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Nick Smith

Professor Kohlhaas

Christian Values

11 December 2016

Final

Good afternoon my fellow members of the School Board. We are here to discuss a topic

that is very problematic in the community today. Its to no ones surprise that same sex marriage

has been an ongoing and prevalent issue in the Catholic Church, and now Catholic school

systems. Same-sex marriage, along with divorce without annulment and a man and woman

cohabiting without being married is ruining the sanctity of marriage. The Supreme Court ruling

on same-sex marriage has only magnified this issue. According to the Washington Post, 1.8

percent of men self-identify as gayand 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian.1 Why is

the Supreme Court catering to such a small percent of the population? The Supreme Court ruled

in favor of allowing same-sex marriage, but that doesnt change how we as Catholics feel about

the issue of same-sex marriage. We as Catholics are taught and believe that same-sex marriages

are immoral. With other schools, hospitalsetc firing employees who were homosexual makes it

a very heated issue, and a lot of eyes are on school systems just like us around the country. We

need to understand some of the relevant facts and whats at stake with this decision. Currently

15% of our schools students are non-Catholic, theres a great deal of pressure and eyes on us

from the public, and what we do could provide a norm for other Catholic Schools. Whats at

1
Volokh, Eugene. What percentage of the U.S. population is gay, lesbian or bisexual? The Washington Post. July
15, 2014. Accessed December 13, 2016.
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stake is our schools enrollment, our jobs if our ruling goes bad, and Catholics / non-Catholics in

our community. The tradition of the Catholic Church has always been opposed to same-sex

marriage and defines it as completely immoral. What is this going to teach our children if we all

of a sudden change what the Catholic Church has been preaching for a number of years? The

letter proposed by the Bishop is a good way to start in finding a middle ground between

Catholics and non-Catholics on this issue. I firmly believe that we should incorporate the letter

written by the Bishop.

That leads me into another part of this. Breaking down this situation I looked at it in two

different ways: outcomes and rules/deontology. First, I analyzed it from an outcomes or

consequence based perspective. Looking at it from an outcome based approach, was a little of

what I was getting into before. What happens when we change the values that have been at the

foundation for Catholicism since its beginning? How is our school and the community going to

be affected if we continue to allow/dont allow Non-Catholics, or if we send out the letter to the

parents of our Non-Catholic students? In the catholic tradition we rely on tradition to develop our

ethic or moral reasoning / thinking and because of this we should listen to Pope and the Bishops

as they continue to speak out against same-sex marriage. I believe from an outcome based

approach that we should give out the letter and still accept Non-Catholics into the school. Giving

out the letter will allow for parents who are sending their kids to this school to know what their

kids are going to be taught. The letter will let Non-Catholics have the opportunity to withdraw

their children if they are uncomfortable with whats being taught. My first thought initially was,

why would a parent who is married to a same-sex partner send their kid to a Catholic School in

the first place? If they dont feel comfortable sending their kid to our school, then send them

somewhere else. I feel that as Catholics we should not conform to other peoples views and we
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should continue on as we always have, continue the tradition and norms that we have been raised

on. I am not saying to completely forget about the people whose beliefs arent in line with ours

because we are obligated to contribute to the common good. Im just suggesting that sending out

the letter will allow for less controversy between the families of kids that are enrolled and the

school and even more so with the community in general. If we politely tell others that we are not

going to change what we are teaching, the families of students who attend our school will not be

able to say that they didnt know what they were getting themselves into. What will derive from

this, or the consequence if you will, is that the parents will be allowed to schedule a meeting

with the Pastor and the school board to ask questions about/determine if our school is right for

their children. They will be given all of the information that they need to determine if our school

is the right fit.

In catholic moral theology scripture is very important, I believe scripture really does a

sufficient job at developing the rules or deontology based approach. The bible says, 13 If a man

also lie with mankind, as he Leith with a woman, both of them have committed an

abomination.2 We are obligated as Catholics to continue teaching the principles that have

governed us for so long. Parents should be aware and given the option to come in and meet with

the Priest or other members of the school to discuss concerns that they may have. However, we

are obliged to uphold our Catholic roots. Its important that we do not shield ourselves to seeing

the beliefs and values that others have. We talked about in my Catholic Moral Theology seminar,

that worldviews shape moral reasoning because they shape the way a person understands reality.

Its important to know that people with conflicting worldviews can agree on practical ethical

implications. Catholics and non-Catholics must understand that if we were to change the values

2
Leviticus 20:13. NIV
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that we teach, that it will undermine the tradition and body of our faith. It could have tremendous

ethical implications on Catholicism as a whole.

Im not saying that I have all of the answers because clearly I dont. But I feel that the

letter is a good stepping stone in the right direction. Maybe some rewording could be done to

make it seem more sympathetic and understanding of those living in untraditional households.

Its no easy task finding a common ground here especially with the Supreme Court ruling and the

continued growth in support of same-sex marriage from the community. But thats why this is a

board wide meeting and the rest of you can give insight to what I have proposed. I say that

scripture and tradition of the Catholic Church trump the pressure from the community.

Catholicism teaches that same-sex marriage is immoral and I firmly believe that we shouldnt

change what we are teaching in our classrooms. The letter proposed by the Bishop needs a little

redrafting and it could be an effective tool that we could use. I say given that Non-Catholic

parents decide to continue to send their kids to our school that we accept them and continue to

allow non-Catholics to enroll in our school system. Also, that we should work with and give

same-sex marriage parents, and other non-Catholic parents a meeting with the Priest and our

school board, and whatever other resources they need to fully decide if our school is the right fit

for them. We as a school system shouldnt discriminate against anyone, just leave the decision

up to the parents of the kids. Thanks for listening, have a good night everybody.
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Works Cited

Leviticus 20:13. NIV

Volokh, Eugene. What percentage of the U.S. population is gay, lesbian or bisexual? The

Washington Post. July 15, 2014. Accessed December 13, 2016.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/07/15/what-

percentage-of-the-u-s-population-is-gay-lesbian-or-bisexual/?utm_term=.5d1f05836955