Arkansas Catholic schools crack down on LGBT students
The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock has a new plan to keep LGBT issues out of Arkansas’ Catholic schools.
Last week, the Diocese issued a new addendum to the student handbook used by all Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the state with strict new prohibitions on LGBT identities. The guidance outright rejects non-heterosexual orientations and transgender identities and requires that students who express such identities be expelled. Even graduates who later transition will be deadnamed on their diplomas.
It claims to respect those who “struggle” with LGBT identities, but calls them “untrue." It claims that in reality LGBTQ people are struggling with sin. That sin is not to be celebrated, worn as an identity, but to be repented of, like adultery and other sexual sins prohibited by scripture -
1 Corinthians 6:8 Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
We must not demean or deny the sincerity and struggle of those who experience same-sex attraction or who feel their true gender identity is different from their biological sex. Rather, we seek to accompany them on their journey of life, offering them the light of the Gospel as they try to find their way forward.
These truths are not merely faith-based; rather, such realities are also knowable through the use of properly functioning senses and right reason, biology and science itself.
We do not serve anyone’s greater good by falsifying the truth, for it is only the truth that frees us for the full life that God offers to each of us. Thus, when a person experiences same-sex attraction or some form of gender dysphoria, such struggles do not change the biological fact of how God created that person, and it would be untruthful for the Catholic Church or our Catholic schools to pretend otherwise. The policies of our Catholic schools, therefore, must reflect these fundamental truths.
But it also lays out these strict requirements:
Chastity — Since nobody should be having sex, the concept of “chastity” also encompasses “modesty in language, appearance, dress, and behavior,” and “accordingly, romantic or sexual displays of affection are generally not permitted at school.”
But it also lays out these strict requirements:
Chastity — Since nobody should be having sex, the concept of “chastity” also encompasses “modesty in language, appearance, dress, and behavior,” and “accordingly, romantic or sexual displays of affection are generally not permitted at school.”
Sexual Orientation and “Same-Sex Attraction” — Students are not allowed to “advocate, celebrate, or express same-sex attraction” in any way that might cause “confusion or distraction” in school or at school events.
Gender Dysphoria (Transgenderism) — There will be no consideration for trans students whatsoever. “All students are expected to conduct themselves at school in a manner consistent with their biological sex,” including in athletics, dances, dress and uniform policies, all facilities, titles, names, pronouns, and official school documents. Because school documents like diplomas and transcripts are ‘historical documents,” they will always reflect the name of the student when they were enrolled, so even if a person legally changes their name, school documents will still deadname them: “Original Name, n.k.a. New Legal Name.”
For any student who expresses their gender, sexual identity, or sexuality in a way that “should cause confusion or disruption,” that “should mislead others, cause scandal, or have the potential for causing scandal,” it’s a short path to expulsion. The school will talk to the student’s parents, and “if the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of the school, whose primary goal must always be up to uphold Catholic truths and principles,” then the student will be given the opportunity to withdraw from the school before being dismissed.
A brief comment from the Diocese only explained, “The mission of our Catholic schools includes reflecting the fundamental truths as revealed by God in both natural law and divine revelation, and it is the adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church that makes our schools ‘Catholic’ and distinct from other schools.” Taylor has so far refused to reconsider the addendum to the handbook.
For any student who expresses their gender, sexual identity, or sexuality in a way that “should cause confusion or disruption,” that “should mislead others, cause scandal, or have the potential for causing scandal,” it’s a short path to expulsion. The school will talk to the student’s parents, and “if the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of the school, whose primary goal must always be up to uphold Catholic truths and principles,” then the student will be given the opportunity to withdraw from the school before being dismissed.
A brief comment from the Diocese only explained, “The mission of our Catholic schools includes reflecting the fundamental truths as revealed by God in both natural law and divine revelation, and it is the adherence to the teachings of the Catholic Church that makes our schools ‘Catholic’ and distinct from other schools.” Taylor has so far refused to reconsider the addendum to the handbook.
