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Two Worcester Catholic schools say they won’t implement bishop’s new gender policy

August 18, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
The Ryken Center at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts / John Phelan|Wikipedia|CC BY-SA 3.0

Boston, Mass., Aug 18, 2023 / 13:36 pm (CNA).

Members of religious orders affiliated with two Catholic high schools in Massachusetts have told Worcester Bishop Robert McManus that they will not be implementing the diocese’s new policy concerning gender ideology and sexual confusion because, they said, policies are already in place.

Xaverian Brother Daniel Skala, representing St. John’s High School, and Sister Patty Chappell of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, representing Notre Dame Academy, wrote a joint letter to McManus Aug. 11 saying that the boards of trustees of their religious orders decided to forgo implementing the bishop’s policy, according to the Patch.

The new diocesan policy was approved in June and “sent to all Catholic schools to incorporate into school handbooks beginning this fall,” an Aug. 15 statement from the diocese said. 

“Students may not advocate, celebrate, or express same-sex attraction in such a way as to cause confusion or distraction in the context of Catholic school classes, activities, or events,” the guidance says.

The policy also addresses gender dysphoria and states that students should be treated in accordance with their biological sex.

“School practice shall consider the gender of all students as being consistent with their biological sex, including, but not limited to, the following: participation in school athletics; school-sponsored dances; dress and uniform policies; the use of changing facilities, showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms (with rare exceptions only on a limited, case-by-case basis, to be determined by the principal of the school); titles, names, and pronouns; and official school documents,” reads the memo sent by the bishop.

In their letter to McManus, the two religious said the schools would not adopt the bishop’s guidance but would instead continue to follow “established practices.”

“We feel confident that our schools are responding to the issues raised in your memo in a manner that respects the dignity of all persons, aligns to the mission and charism of our sponsoring orders, and protects and affirms our identity as Catholic schools,” the letter said.

“We support our respective boards’ recent determination to uphold their established practices, guided by the principles of our Church and religious orders, instead of incorporating the [new policies] into their handbooks,” the letter said.

CNA reached out to both orders inquiring about the policies that are already in place. 

Susan Dennin, a spokeswoman for the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur U.S. East-West Province, told CNA Friday that Notre Dame Academy has “consistently followed both the legal guidance and recommendations of the National Catholic Educational Association that schools should not have a policy on transgender students.”

“NDA Worcester has approached these sensitive and complex circumstances in a pastoral manner that respects the dignity of all persons while also affirming the school’s Catholic identity,” she said. 

“While supporting students and families, NDA Worcester maintains communication with province leadership in discerning mission appropriate responses to any unique family or student inquiries,” Dennin said. 

CNA contacted the National Catholic Educational Association inquiring about any guidance it has given that schools should not have a policy on transgender students, but did not get a response by time of publication.

On the organization’s website there is a reference sheet which offers schools resources regarding Catholic social teaching and gender identity.

A spokesman for the Xaverian Brothers did not respond.

Ray Delisle, a spokesperson for the Worcester Diocese, said Friday: “First, I must make note that Bishop McManus has been away on the regional bishops’ retreat this week and I believe their letter arrived early this week.”

“That being said, policies take time to be implemented. Even though it was sent to all 21 schools in our diocese, including diocesan, parochial, and private Catholic schools, some schools may have had a policy in place,” he added.

“We will have to wait and see how it goes. Given all these factors, there is no response or comment to their letter at this time.”

The Worcester Diocese’s policy refers to Pope Francis’ frequent statements about the dangers of “gender ideology” and counsels schools to accompany those suffering from confusion related to their sexuality. 

The policy says that “Pope Francis has repeatedly stressed the importance of a proper understanding of our sexuality, warning of the challenge posed by ‘the various forms of an ideology of gender that denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences.’”

“We must not demean or deny the sincerity and struggle of those who experience same-sex attraction or who feel their true gender identity is different from their biological sex. Rather, we seek to accompany them on their journey of life, offering them the light of the Gospel as they try to find their way forward,” the policy says.

Just over a year ago, McManus revoked the Catholic status of a Jesuit-run school in Worcester for defying his order to stop flying flags supporting LGBT pride and the Black Lives Matter movement.

In March Pope Francis called gender ideology “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations.”

