Unlike the Toronto Catholic school district, however, Fr.
James Martin, S.J.’s near-obsession with pushing the LGBT agenda in the Church. While Catholic schools and churches in the Rhineland obstinately rejecting Church teaching is nothing new, this is simply the latest installment in what seems to be a never-ending saga to squeeze “inclusivity,” “progress,” and “acceptance” into Catholic spaces. Lest one think this is merely a North American conundrum, the same colored flag hung from churches in Austria and Germany following the recent CDF ruling on the impossibility of blessing same-sex unions. Peter the Apostle, one finds the LGBT colors draped from the heights of the church to the sanctuary lamp chandelier. Eastward, in Montreal, at the beautiful Church of St. Unsurprisingly, the school board refused. The Toronto Catholic District School Board-which boasts a population of over 91,000 students-has publicly clashed with Cardinal Collins, who requested that the Catechism section on homosexuality be read at the school board meeting. Meanwhile, several Catholic school boards in Canada announced that they will require the LGBT rainbow flag to be flown outside all of their schools, the vast majority of them being elementary schools. The school, which is named after a Jesuit martyr tortured and killed for preaching the Faith to the Iroquois (something that today would be considered a colonialist “microaggression”), is hosting a “Pride Week”, encouraging its other homosexual teachers to be open about their “identity”, its counseling department pointing its students towards “LGBTQ+ friendly Catholic colleges”. In the United States, LGBTQ Pride is a monthlong celebration, with marches occurring throughout the month of June.Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School- the Jesuit-run high school which famously disobeyed the Archdiocese of Indianapolis over its refusal to fire a teacher in a same-sex union- continues to pride itself in its LGBT inclusivity. Thereafter, gay pride celebrations expanded globally. The pride march in New York inspired others to occur across the country in solidarity. The march occurred on June 28, 1970, the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, to celebrate “gay pride.” The event was named the Christopher Street Liberation Day march after the street that was the epicenter of New York City’s gay community.
At the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations in Philadelphia, gay rights activists proposed the idea of a march in response to the Stonewall events. Riots ensued in response, lasting about five days. They arrested employees and patrons of the bar while pedestrians watched. Police raided the establishment, which was a popular gathering place for the LGBTQ community. The event that catalyzed the gay rights movement occurred June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Pride Month commemorates the ongoing pursuit of equal justice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community and celebrates the accomplishments of LGBTQ individuals.