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Recent Comments

1. We continue our headlong descent into the fictional Orwellian world, the control of our speech, action and thoughts by our Big Brother governments and the Thought Police of our judicial system.
   The ACBC has stated the Catholic position very clearly and succinctly and Anne Burgess' contention that discrimination should be strictly limited ignores the bad example and possible coercion of openly homosexual persons as ancillary staff, especially in our schools.
   Mark Livesey's submission is just as problematic and may force the Catholic Church to remove itself from such services where government money is concerned, notwithstanding the fact that Cathoics have contributed to these monies through taxation.
   The commonality between Catholic morality and secular morality is so tiny these days that conflicts are inevitable. Our Faith must be our strength.

   Posted By: G K

2. We should be careful about what we assert as a 'right'. A 'right to discriminate'. The argument itself is a bad example.
   Have we reduced gospel and Church to this?
   After we defend the right to discriminate against homosexuals and presumably people who have remarried - where are we left? What other criteria do we use to discriminate? What makes one person more Catholic than another?
   Surely we need to look at more than one aspect of a person's life. Do we then discriminate against people who prefer the Latin Mass, people who do not support interfaith dialogue?
   Is every case the same?
   What do we do with baptised Catholics who follow Church teachings in all areas except that they live in a same sex relationship, and have a strong passion for their faith and work in our school or health organisations? Is all else secondary to sex and sexuality?
   We must be careful that our 'right to discriminate' is not just a right to scapegoat?.

   Posted By: Paul

3. I believe that staff and students should abide by the school's ethos. Management should ensure that.

   Posted By: M. Lyons

4. I can't see why Catholic organizations need exemption from the anti-discrimination legislation.
   If it's a matter of disagreement with Church teaching, the Church would have virtually no employees if prospective candidates were closely questioned about every aspect of their beliefs. If it's about keeping children safe from 'un-Catholic' opinions, normal boundaries between children and teachers apply already. (All employees commit themselves to respecting the ethos of their employer - inappropriate sharing of aspects of their own lives would and should put the teachers' job at risk). Discriminating on the grounds of sexual direction smacks of judgement, and only God knows if a person is in sin or not. (At least that's what the Church teaches, but it could be wrong, I suppose).

   Posted By: Joan Seymour

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