A New Exclusion Act

This morning, I read this article, which explains that the Archdiocese of Denver "defend[ed] its decision not to re-enroll two children in a Catholic school in Boulder next year because their parents are lesbians."

A few things come to mind. First of all, I understand, as a lifelong Catholic, how the Church defines marriage. I think that this definition needs to be expanded to gay and lesbian couples, whom, by the way, I believe should be given the option of legal marriage, and the ability and right to have children, and/or adopt. I do not think that children of gay or lesbian couples turn out "worse" than children of straight couples. And when it comes right down to it, I'd almost rather see children live in a household where there are two parents who are not divorced/remarried (yes, I realize there are reasons to be granted divorce); they should all be so lucky to grow up with parents who remain happily married to each other for the duration. Children can be - and are - taught morals and ethics by a variety of people, most of whom are not going to necessarily subscribe to a specific religious dogma.

Yet what really angered me when I read this article was that it is less the parents who are being punished than the children. While it's true that these children could get a comparably good education elsewhere (or better, since I don't know the specifics of how good this particular Catholic school is, nor do I know anything about Denver schools in general), they're being taught that because of the actions of their parents, they are being discriminated against. And because I'm a teacher, I become outright incensed at the idea of anyone being denied an education for any reason.

I really do think that it is actions like these that give the Catholic Church negative publicity, cause people to leave the Church, and develop negative opinions about Christians in general and, in this case, Catholics specifically. I do not want people thinking that I agree with the Archdiocese's decision, simply because I'm Catholic.