Catholic high schools and LGBTQ+ students?

[Anonymous]

OP, you're going to have to decide if it's ultimately harmful to endorse a school that according to Church doctrine has concluded that homosexual acts are a sin, will not endorse openly gay clergy or gay marriage, and see transgendered teens as "disordered." While there may be individuals within these schools and programs that accept and embrace non-binary students, these schools as official policy cannot openly support such students or relationships. Compare this to an Episcopal school that as a matter of *policy* hires LGBTQ+ faculty, supports gay marriages and their families, and accepts non-binary students for who they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a Catholic Jesuit high school, Pius, it had all the affinity clubs and everyone got along fine. Its mantra was to approach others with compassion, grace and seek understanding and commonality of mankind.
It also had fantastic science classes.

I don’t know if Op is serious or a troll or just trying to get people to slam up their negative mass media Catholic stereotypes. Most people in this country didn’t even take a Great Religions class in high school or college.

Because there are Catholic schools that fire LGBTQ+ Teachers and are not accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals. I am sure that there are Conservative Catholic Churches in our area who fall into this category, I know Catholic Churches in Northern Virginia that dropped their association with BSA when BSA changed it's policy on homosexuality. It is a legitimate question.

Heck, my Dad's Catholic High School just dropped it's affiliation with the Church when the school fired a Teacher for being Gay. The board said no, and rehired the Teacher. The Order that was connected to the school said they could not be affiliated with the school if there were Gay Teachers, the school said ok and they parted ways.

So yeah, it is a legit question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a Catholic Jesuit high school, Pius, it had all the affinity clubs and everyone got along fine. Its mantra was to approach others with compassion, grace and seek understanding and commonality of mankind.
It also had fantastic science classes.

I don’t know if Op is serious or a troll or just trying to get people to slam up their negative mass media Catholic stereotypes. Most people in this country didn’t even take a Great Religions class in high school or college.

OP here: I am not a troll. I am very serious about considering these schools, but I have attended individuals Catholic Church whose focus was social justice oriented and have all sorts of people in the ranks. I’ve also attended (one time) a church that denigrate people from the pulpit. The Catholic Church is not monolithic, and assuming the culture is open, acceptance is valued, bullying is not tolerated, etc., we really like what Catholic schools have to offer re: religious education, community, class size, and sports etc. I’ve seen many examples in practice where the Church members (and in this case I’m asking about students, faculty, parents) are far more open in thought/opinions/values/practice that what strict Church doctrine says. That’s what I’m trying to tease out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re thinking about applying to some of the Catholic high schools in NOVA (maybe DC?) next year? We are equidistant between DJO and BI. We aren’t Catholic, but we were and left in the church part because of the Church’s stance on acceptance of LGBTQ+ members. We are still practicing Christians and want the sense of community, but we’re curious about attitudes/treatment/acceptance of LBGTQ+ kids by a) students b) teachers/admin. I’d love to hear from parents whose kids go there now.

Stop. You said yourself your child is not a gay.

You are choosing an education for your child. Pick the school that has the best academics.

I attend Catholic school in this area growing up. I didn't agree with 99% of the stance of the Catholic church on almost issues. My parents didn't care that I didn't agree with it and told me I was there to get a good education and I was free to believe whatever I wanted. Kids didn't walk around talking about these issues and in general were far more tolerant and open then the admin, the teachers and the church.

[Anonymous]

My kid is at ST Johns. She has many friends there who are LGBTQ+, most seem to be out, some are out to friends but not to family.

The KIDS themselves seem to be fairly typical DC-type accepting types (though she says some of the jock-y guys are more homophobic). She has many friends in arts/theater and there are plenty of kids with different pronouns or experimenting one way or another.

That said, she had two experiences this year that gave me pause. (I'm trying to type very broadly and non specifically to avoid any potential of outing anyone):

1. Friend came out to mother, who was upset but loving. Friend was afraid to come out to father. Started self harming due to stress. Is now out to family and receiving help (for the self harming).

2. Friend 2 had phone searched by family. Family found some texts that indicated friend2 was exploring their sexuality. Family considering pulling friend2 out of school because it is "too liberal" and accepting of Friend2s explorations. (ie, friend2s friend group was accepting and supportive).

