All kids deserve safe schools

As a lifelong Catholic and an alumna of Catholic schools, I am heartbroken by the policy announced this month by the Cleveland Diocese [regarding sexuality and gender identity].

Kids deserve safe schools. Whether [kids] are just figuring out their own identity or have a family member who is trans or queer, these policies do nothing more than exclude and hurt them. Just hearing the news has re-injured so many former Catholics who already felt excluded, and it will be the last straw for others.

We have some wonderful Catholic schools in the Heights where loving, pastoral teachers educate students of all faiths and backgrounds. They’ve been put in a terrible position and it's important that all of us who grew up Catholic and care about the LGBTQ community speak up. 

The Diocese failed to consult parents, educators, students, or psychologists in creating this, and instead have handed down hateful rules on something in which it has no expertise or moral standing to speak on. Jesus taught humility, and the bishop should have humbly consulted people with real, lived experience, and listened to how something like this would affect the families and children who have entrusted their education to the Diocese. 

People of every language and life experience have contributed to our Church's vibrancy and life for thousands of years. This is what needs to be celebrated, not feared and hidden away.