The Portland Archdiocese in Oregon is closing its Department of Catholic Schools temporarily after several staff resigned and parents protested the Archbishop’s statement on gender ideology in the classroom, according to the Catholic News Agency.
‘The archdiocese has been facing criticism for its policy barring the use of preferred pronouns and gender identity in the classroom, which prompted two principals and several teachers to resign in protest, according to the Catholic News Agency. The archdiocese announced in emails to parents Friday that it would be temporarily closing the department, according to Willamette Week, a local media outlet. (RELATED: Why Is The Vatican Investigating A Conservative Bishop In Texas?)
“The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon’s Department of Catholic Schools is temporarily closed as we work to reevaluate how to best integrate schools more fully into our mission,” Douglas Markwell, the archdiocese’s director of communications, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Our Catholic schools are an essential part of our mission of evangelization. They serve a vital role in teaching, witnessing to, and spreading the Gospel. We have seen great changes in the environment in which our schools operate, but the importance of the mission and our dedication to our families is unchanging.”
Markwell further stated that the “decision is unrelated to the publication of [the guidelines] or to one school adopting a classical education model.”
In January, Archbishop Alexander Sample released guidelines for the archdiocese’s schools regarding gender ideology, saying that a student’s pronouns should conform to their biological gender and that educational material should align with Catholic teachings on the matter.
TOPSHOT – Onlookers hold a rainbow flag as Pope Francis speaks to the crowd during his Angelus prayer from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, on March 27, 2022. (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images)
The January statement further noted that students must use bathrooms and locker rooms in accordance with their biological sex and that students should be referred to by their legal names, according to the guidelines. Schools are also banned from posting signs promoting “gender identity theory” and cannot use medicine for the purpose of transitioning.
The guidelines were heavily criticized by some staff and parents, and over 1,000 people in the community signed a petition condemning Sample’s statements, according to the Catholic News Agency. Father Mike Biewend, the pastor of Madeleine Parish, gave his support to one of the principals who quit over the guidelines, saying the new rules do not affirm “the preciousness of every child.”
In March, Pope Francis called “gender ideology” one of the “most dangerous ideological colonizations.”
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