A private Massachusetts Catholic middle school has been excommunicated by a local bishop over its refusal to refrain from flying the Black Lives Matter and rainbow LGBTQ pride flag, contending that the ideology behind them is not consistent with the church’s social and moral teachings.
Worcester Bishop Robert McManus issued a formal decree that the Nativity School of Worcester can no longer call itself Catholic while continuing to fly the flags after he ordered that they be removed, a demand that was ignored by school officials who clearly believed that the left’s false religion of diversity is the highest power of all.
“I publicly stated in an open letter dated, May 4, 2022, that “these symbols (flags) embody specific agendas or ideologies (that) contradict Catholic social and moral teaching.” It is my contention that the ‘Gay Pride’ flag represents support of gay marriage and actively living a LGBTQ+ lifestyle,” McManus wrote. “This is also true of ‘Black Lives Matter.’ The Catholic Church teaches that all life is sacred and the Church certainly stands unequivocally behind the phrase ‘black lives matter’ and strongly affirms that all lives matter.”
“However, the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has co-opted the phrase and promotes a platform that directly contradicts Catholic social teaching on the importance and role of the nuclear family and seeks to disrupt the family structure in clear opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church,” he added. “The flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church’s stance on these important moral and social issues.”
“As Diocesan Bishop, it is my sacred duty and inherent responsibility to determine when a school claiming to be ‘Catholic’ is acting in such a way that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and disregards my legitimate authority as the guardian and overseer of Catholic education in the Diocese of Worcester,” he said in the decree.
“Despite my insistence that the school administration remove these flags because of the confusion and the properly theological scandal that they do and can promote, they refuse to do so. This leaves me no other option but to take canonical action,” Bishop McManus wrote.
(Video: YouTube/CBS Boston)
The school which is the region’s only tuition-free private facility began flying the two controversial flags beneath the United States flag in 2021.
“As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people. These flags simply state that all are welcome at Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching,” the school’s president Tom McKenney said in a statement to the community.
“Pope Francis has praised the outreach and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops supports the spirit and movement of ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Both flags are now widely understood to celebrate the human dignity of our relatives, friends and neighbors who have faced, and continue to face hate and discrimination,” he added. “Though any symbol or flag can be co-opted by political groups or organizations, flying our flags is not an endorsement of any organization or ideology, they fly in support of marginalized people.”
Worcester Human Rights Commission chair Guillermo Creamer Jr., who is an openly gay alumni of the Nativity School of Worcester, disagreed with the decision.
“The Bishop’s outdated rhetoric has no place in Worcester. It’s time to continue promoting inclusion and acceptance in the church,” he wrote on Twitter.
I’m a proud, openly gay alumnus of the Nativity School of Worcester.
I am proud of the leadership the school has taken to promote inclusivity.
The Bishop's outdated rhetoric has no place in Worcester. It’s time to continue promoting inclusion and acceptance in the church. pic.twitter.com/Ec4Il3hCNz
— Guillermo Creamer Jr (@GuillermoCJr) June 16, 2022
“Nativity will seek to appeal the decision of the Diocese to remove our Catholic identity through the appropriate channels provided by the Church in circumstances like this,” the school’s president said in his statement to the community.
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50 thoughts on “Bishop excommunicates Catholic school for its refusal to stop flying BLM and LGBTQ flags”
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I usually disagree with catholicism and thier false teachings but I agree with the bishop in this case. Both flags represent division and hate and should not be part of any school or government
The flags represent political ideologys, which are contrary to the Catholic faith. Creamer, should be dismissed for subordination. Creamers complaint does not allow him to refuse a direct order.
The Church showed its inclusion and acceptance when they hired him and offered free education to these ungreatful minorities, which now want to conquer the Catholic faith, with atheist Marxism and sexual perversion.
This is what you can expect when you appease Evil. Every country and institution falls into the same Zionist Communist trap.
Some more positive Catholic news.
Nice to see a man with courage and integrity ! Who do these woke idiots think they are ?
