- A middle school in Worcester, Massachusetts lost its Catholic standing over a dispute about pride and BLM flags.
- The local bishop said in a decree that the school's refusal to take down the flags forced him to take "canonical action."
- The school's president said they will continue to fly the flags as they promote "inclusion and respect of all people."
A Massachusetts middle school lost its standing as a Catholic institution because the school chose to fly gay pride and Black Lives Matter flags, a bishop said.
"The flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church's stance on these important moral and social issues," Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester said in a decree on Thursday.
It comes after a months-long public dispute over the flags between the church and the school, which is funded independently from the church and serves low-income students.
The Nativity School of Worcester began flying pride and BLM flags in January 2021, the school's president said, following "students' (the majority of whom are people of color) call to express support for making our communities more just and inclusive."
"As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people," president Thomas McKenney in a statement. "Both flags are now widely understood to celebrate the human dignity of our relatives, friends and neighbors who have faced, and continue to face hate and discrimination."
In a statement in May, Bishop McManus said the gay pride flag goesbagainst Catholic teachings because they affirm LGBTQ rights.
"These symbols which embody specific agendas or ideologies contradict Catholic social and moral teaching. Gay pride flags not only represent support for gay marriage, but also promote actively living an LGBTQ+ lifestyle," McManus wrote.
The bishop also took issue with the Black Lives Matter flag because "a specific movement with a wider agenda has co-opted the phrase" and encourages being queer and trans-affirming.
"As a Catholic institution, no symbol can portray better all that we hold dear to us than the holy cross. The meaning of that symbol is contradicted by ideologies which are promoted by the BLM flag and the gay pride flag," McManus wrote in the May statement.
In his decree on Thursday which stripped the school of its Catholic standing, the bishop said: "Despite my insistence that the school administration removed these flags because of the confusion and the properly theological scandal that they do and can promote, they refuse to do so. This leaves me no other option but to take canonical action."
Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic church, has signaled support in recent years for the LGBTQ community. He said in January that parents should support gay children.
President McKenney said in a statement to the community that the school will appeal the bishop's decision and continue to fly both flags.
"Nativity will continue to display the flags in question to give visible witness to the school's solidarity with our students, families, and their communities. Commitment to our mission, grounded and animated by Gospel values, Catholic Social Teaching, and our Jesuit heritage compels us to do so," McKenney said.