The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can
no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed
the bishop’s order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride
flags.

The Boston Globe reports that Worcester Bishop Robert McManus told
the Nativity School of Worcester in a letter this week that flying
these flags in front of a Catholic school “sends a mixed, confusing
and scandalous message to the public” about the church’s stance on
important moral and social issues.

The school displayed the flags for more than a year before the
bishop objected. The school is a tuition-free private middle school
for boys in central Massachusetts, with about 60 students. Students
had requested that the flags be flown.

The diocese said it was waiting until after the end of the school
year to prohibit the school from identifying itself as a Catholic
school, an order that’s effective immediately. Mass and sacraments
are no longer permitted on school premises.

Thomas McKenney, president of the school, said in a statement
Wednesday that the flags simply state that all are welcome at
Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching.
McKenney added that flying the flags is not an endorsement of any
organization or ideology, “they fly in support of marginalized
people.”

McManus published a letter in May about the flags. He wrote that
symbols that embody specific agendas or ideologies contradict
Catholic social and moral teaching.

He took issue with the Black Lives Matter flag because he said “a
specific movement with a wider agenda has co-opted the phrase,”
promoting an agenda for schools with principles that are “queer
affirming” and “trans affirming,” as well as disrupting the “nuclear
family.” He said Pride flags represent support for gay marriage.

Flags that say “End Racism” or “We are all God’s Children” would be
far more appropriate for a Catholic school, he wrote.

Nativity can appeal the bishop’s decision through the Jesuits who
oversee the school. The city of Worcester raised the Black Lives
Matter and Pride flags to support the school, which vowed to keep
flying the flags to show solidarity with students, their families
and communities, the Globe reports.

June is also Pride Month, which is known as a celebration of the
LGBTQ community that involves parades and events.

https://nypost.com/2022/06/17/worcester-bishop-robert-mcmanus-
punishes-school-over-black-lives-matter-pride-flags/

On Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:19:55 +0100, Governor Swill
<remailer@domain.invalid> wrote:

>The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can
>no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed
>the bishop’s order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride
>flags.

Reaching.
The "Pride" flag is the one that pisses the bishop off.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:19:55 +0100, Governor Swill
<remailer@domain.invalid> wrote:

>The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can
>no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed
>the bishop’s order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride
>flags.
>
>The Boston Globe reports that Worcester Bishop Robert McManus told
>the Nativity School of Worcester in a letter this week that flying
>these flags in front of a Catholic school “sends a mixed, confusing
>and scandalous message to the publicâ€? about the church’s stance on
>important moral and social issues.

Good for him. Jesuits have always been a bunch of uppity bastards.

Klaus Schadenfreude wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Jun 2022 01:19:55 +0100, Governor Swill
> <remailer@domain.invalid> wrote:
>
>> The Diocese of Worcester has told a local middle school that it can
>> no longer identify itself as a Catholic school because it disobeyed
>> the bishop’s order to take down its Black Lives Matter and Pride
>> flags.
>>
>> The Boston Globe reports that Worcester Bishop Robert McManus told
>> the Nativity School of Worcester in a letter this week that flying
>> these flags in front of a Catholic school “sends a mixed, confusing
>> and scandalous message to the public� about the church’s stance on
>> important moral and social issues.
>
>
> Good for him. Jesuits have always been a bunch of uppity bastards.
>

They're also the most interesting sub group in the church. Too bad about all
the baggage, though.