👍
Well done Bishop McManus! I do not support BLM or LGBTQ. I’m not even Catholic and I support what the Bishop has done. It seems that today that what’s wrong is right and what’s right is wrong. So sad for a wonderful country as the USA
Guillermino Creamer jr. (haha, the last name says it all), says “The Bishop’s outdated rhetoric has no place in Worcester”. This guy needs to read the Bible. God’s Word is the same today, tomorrow and forever. It is not and never will be outdated rhetoric.
St. Catherine of Sienna had visits from Christ. His comment about homosexual conduct is NOT politically correct. GOD spoke short and to the point.
By Guillermo Creamer He’s way of thinking, the school should be flying the flag of every country in the world. And every special interest. That is, IF they are truly “inclusive” as they claim to be.
Might that also include all the flags representing the countries from which the massive numbers of invaders of the US are coming?
They have NO tuition? Wonder how the school survives. At any rate, the final decision makers are the parents. They can remove their children from the school. The free market speaks. But with NO tuition, I have to shake my head.
About damn time.
Even this atheist understands that if you disagree with the core tenets you LEAVE THE CHURCH.
There are several Protestant sects that would welcome the school with open arms…and other parts.
Sorry Nativity, you can’t have it both ways. Either you are a Catholic connected school that follows the Bible and its moral teachings, or you are not. Remember, Jesus told the woman at the well to go and sin no more. Well he’s telling the LGBTQI+XYZ community the same thing. As far as BLM, it’s teachings on the community raising its children, just look at the young black boys in Chicago and how many are killing each other for no reason. BLM has to face the facts, fatherless homes are killing the black communities future. Now let’s jump to the west coast, the great Catholic, Nancy Pelosi, has obviously never read what Jesus had to say on the subject of children.
Sorry Left, you are Christian or you are Left, you can’t have it both ways.
Well said!!
Was Guillermo not included in his former school? Was he forced out because he is gay? I don’t think so. So why does the school need to fly all the various inclusion flags?
“The Bishop’s outdated rhetoric has no place in Worcester. It’s time to continue promoting inclusion and acceptance in the church.”
Yes, we must accept sin in the church and never call it out for false teaching these values demonstrate. This is a the apostasy of the church spoken of in Revelations in the Bible.
It’s about time,,,they have been flying the devil’s flag since 2021, c’mon man, WTF,,,,my Bible says it’s a mortal SIN,,,,,,FJB,,,,,,
sympl1
It is refreshing to see Bishops enforcing Church doctrine. Unfortunately little p will probably find a way to punish Bishop McManus like he did Bishop Coridileone when he refused to give Pelosi communion.
Wow! Finally a Bishop with the courage to stand up to to the anti-white racists and the lunatic sexual degenerates. Bravo.
… cast into Hell Satan and the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
The ‘Headmaster’ must have thought he was hiring onto an Epicopalian Institution. Opposing centuries old Church Doctrine and Biblical teaching illustrates ones belief that their stance on social issues outweigh any that the Church might have. Think it’s time for the ‘Headmaster’ to become the Pastmaster. Kudos’ to the Bishop.
The alphabet community and blm can fly their flags at home. A Catholic school is not the place to promote either. If they flew a Confederate flag, all hell would break loose. The Catholic Church should not bend to these organizations.
Why will no Bishop or Cardinal excommunicate Pelosi and Biden for their 40 year support of abortion on demand-and the blood of 60 million unborn on their hands? Because the Catholic Church has no real honor or integrity or courage
God Bless, the Bishop.
Good for the Bishop.
Pope Francis Is Not a Man of GOD, satan is a Liar and Deceiver. JESUS Plainly states “… go and sin no more.”
Accepting them in and trying to minister to them is not the same as promoting their sinful lifestyle.
Oh for Pete’s sake. Excommunication is forbidding a person to receive communion as a Catholic until he corrects grave sin in his life (Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, for example). A school isn’t “excommunicated.” I congratulate the bishop for what he did, but this writer is using a word carelessly.
