Rainbows Banned At Catholic High School

Rainbows – a symbol of unity in support of gay pride – are being discouraged in a Catholic high school because of their politically charged message, reports The Toronto Star. At St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, students were told not to put up a rainbow flag at a recent anti-homophobia event.

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic board told The Star that the rainbow flag wasn’t banned outright, but that a different logo designed in the school was preferred.

Student organizer Leanne Iskander, who helped found a gay-straight alliance at St. Joseph’s back in March before being told such a group wasn’t allowed, told gay and lesbian newspaper Xtra!: “We brought signs and posters with rainbows, and we were told that we can’t put them up. They said rainbows are associated with Pride.”

Instead, Iskander and fellow students baked rainbow cupcakes, raising around $200 for charity. She says her club was instructed not to donate the money to a gay-related charity. Board spokesperson Bruce Campbell told The Star that students themselves suggested the funds be donated to Covenant House, a Catholic charitable organization.

For me, personally, this is all rather unsettling. As one person in The Star’s long ‘comments’ section put it: “Religious freedom means that you won’t be persecuted for your private beliefs.”

(Photo: iStockphoto)