By James Finn | BOSTON – Racism and homophobia often walk hand in hand as a prominent Catholic bishop near Boston just demonstrated. In trying to strong-arm a Catholic school he has no authority over, he is teaching racist, homophobic values to children, identifying those values as Catholic, and elevating hatred above love and acceptance.
Jesuit Nativity School flies LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matters flags despite threats
The Catholic women and men who run the school, which provides a free, academically superior education to underserved children, are standing strong. Refusing to bow to the bishop’s bigotry, the school is setting an inspiring example for children all over the Boston area.
Here’s what’s going on, including some back story on the bishop, who has a recent history of ignoring credible complaints about sexual assault by diocese staff, of personally discriminating against gay people in the real estate market, and making bizarre personal slurs against transgender people.
According to the Boston Globe, Bishop Robert McManus of the Catholic diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts has demanded that the Nativity School — a small, tuition-free, Jesuit middle school serving mostly Black students — stop flying LGBTQ Pride and Black Lives Matters flags or lose the right to call themselves Catholic. Parents and students have expressed outrage, and so far, the school is defying the bishop. The flags, which began to be flown over a year ago at student request, are waving proudly this morning as I write.
McManus appears to be emulating the bullying tactics of Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, who declared in 2019 that independant Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School was not a Catholic school after Brebeuf defied his order to fire a gay staff member. The Vatican later suspended Thompson’s ruling indicating it appeared doubtful he had acted within his authority, but the matter remains unresolved. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis continues to exclude Brebeuf athletes from league and tournament play, sending students a terrible message:
Merely being exposed to a gay teacher makes you unworthy to associate with us.
Back in Worcester on April 3, McManus said Nativity’s flags contradict the Catholic Church’s teachings on gay marriage, respect for law enforcement, and obedience to civil authority. “As the Bishop of this diocese, I must teach that it is imperative that a Catholic School use imagery and symbols which are reflective of that school’s values and principles.”
Nativity school officials say their moral values are Catholic, despite ultra-conservatives fighting for bigotry
The Catholics who run the Nativity Middle School in Worcester, which is not part of the Worcester diocese, disagree profoundly that their Pride and BLM flags contradict Catholic values. They say so plainly in a statement, which to my eyes appears far more grounded in decency and morality than the bishop’s:
The Black Lives Matter and Pride flags fly below the American flag at our school to remind our young men, their families, and Worcester Nativity staff that all are welcome here and they are valued and safe in this place.
The ultra-conservative Catholic Action League of Massachusetts has the bishop’s back, hardly shocking given they fought hard for years to stop LGBTQ people from participating in Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Action League Executive director C.J. Doyle tried to frame the bishop’s bullying as respect for diversity:
We talk about tolerance and respect for diversity. Well, the Catholic community has the right to authentically Catholic schools, and Catholic parents have a right to an authentically Catholic education for their children.
Parents with kids at Nativity cry foul
They want Doyle and McManus to know most of them ARE Catholic, that Pride and BLM flags teach decency and good moral values they want their children to learn as part of their Catholic education. They note that their own children pushed for the school to raise the flags, and that ultimately school staff and parents agreed doing so reinforces important Catholic moral teachings.
Parent Jamie Gbale had this to say about the bishop’s threat:
I’m not happy about that. We all have different backgrounds. It’s 2022, get over it. I want [my son] to be in an environment that accepts his background. And then the Gay Pride thing, I think everyone should be kind and let people be who they are.
Parent Andrea Lusk added, “I think the bishop is wrong. I think the flags stand for all of the kids in the school.”
One unnamed student agreed, saying, “Where does the Bible say anything about not being able to have a Black Lives Matters flag?” Her incredulous look spoke volumes.
I’d like to expand on her question: Where does the Bible teach people they must trust the police? If you’re a member of a marginalized minority traditionally brutalized by police, how does protest stand in opposition to Catholic values? Doesn’t the Catholic Church sometimes claim to stand for the downtrodden and oppressed? Does that only count when “respect for police” isn’t infringed?
I’m reminded that McManus’s boss, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, proclaimed eloquently on June 5, 2020 that Catholic people and institutions have a moral obligation, grounded in the Gospel, to fight against individual and systemic racism, and to support the Black Lives Matter movement:
The reality of racism in our society and the moral imperative of racial equality and justice must be incorporated in our schools, our teaching and our preaching… Our work will not be done until African American men, women and children are treated equally in every aspect of life in the United States.
McManus has a history of acting in ways that appear to defy Christian teachings about love and human decency
Right now, his Worcester diocese is embroiled in scandal over allegations that the longtime director of its food pantry sexually preyed on vulnerable women, with at least three complaints being lodged before he was finally placed on paid leave pending investigation. Most of the scandal is grounded in credible accusations that diocese officials knew, at least to some extent, that diocese staff were sexually abusing women, but they dragged their feet taking action to stop the abuse.
The group Living in Freedom Together, which provides services to people leaving the sex trade, said in a statement that it has been “common knowledge” that diocese food pantry staff, including the director, were sexually abusing women for years, but that the diocese ignored multiple complaints over a long timespan.
Are those Bishop McManus’s Catholic values in action?
The bishop has been the frequent target of accusations of homophobia, of personal dislike of and discrimination against gay people. He even stopped the sale of a house the diocese owned when he found out the prospective buyers were a gay couple.
Are those Bishop McManus’s Catholic values in action?
The bishop applauded the Trump administration in 2019 when the Department of Labor proposed a rule allowing federal contractors to fire or refuse to hire LGBTQ people based solely on the employee’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
Are those Bishop McManus’s Catholic values in action?
McManus has publicly issued crude, “bizarre,” deeply personal slurs against transgender people, calling them mentally ill and suggesting that Catholics of good will who don’t agree with his insults are heretics.
Are those Bishop McManus’s Catholic values in action?
Nativity is standing strong, but school kids once again are watching a respected authority figure model terrible values
Bishop McManus joins the governors of Florida, Texas, and conservative states all over the union teaching kids that LGBTQ people are shameful and not fit for discussion in school. Like those leaders, he’s marrying a toxic racist message to his bigotry against LGBTQ people.
His ideas about civil authority and “respect for law enforcement” are curiously antique, hearkening back to an era when the Catholic Church partnered with nation states like Ireland and Canada to abuse vulnerable people in the name of civil authority and even commit atrocities verging on genocide.
I doubt the bishop’s bizarre ideas about subservience to law enforcement have much traction in the modern Church, but his crude anti-LGBTQ beliefs, actions, and statements certainly do.
Christianity and religion in general are supposed to add value to society. Christians claim to promote love and acceptance. Catholics I know personally say they remain in the Church because they believe it can be a force for moral good.
That’s not what’s happening this week. Tiny Nativity is standing strong, but a bullying bishop has a huge microphone to promote racism and homophobia. Children are listening.
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James Finn is a columnist for the LA Blade, a former Air Force intelligence analyst, an alumnus of Queer Nation and Act Up NY, and an “agented” but unpublished novelist. Send questions, comments, and story ideas to [email protected]
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The preceding article was previously published by Prism & Pen– Amplifying LGBTQ voices through the art of storytelling and is republished by permission.
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