So, yeah, we keep the lines of communication very open with our kids and are very open and supportive. I actually sort of like that my kid is exposed to broader viewpoints with which we disagree - while I disagree with anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment strongly, it exists and I think it's good for my kids to know not everyone is as open and progressive (as their DC public schools were, for example). And at the same time, my kid has several teachers who display LGBTQ+ pride and support posters and signs. So overall, we're happy with the school - I can say it's been a good choice for our kid.

[Anonymous]

Gonzaga is a welcoming place, according to my straight DS and I can probably confirm based on the rainbow ally stickers in nearly every classroom. I feel the same way you do about the churches teachings and will likely send our daughters to O’Connell. It’s the right fit for many other reasons. And our family talks a lot about this topic, so they know our values. Faith can be complicated. It’s ok to take the education and the critical thinking that comes with figuring out some of the problematic parts. And navigating people who feel differently! All good life lessons.

[Anonymous]

There are LGBTQ students at every Catholic high school. No big deal according to my kids.

[Anonymous]

Most independent Catholic schools have accepting students and teachers, there is a higher proportion of non-accepting people than other schools. Some of the parents at Visi and Gonzaga are very conservative and try to pressure admin from time to time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re thinking about applying to some of the Catholic high schools in NOVA (maybe DC?) next year? We are equidistant between DJO and BI. We aren’t Catholic, but we were and left in the church part because of the Church’s stance on acceptance of LGBTQ+ members. We are still practicing Christians and want the sense of community, but we’re curious about attitudes/treatment/acceptance of LBGTQ+ kids by a) students b) teachers/admin. I’d love to hear from parents whose kids go there now.

Stop. You said yourself your child is not a gay.

You are choosing an education for your child. Pick the school that has the best academics.

I attend Catholic school in this area growing up. I didn't agree with 99% of the stance of the Catholic church on almost issues. My parents didn't care that I didn't agree with it and told me I was there to get a good education and I was free to believe whatever I wanted. Kids didn't walk around talking about these issues and in general were far more tolerant and open then the admin, the teachers and the church.

Sign us up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are LGBTQ students at every Catholic high school. No big deal according to my kids.

Same.
Stop the drama

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re thinking about applying to some of the Catholic high schools in NOVA (maybe DC?) next year? We are equidistant between DJO and BI. We aren’t Catholic, but we were and left in the church part because of the Church’s stance on acceptance of LGBTQ+ members. We are still practicing Christians and want the sense of community, but we’re curious about attitudes/treatment/acceptance of LBGTQ+ kids by a) students b) teachers/admin. I’d love to hear from parents whose kids go there now.

Stop. You said yourself your child is not a gay.

You are choosing an education for your child. Pick the school that has the best academics.

I attend Catholic school in this area growing up. I didn't agree with 99% of the stance of the Catholic church on almost issues. My parents didn't care that I didn't agree with it and told me I was there to get a good education and I was free to believe whatever I wanted. Kids didn't walk around talking about these issues and in general were far more tolerant and open then the admin, the teachers and the church.

Yes, stop making this a thing. Seemingly you are attempting to provoke.

[Anonymous]

^^ above post was meant to be directed to the OP. Just find a spot where you feel education is good. The schools and kids are tolerant. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d really like to hear from parents of kids Catholic High schools in this area. I graduated from a Catholic high school and so curious what the culture is like these days and in this area. The high school in my predominantly very conservative part of the country I am from was not at all open to any sort of diversity of thought/lifestyle though I know many students who came out in college and after. It must have been a miserable existence.

My son attended Gonzaga and there were several gay students he knew (several years ago). They were out and accepted. Many were in the theater program, which is excellent.

+1

[Anonymous]

My gay sister worked at BI. She was in the closet the whole time, because she would have been fired, otherwise. Another woman was denied a promotion because they suspected, correctly, that she was gay. I would never send a child to a school where the staff has to sign a form every year saying they are not gay. I would not support discrimination like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gonzaga is a welcoming place, according to my straight DS and I can probably confirm based on the rainbow ally stickers in nearly every classroom. I feel the same way you do about the churches teachings and will likely send our daughters to O’Connell. It’s the right fit for many other reasons. And our family talks a lot about this topic, so they know our values. Faith can be complicated. It’s ok to take the education and the critical thinking that comes with figuring out some of the problematic parts. And navigating people who feel differently! All good life lessons.

Does Gonzaga really have rainbow ally flags in every classroom?