The president of The Cardinal Newman Society – the premier organization that promotes and defends Catholic education – says Catholic schools should implement “human sexuality policies” that serve to protect the faith, not to conform to the federal government’s social engineering motives.
“The Obama administration can change federal policy but not Catholic teaching, which rejects the separation of ‘gender’ from biological sex,” said Patrick J. Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society, in a statement released Friday in response to the “guidance” issued by the Obama administration that forces schools – under threat of loss of federal funding – to “abandon safe, responsible policies according to students’ biological sex.”
The directive intends to remove single-sex rest rooms, single-sex locker rooms, and sexual privacy from nearly 55 million American students in 100,000 K-12 public schools to supposedly meet the needs of a very small number of children apparently suffering from gender dysphoria.
Reilly asserts that so-called “gender ideology” is a “falsehood”:
This was reaffirmed by Pope Francis, who laments the falsehood of ‘gender ideology’: ‘It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality. Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator.’
“Therefore, nothing changes today for Catholic schools,” Reilly continues. “They must continue to provide compassionate care and support for all students struggling with gender identity confusion, and they must hold fast to safe, responsible policies according to students’ biological sex.”
According to Reilly, not many Catholic schools are affected by Title IX regulations, which are a portion of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 and prohibit, in part, discrimination based upon sex. Instead of “enforcing” the law as written, the Obama administration is “interpreting” the law to include gender identity – which is a different concept.
Reilly states:
Title IX regulations don’t affect many Catholic schools. Those that participate in certain Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) programs aren’t under Title IX restrictions. And Title IX allows a religious exemption, so schools and colleges that do get federal support should work with legal counsel, such as Alliance Defending Freedom, to apply for such exemptions right away. The greater danger to Catholic schools is posed by the employment discrimination rules under Title VII, which is what the Obama administration is using against North Carolina.
“Regardless of state and federal attempts at social engineering, we urge Catholic schools to implement human sexuality policies that will protect their Catholic identity and help lead students to the truth in Christ,” he adds.
The Obama administration, however, is defending its directive that school bathrooms no longer be single-sex in an alleged effort to bring about more “dignity” to the small number of gender confused students across the country.
“Every student should have access to facilities that everybody else has access to,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said, reports Breitbart News. “No one should be discriminated against because of who they are.”
Earnest added that schools across the country would “welcome this guidance and will implement it.”
Nevertheless, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will fight the administration’s directive:
I announced today that Texas is fighting this. Obama can't rewrite the Civil Rights Act. He's not a King. #tcot https://t.co/vDgfQPZXjR
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 13, 2016
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