McManus is the latest of several other bishops to issue pastoral policies in schools in an attempt to address the issue of gender ideology, which the U.S. bishops in a 2017 ecumenical letter have called harmful to people and societies “by sowing confusion and self-doubt.”

This article has been updated.

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News Briefs

Explore Nebraska’s adoration chapels with a new pilgrimage ‘passport’

August 17, 2023 Catholic News Agency 0
Bishop James Conley leads a eucharistic procession outside Lincoln’s Cathedral of the Risen Christ, one of the passport pilgrimage sites. / Diocese of Lincoln

St. Louis, Mo., Aug 17, 2023 / 14:15 pm (CNA).

A new initiative from the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, aims to bring pilgrims to every corner of the state to visit its many adoration chapels. 

Dubbed the “Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage,” the diocesan initiative is modeled after the Nebraska Passport, a project of the Nebraska Tourism Commission designed to encourage exploration of the state’s various attractions. 

“The Nebraska Passport Program has been a very popular way to promote Nebraska and its beautiful sites. It is my hope and prayer that our diocesan Eucharistic Passport Pilgrimage will offer an opportunity for thousands of Nebraskans to make a spiritual pilgrimage across our state,” Bishop James Conley wrote in a recent column announcing the new initiative.

“I pray that this might be an occasion of true encounter with our eucharistic Lord, hidden in the Blessed Sacrament and an opportunity for true renewal and revival for our eucharistic Lord. And, like the Nebraska Passport Program, [that] we might be inspired to travel across our beautiful state in a spirit of prayer and gratitude.”

The cover of the Diocese of Lincoln's Eucharistic Pilgrimage Passport. Diocese of Lincoln
The cover of the Diocese of Lincoln’s Eucharistic Pilgrimage Passport. Diocese of Lincoln

The Lincoln Diocese encompasses a large and mostly rural swath of southern Nebraska that stretches from the Missouri River in the east to the border with Colorado. Catholics make up about 94,000 of the diocese’s population of 621,000. The diocese spans nearly 25,000 square miles of territory and 134 total parishes, according to the diocese. 

Conley told CNA that in creating the new passport program, he was inspired by his own love of pilgrimages. Over the years, Conley has walked portions of the Camino de Santiago on three different occasions and this summer walked St. Cuthbert’s Way, a Catholic pilgrimage in northern England near the Scottish border. Conley has been open in recent years about the ways that pilgrimages have helped him greatly with his spiritual, emotional, and mental health.

The idea for the passport, Conley said, is to lead pilgrims to 17 designated eucharistic adoration chapels in Nebraska and offer the pilgrims a stamp on their passport to prove that they went there. Conley said they plan to offer a prize of some sort for any pilgrims who visit all 17 locations (though what exactly the prize will be has yet to be determined).

Conley said he hopes pilgrims will visit the adoration chapels and pray specifically for their intentions as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative by the U.S. bishops that aims to inspire, educate, and unite the faithful in a more intimate relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. 

Conley said central to the passport project is sharing the importance of visiting and adoring Christ in person. 

“We live in such a digitized virtual world, especially since the pandemic years … Anytime we can get away from our screens and out into God’s beautiful creation, whether it’s on a walking pilgrimage, or up in the mountains, or on the beach, or any time we have contact with the really ‘real,’ it’s a remedy for this world, which is becoming more and more in our head,” the bishop said. 

Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln adores Christ in the Eucharist. Diocese of Lincoln
Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln adores Christ in the Eucharist. Diocese of Lincoln

Father Christopher Eckrich, diocesan master of ceremonies and Conley’s priest secretary, told CNA that they hope to provide pilgrims with a true sense of “adventure” with the passport program. 

“[Visiting all 17 sites] might be harder than people think,” Eckrich said via email. 

“People will have to be strategic as adoration is not offered every day in some places. So, people will only be able to get their stamps on certain days — which will add to the adventure! It’s really about creating a pilgrimage environment for people to discover the beautiful adoration chapels, and churches in our diocese, and go visit places they never would have visited before. And the arduousness adds to the excitement upon its completion.”

The passports debuted after Masses the weekend of Aug. 12-13 throughout the Diocese of Lincoln. The passports include informational literature about the 17 designated sites and a map indicating the locations. 

The passports will remain available for anyone to pick up in the back of churches across the Lincoln Diocese for the next year, Eckrich said. (If a parish runs out, it can request more from the chancery, he said.)

Shannon Mullen contributed to this story. 

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