open for change, modification and clarification,†said one school board trustee, adding that the proposed equity policy is “to ensure that all students are treated fairly.â€
While Attaalla appeared focused on the potential softening of the Catholic stance that homosexuality is against God’s will, Bishay suggested a more pressing issue in the Catholic system.
With the Toronto District School Board recently approving formal Friday prayer services for Muslim students in a public school, the fear among the Coptic Orthodox community is that the Catholic system’s proposed Equity policy will introduce the same in Catholic schools.
“If you walk through the doors of a Catholic school, respect their rules. If you don’t like the religion, don’t go,†Bishay said. He noted that an array of non-Catholics — Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and many others — were now represented in the Catholic system, none of them demanding leave from class to observe their faith.
In the past 20 years, requirements for admission to Catholic schools in Toronto have changed. Once, students had to be Catholic to be admitted. Now, admission is open to all religions, in accordance with the province’s anti-discrimination policies.
Let’s hope that we can actually see the continuation of an openness within the Catholic school system leading to a more inclusive religion as a whole!
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Growing up in Northern Ontario as a Jehovah’s Witness, Michael Talon experienced firsthand the struggle for equality. Now living in the U.S. with his partner, they work with advocates for federal equality, including immigration. Working side by side, Michael and his partner Brad, head of Luna Media Group, help to deliver messages for equality to the nation.
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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”
“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.
Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.
“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).
The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.
A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.
“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.
“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”
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Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”
Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”
In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”
Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”
“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”
The original video is here.
See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.
Caution: the video is disturbing.
Ole Miss taking care of business. pic.twitter.com/JiL9hs2pHz
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 3, 2024
READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.
While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.
But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.
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“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”
The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
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NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.
Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.
“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”
Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.
“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”
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“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.
“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”
One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.
But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”
Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”
Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.
“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.
“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”
Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.
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Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds
Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
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