Massachusetts Bishop Revokes Catholic Status of Jesuit School Flying LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter Flags
June 21, 2022 | Massachusetts
A bishop has revoked the “Catholic” status of a Jesuit middle school in Worcester, Massachusetts, for defying his order to stop flying flags supporting the LGBTQ “pride” and Black Lives Matter (BLM) movements.
“The Nativity School of Worcester is prohibited from this time forward from identifying itself as a ‘Catholic’ school and may no longer use the title ‘Catholic’ to describe itself,” Bishop Robert McManus of Worcester announced in a decree Thursday.
“Mass, sacraments, and sacramentals are no longer permitted to be celebrated on Nativity School premises or be sponsored by Nativity School in any church building or chapel within the Diocese of Worcester,” the bishop stated.
“The flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church’s stance on these important moral and social issues,” McManus of Worcester explained regarding the decision by the Nativity School to continue flying the controversial flags.
The bishop wrote that the Nativity School, which serves boys in grades 5-8, “claims to be a ‘Catholic’ school affiliated with the Roman Catholic/Jesuit tradition,” but “has permitted the flying of ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Gay Pride’ flags in front of the school for a period of time.”
He added it is his “sacred duty and inherent responsibility” to ensure schools designated as “Catholic” act in accord with Catholic teachings, and to act when a school “disregards my legitimate authority as the guardian and overseer of Catholic education in the Diocese of Worcester.”
On May 5, the bishop released an “open letter” to the diocesan community regarding the issue of “Why Symbols Matter” as it pertained to the Nativity School’s decision to continue flying the LGBTQ and BLM flags… (Excerpt from The Virginia Star)
