PLEDGE: I support trustees taking a stand for life in Catholic schools

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IMPORTANT NOTE: After signing the petition, you will be given the option to mail a physical postcard to the Halton Catholic trustees expressing your support. Simply follow the instructions to mail the postcard.

Catholic trustees in Ontario's Halton Catholic District School Board passed a motion February 20 to stop school funding of charities that directly or indirectly support anti-life activities opposed by the Church.

The motion stated that the school board “will not provide or facilitate any financial donations to any charities or non-profits that publicly support, either directly or indirectly, abortion, contraception, sterilization, euthanasia, or embryonic stem cell research. For the purposes of this motion, ‘public support’ for the issues listed above ( i.e. abortion, contraception etc....) is not support when privately expressed but is support when publicly expressed on a website, in press material or found in some other public area.”

The motion takes its inspiration from Pope Francis, who said in a letter to participants in the 2014 March for Life in France: “Let’s say ‘Yes’ to life and ‘No’ to death.”

Since then, however, Halton Catholic students and parents have publicly opposed the motion, and are petitioning for its repeal.

These students, while well intentioned, seem to overlook the motion’s essential purpose to uphold the Catholic teachings on the sanctity of human life, which is being assaulted on all sides. The motion prevents the Catholic board from cooperating with evil and causing scandal.

There are numerous charities students can donate to that assist the poor and vulnerable, and work towards building to a just society while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Church by recognizing and defending the dignity of all human persons, including those in the womb and facing the end of their earthly life.

We ask students, parents, and teachers to drop their opposition to the motion, and instead, support it as a fully Catholic and just defence of society’s most vulnerable people.

We applaud the Halton Catholic trustees for passing this motion, and urge them to remain firm in their defense of human life.