Ottawa Catholic School Board

Catholic Education Centre

570 West Hunt Club Road
Nepean, Ontario K2G 3R4
Phone: 613-224-2222
Fax: 613-224-5063

ocsb.ca

Statement by the Ottawa Catholic School Board

St. George School presentation
Ottawa, Nov. 28, 2014 Ted J. Hurley, Chairperson of the Ottawa Catholic School Board,
issued the following statement today concerning the matter of the St. George School
Grade 6 childrens proposed presentation on gay rights:
I have had an opportunity to review the entire matter in the full context of
promoting fairness, bullying prevention and Catholic teaching with regard to
gay rights. All persons deserve love, respect and dignity, especially those that
are discriminated against in society. Our concern about the ageappropriateness of the original subject matter for grade 4 and 5 students was
driving our decision to disallow the presentation of the subject by the Grade 6
children.
What has since become clear, however, is that the motives behind the
planned presentation by the two young girls were simply to combat the kinds
of behavior and attitudes that can lead to bullying of gay people, and violations
of human rights.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has made it clear that our attitudes to gay and
lesbian people should be addressed with love and dignity in an open and
transparent way, when he said, Who am I to judge?
The core message is that gay rights are a human right and that the underlying
attitudes that have led to discrimination need to be addressed in school and in
society as a whole. The principal will be inviting the students and their parents
in for a follow up discussion to resolve this matter and we support the
students sense of fair play and respect for all persons.
End of Mr. Hurleys statement.
For follow up questions or to speak to Director of Education, Julian Hanlon, please contact:
Mardi de Kemp, Manager of Communications, Ottawa Catholic School Board
613-224-4455 ext. 2326 or mobile 613-294-3946 or mardi.dekemp@ocsb.ca.
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