BOULDER, Colo.—The lesbian parents of two young children barred from re-enrolling at a Roman Catholic school because of the parents’ sexual orientation say they won’t give up their faith, despite the initial hurt and anger they felt over the decision.
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput has said the decision by the Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Boulder conforms with church teachings.
On Monday, a written statement by the couple was read at a community forum hosted by Boulder Pride.
“We have chosen to move forward with our lives, not with hearts filled with hate and bitterness, but with hope that in part due to this controversy there might be some positive changes in the hearts and minds of others,” said the parents, who asked that their names not be used.
The couple said they don’t expect the Sacred Heart parish school to modify its teachings but also said it is wrong to punish children for who their parents are.
“We do not think that this reflects what Jesus would have done,” they said.
Chaput has said parents of Catholic school students are expected to agree with church beliefs, including those forbidding sex between anyone other than married, heterosexual couples.
He acknowledged that Catholic schools have accepted students from other faiths and from single-parent families, but he said their parents are expected to support the school’s Catholic mission.
The lesbian couple said they enrolled their children at the school because they regularly attended Sacred Heart and baptized their children there. They said the school’s decision shocked them because their children had attended Sacred Heart’s preschool for three years, and the couple was open about their sexual orientation.
In a recent sermon posted on his blog, the Rev. William Breslin said the decision to tell the parents their children could not re-enroll was the most difficult of his life. He said he was bound to take a stand for church teaching.
He said church officials also wanted to avoid a situation in which the children were taught in school that their parents’ relationship was wrong.
Parents of some other students said they were pushing to have the pope review the school’s decision.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