Actually, Excommunication from the church means they can withhold funding from the school.
“the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people”.
No…they don’t. Those flags stand for DIVISION and SEPARATISM. The AMERICAN flag is the only one of those 3 that represents “inclusion and respect of all people.” That is what true Americans still call “liberty and freedom for all”. Countless soldiers have given their lives to defend those principles for which the American flag stands for. No soldier and/or countryman has ever laid down their lives in the name of these other two flags nor will they ever.
The simple fact that these school officials don’t, or choose not to comprehend that is exactly where the problem is. It is the job of these bishops to uphold Catholic values and practices. He absolutely did the right thing if the school was in defiance of his orders.
Why is the concept of “we the people” so hard for so many on the left to understand. We don’t need a dozen different symbols, flags or identifiers that scream, “look at me, I’m part of this group or that group.” Why can’t we just all be one people called Americans? The short answer, these same people pushing all of these separatist values have no desire to be unified in this country. As it always does with the left these days, it wouldn’t fit their narratives that they continually use to keep these people on the left indoctrinated with(aka brainwashed).
Good first step, now excommunicate the President and the board that are the ones responsible for their stance.
Then he should excommunicate Nancy Pelosi for going on national TV for supporting drag queens on RuPauls drag show and saying “this is what America is all about!” And while the BISHOP is doing that he can add BIDEN the baby killer to the list along with his nurse wife.
The “+” is for “pedophile”.
SO, if these flags “ fly in support of marginalized people,” why not add a KKK flag? Those twisted bastards are certainly marginalized as nearly 100% of Americans condemn them.
BLM openly advocates for killing police officers, and if you dare say “ALL lives matter” you stand a good chance of having your house burned down.
LGBTQ wants our children to hang out with draq queens for story hour and advocates that God made a mistake when they were born and convince them to whack off their pee-pees & become women. ( News Flash: God doesn’t make mistakes.)
The only flag that should be flying at schools is the American flag
Although the ideology is not exactly the same. The end game of authoritarian power is in line with fascism. They are the same authoritarian ideologues that would defend to fly the swastika rather than obey the edicts of their church. Hope parents are yanking their kids out of there, otherwise they enable this heresy .
It said it’s tuituin free, so…
It is refreshing to see a man of God, willing to prevent the woke, from running a Catholic , in name only, school. Someone should tell the Headmaster, that picking and choosing the flags to fly, is sending the message that they are doing so, to the exclusion of others.
Well done Bishop McManus! Bravo!
A religious entity, any religion should have their tax exempt status revoked when they become political.
God us the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He leveled Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24) for their sinful ways. The Bishop is following the Bible. Nothing to do with politics.
Why do you say this? Several of the Founders were ministers and spoke their political passions from the pulpit. I believe a minister should be able to preach whatever they desire as long as it is within the teaching of the Bible. I believe there are strong prohibitions against homosexuality and racism in the Bible.
An individual can be excommunicated. An institution cannot be. The school has been informed that they may no longer call themselves a Catholic institution. Of course, decades ago the publisher of the heretical National Catholic Reporter was ordered to remove “Catholic “ from their name. They simply refused and no action was taken against them. Like the AG’s and DA’s who are currently telling us they will ignore prolife laws if Roe is overturned, a ruling is only as good as those who are tasked with enforcing it.
The AGs and DAs are not only ‘tasked’ but take an oath to enforce the law. If they don’t they can be subject to remedies including criminal indictment!!
Well, I dare say the school will not e tuition-free next year after the Catholic Church pulls its funding.
And they lose their exempt tax status. Maybe even lose Christian children over it. Just saying
Another case of educators not bothering to do their homework. If they did, they would know that BLM was created by self-professed Marxists who have siphoned millions off the program for their own selfish desires.
It’s called accountability. Good lesson for these kids. Now L-let’s G-get B-Biden T-to Q-quit
Finally some gonads. How about excommunicating Madam Speaker?
And PervyJoe.
AMEN!!