Controversy
Bishops and laity oppose 'gay-positive' curricula (from News in Brief)
By Catholic Insight staff

Hardcopy Issue Date: December, 2006
Online Publication Date: Jan 1, 2007, 23:53

          Vancouver—Canadian bishops are warning against a deal struck between the B.C. provincial government and a pair of ‘married’ gay activists to make public school course content more friendly to the ‘queer perspective.’ Peter and Murray Corren, who represent Gay and Lesbian Educators of B.C., had alleged systemic sexual discrimination in the British Columbia education system, in a 1999 complaint which reached the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal in 2005. In May 2006, the pair agreed to drop their case, after accepting a negotiated settlement in which the province guaranteed the couple a role in high school curricula changes (see “Same-sex ‘marriage’ roundup,” C.I. Nov. 2006, p. 25).

Under the settlement, the province signed a contract with the activists making them consultants. The education ministry will continue to allow public school parents to withdraw from a few health courses—but will no longer allow parents to withdraw children from classes including sensitive material. The ministry is obliged to review every course from kindergarten to Grade 12 within five years, using internal guidelines drafted with help from the Correns (Western Standard, Oct. 23, 2006). Murray Corren wants the curricula of all grades to promote “queer history and historical figures, the presence of positive queer role models—past and present—the contributions made by queers to various epochs, societies and legal issues relating to [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered] people, same-sex marriage and adoption” (LifeSiteNews.com, Sept. 13, 2006).

A new optional Grade 12 Social Justice course will include content on sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender, and animal rights/ ‘specieism;’ the course will teach that homosexuality is a positive choice. While the Correns and other representatives of various interest groups were invited to a meeting to discuss the Grade 12 course, so far parents themselves have been excluded from the process. Even children who are homeschooled or learn online will have the required content (LifeSiteNews.com, Sept. 7, 2006; “Letters to the Editor,” Vancouver Province, Sept. 7 and 13, 2006; Vanc. Sun, Sept. 25, 2006; B.C. Cath., Oct. 9, 2006). While most parents will have no real option to opt out of their children’s participation in the classes, it is anticipated that the curriculum changes will add to the rise in independent school enrolment, which now stands at over 10 percent (B.C. does not have a publicly funded Catholic school system); for the time being, independent schools will not be forced to make the changes (Western Standard, Oct. 23, 2006).

Under the agreement, the Correns are allowed to select any curriculum for any grade, which “they consider should be given priority in light of sexual orientation issues.” Writing in the B.C. Catholic, Vancouver Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, said of the deal: “This would be clearly contrary to the fundamental and non-negotiable right of parents to raise their family and educate their children. The right of parents to determine how their children receive instruction on matters of faith and morals must be the primary consideration” (Sept. 4, 2006). His comments were immediately condemned by Peter Corren as a “homophobic diatribe against Canadian society” (CCRL Press Release, Sept. 7, 2006).

Interviewed by LifeSiteNews.com, Calgary Bishop Fred Henry termed the curriculum alteration “a specialized ideological agenda that is being rammed down our throats.” He considers the forced changes to be part of the fallout from same-sex ‘marriage’” (Oct. 26, 2006).

A parent lobby group called Concerned Parents of B.C. has launched a letter-writing campaign opposing the curriculum changes (B.C. Cath., Oct. 9, 2006).

Meanwhile, an emerging candidate for persecution by the B.C. Tribunal may be online courses from a Christian (Evangelical) school, legally available as a portion of the credits for public high school students. The B.C. Teachers Federation, which originally supported the online teaching legislation, now ostensibly opposes the opportunity for public school students to be exposed to the beliefs of any particular religion. However, when he visited Vancouver recently, some public schools organized field trips for students to see the Dalai Lama talk about peace (www.CanadianChristianity.com, Sept. 14, 2006).