SAFE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Challenges

1. SAFE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS:Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Challenges Presented by Rev. James Schexnayder NACDLGM rd@nacdlgm.org Sr. Jane Meyer, O.P. St. Agnes Academy vjmeyer@st-agnes.org

2. The purpose of a Catholic education The Gospel demands that we affirm the dignity and respond to the needs of all God’s people.

3. The Light of Faith “From the first moment that a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment, one illuminated by the light of faith, having its own unique characteristics.” Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education

4. Welcoming attitude The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education instructs those working in Catholic education that they must welcome gay and lesbian students (1982)

5. Face It “Educationally, homosexuality cannot and ought not to be skirted or ignored. The topic must be faced in all objectivity by the pupil and the educator when the case presents itself.” Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, 1983

6. Catholic High Schools • Do they present the whole message of the Church regarding the dignity and worth of gay and lesbian people? • Do they present any message at all, or are they silent on the topic?

7. Our awakening at St. Agnes • (clip #1) http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation1.avi

8. Drafting a Sexuality Statement • Not a single issue. • Rooted in Church Teachings on human sexuality. • Based on the demands of the Gospel to affirm the dignity and respond to the needs of all God’s people.

9. Chastity • The virtue of living out one’s sexuality according to God’s will • According to vocational lifestyle or sexual orientation, chastity is lived out differently • All are called to be chaste

10. Areas of Concern • Public display of affection (PDA) • Students identifying themselves openly as lesbians • Potential of other non-lesbian students being drawn into the lesbian orientation • The potential problem of the lesbian issue having a negative impact on the school

11. SAA Policies/Catholic Teaching • Respect all people. • It’s okay to disclose gay orientation in an appropriate manner. Seek guidance first.

12. It’s okay to claim symbols related to gay orientation because the orientation is not sinful. It’s not okayto use symbols or slogans to promote immoral behavior or to act contrary to Church teaching.

13. Gay youth turning away from the Church • Time after time, students who come forward tell us that they feel that they cannot be gay and also be Catholic. • It's a terrible loss of culture, of spiritual foundation, of family. • If you can look around your church and not see any out gay people, then you know you have a problem. • If you can look around your school and see no comfortably out students, you know you have a problem. • These members of the Catholic community have gotten a clear and ongoing message that they aren't welcome, that no one is willing to work with them to grapple with the special issues their sexuality brings to their place in the church.

14. Facts about Gay Youth • 80% of gay/lesbian/bisexual youth report verbal abuse almost daily • 44% report threats of attack • 17% have been assaulted • 97% of the time, teachers do not correct anti-gay slurs • 30% of all successful suicides • Film clip from The Truth About Jane (clip #2) http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation2.avi

15. ALWAYS OUR CHILDREN USCCB

16. Matthew Shepard What is it in our society that perpetuates the attitudes that engenders this violence? Could the young men who committed this crime view Matthew Shepard as a fellow human being?

17. Two women, girlfriends of the perpetrators, stood and watched… Have you ever stood by and watched someone be harassed, insulted or hurt? Why didn’t these women get involved?

18. We need a strong, safe culture … The culture of the school greatly affects how gay and lesbian students integrate with the school.

19. Educating the Faculty and Staff • Church’s teaching on gay sexuality • The faculty’s role in building a culture of love and welcome to all of its members • How gay youth come to know and deal with their orientation • Resources available to help gay students • Resources available to help all people understand the issue

20. Resources for Faculty In-Services • Scenarios that enable faculty to role-play issues that have occurred in our school • Student testimonials of how it has felt for them as sexual minority youth in our school • Films that depict key issues faculty have to face • Straight from the Heart • It’s Elementary (film clip #3)http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation3.avi • The Laramie Project • GLSEN lunchbox (a video with various film clips)

22. Building a Culture of Safety “First and foremost, we support modeling and teaching respect for every human person, regardless of sexual orientation.” USCC, 1991

23. Integrating the Curriculum • Sexuality instruction in Health classes and in Theology classes, Owning Up in speech classes. • Encouragement of teachers across the curriculum to address issues related to gay and lesbian people.

24. Safe Teacher Program The Safe Teacher program is founded on the idea that any institution whose mission is to educate young people should have a group of adults available to whom these young people can come when they are facing a crisis. The primary areas of crises we identify in the Safe Teacher program are those areas that target youth for their minority status or their outsider status, such as their ethnicity, their sexual minority status, and their status as girls.

25. Our Logo

26. How we maintain our Safe Teacher program • More than half of our faculty have joined the Safe Teacher program. • Each year, new members join the program. • They go through a five-session training with our Safe Teacher coordinator, focusing on crisis issues in general, healing racism, healing sexism and healing homophobia. • For each topic, teachers role-play scenarios, share stories, enter dialogue and work through their questions and concerns about being safe teachers. • Safe Teachers receive a handbook with readings and resources.

