'Homophobic bullying' threat to Catholic schools

Brieing. For an earlier post on the issue, see here; on Alan Johnson and the Gay lobby, see here; for commentary from The Hermeneutic of Continuity see here.

From CFNews. Catholic schools in Britain are under attack by the government at the urging of homosexual lobbyists for refusing to bow to pressure to implement 'anti-homophobic' bullying policies in schools. A report by a Commons Select Committee to the Department for Education and Skills singles out Catholic schools for refusing to implement regulations. Education Secretary Alan Johnson told gay activists that the government is preparing guidelines for schools to address what was identified in the report as 'faith-based' homophobic bullying. At a meeting with Stonewall, the gay lobby group that brought about the notorious Sexual Orientation Regulations passed earlier this year, Johnson told activists that he hopes to make a presentation at the group's upcoming conference in July. The report, published March 27, recommends that the Department 'introduces a requirement for schools to record all incidents of bullying along with information about the type of bullying incident.' The British government is explicitly collaborating with the homosexual movement in aiming at the Catholic Church's stand against sexual immorality. In preparation for the report that will inform the guidelines, the Department of Skills and Education commissioned research from Stonewall into 'faith-based' bullying in schools. In a committee hearing, Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools accused the Catholic Church of 'faith-based bullying'. 'Whatever the setting,' Knight said, 'whatever the ethos, whoever the external partner to a school might be, school might be, if they have got one, be it the Catholic Church or anybody else. We should not tolerate bullying in any from, we should not tolerate people not respecting the difference that people have and I think that applies to homophobic bullying.'

The bullying issue is being used openly as a wedge issue to attack Catholic and other faith-based institutions. Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) says, 'Such is the level of homophobia in the Catholic Church that its schools should be taken from it and returned to the community sector.' GALHA's secretary George Broadhead said, 'We've seen homophobia in Catholic circles rising at a terrifying rate over the past few months. The Pope is almost hysterical on the topic and the British Catholic hierarchy is constantly agitating to retard gay rights. What chance have gay pupils got in schools which are run by an organisation that hates them? For the sake of these children and for the community at large which should be protected from the promotion of bigotry in schools, the Catholic Church should be stripped of its educational establishments.' Stonewall is the UK's most successful homosexual lobby group, having hosted Prime Minister Tony Blair at its victory banquet after the passage of the SOR's. [LifeSiteNews]