Child Barred from Mass. Catholic School Due to Lesbian Moms

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Child Expelled from Mass. Catholic School Due to Lesbian Moms

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Third grader cannot enter Saint Paul's Elementary school due to lesbian parents 

For the second time in 3 months, a Catholic School in Massachusetts has rejected an elementary school child because his parents are gay. 

The principal and priest said that the parents’ relationship was in “discord” with Church teachings and that teachers wouldn’t be able to answer the children's questions.  

The boy’s adoptive mother said the couple wanted to enroll their son for third grade at St. Paul’s Elementary School so he would get Christian teaching as well as a good education.   The child's birth mother is a life long Catholic, and the family attends church often,  so they wanted to honor that.  She also said said both filled out their names as parents on the application forms and were not attempting to hide the nature of their relationship.  They paid the enrollment deposit and got uniform order forms.

It's at least the second time in recent months that students have not been allowed to attend a U.S. Catholic school because of their parents' sexual orientation.  A prior incident occurred in the state of Colorado.  

The Mass.  adoptive mother said she learned her son's acceptance was rescinded during a conference call Monday with Principal Cynthia Duggan and the parish priest, the Rev. James Rafferty.

Rafferty said her relationship "was in discord with the teachings of the Catholic Church," which holds marriage is only between a man and woman.  

She said Duggan told her teachers wouldn't be prepared to answer questions her son might have due to the fact that the school's teachings on married life would be discordant with what he saw in his own home.  

Rafferty and Duggan did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for the Boston Archdiocese,  Terrence Donolin,  said it learned about the school's decision late Tuesday and that the archdiocese is now in "consultation with the pastor and principal to gather more information."

Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage, in 2004, with strong opposition from the Catholic Church.  The woman, who is not married to her partner, said she didn't expect the church to approve of her relationship but didn't think it should affect her son's education.

A similar case in Boulder, CO

The case mirrors a situation in Boulder, Colo., in which the Sacred Heart of Jesus school said two children of lesbian parents could not re-enroll because of their parents' sexual orientation being in conflict with Church teachings.  The Denver Archdiocese posted a statement in support of the school's decision.

Gay advocacy groups protested with full page newspaper ads, the Associated Press reports.