27. Sponsoring a Diversity Club The Diversity Club • Is dedicated to cultivating a diversity of consciousness among the St. Agnes student body. • We define diversity of consciousness as a mindset that embraces cultural diversity in all its forms. • We focus particularly on healing racism and homophobia projects.

28. Organizing a Faculty Solidarity Committee Mission: To devise ways to enhance the diversity of SAA in its organization, its curriculum, and its activities. Diversity, in our context, means doing work on healing racism, sexism, and homophobia, as well as building a general ethos of acceptance, compassion and empathy with those who are different from the norm.

29. Diversity Week • Each year we choose a different theme. • Healing Racism, Sexism and Homophobia, Solidarity with People in Prison, Understanding Islam, Immigration, Solidarity with People Living with Disabilities. • We invite keynote speakers: • Michael Fowlin, www.michaelfowlin.com • We show films: • Video: A Place at the Table (Southern Poverty Law Center) http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentationPlace.avi

30. Diversity Week (cont’d) • We have breakout Sessions led by members of the St. Agnes and larger Houston communities. • We celebrate our diversity as a community • International Food Festival • Multicultural entertainment • Prayer and commissioning

31. Organizing Activities to Raise Awareness of Gay Sexuality Issues • National Coming Out Day (October 11) • A commemoration of Matthew Shepard’s death and all hate crimes against gays. • Day of Silence (April 22) • A day to understand the silence experienced by gay youth.

32. Organizing Activities to Raise Awarenessof Gay Sexuality Issues (cont’d) • Ally Week (October 15-21) • Included a day devoted to the theme “That’s so Gay is Not Okay!” with posters around the school. • Included buttons that student swore with the slogan above, also “Ally Week” and also “Straight, Not Narrow” • All posters and fliers included the full Church Teaching on gay sexuality. • Panel Discussions • Students, both straight and gay, talk about their own experiences in healing homophobia.

33. The things we have learned . . . • Be brave • Be prudent • Be clear • Be critical

34. Always Deliberate • What is the project’s purpose? • Will it hurt or help the cause?

35. Diversity Calendar • An integrated approach • Inclusion of several key social justice issues • Community will learn key ideas that transfer from one issue to the next. • Ongoing communication with all elements of the community. • Be aware of the terms we use (i.e. Day of Silence and Ally Week) • We adapt what we do at our school to Church teachings. • The national effort to heal homophobia has a scope that sometimes falls outside of Church teachings.

36. Sexuality… is about who you are. Sexual Activity… is about what you CHOOSE to do.

37. Stereotypes • Gay persons are attracted to ALL same-sex persons. • Gay persons are sexually promiscuous or pedophiles.

38. Sexual Orientation • Not chosen … discovered. • Refers to one’s predominant emotional and sexual attraction • Three orientations: • Heterosexual  to opposite gender • Homosexual  to same gender • Bisexual  to both

39. Sexual Orientation • Not fundamentally or primarily a tendency toward acts • Psychosexual attraction toward particular persons • A dimension of one’s personality

40. Orientation vs. Inclination/Preference • With these definitions in mind, it’s clear that sexual orientation is a far different word from the words that were used in the past—inclination or preference. • The American Psychological Association has ruled that sexual orientation is not changed by psycho-therapy and that therapies intended to change it are usually detrimental to the psychological health of the youth.

41. Sexuality as a Continuum Heterosexual Gay Sexuality

42. Gay Sexuality A person who sustains a PREDOMINANT, PERSISTENT, psychosexual, physical, and emotional attraction to the same sex.

43. Societal Norms Student is ridiculed because doesn’t fit norms. Film clip #4 http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation4.avi

44. Ways to Address Sexual Orientation in the Classroom • Break the silence! Don’t be afraid to use the words gay, lesbian, and bisexual. • Assume that 4 -10% of your students are gay/lesbian - 1 to 3 in a class of 30. • Challenge put-downs and homophobia. • Be prepared for the teachable moments. • Draw on current events.

45. Gay Faculty Members • Model how to follow church teachings for gay students. • Provide valuable inside sources of information for leaders who want to improve the safety of the school environment. • Must be provided with clear guidelines for behavior and talk with student about their own sexual orientation. • Must feel safe. (film clip #5)http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation5.avi

46. Are all students safe in your school? Students and parents are counting on us to do something to protect all children in our schools.(film clip #6)http://www.st-agnes.org/html/presentation6.avi

47. GLBT students need allies and count on them to address harassment at school!

48. How do we go beyond mere safety? “It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2358 qtd. in Always our Children, USCCB

49. How do we measure our success? “The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. We believe that every person is precious . . . And that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.” USCCB, 1999

50. What are our goals? “The teaching of the Church makes it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any form of injustice, oppression, or violence against them.” Always our Children, USCCB