Good for the Jesuits in Montreal for taking a stand.
“Should a Catholic institution . . . be forced to change the way it does things to fit someone else’s world view?” he asked. “In the Catholic world view, it’s not possible to be Catholic for 22 hours a day, then hold another world view for the other two hours. “I’ve tried it and it’s not possible.” The fact that talking about God in the course is not allowed makes teaching it in a place like Loyola “virtually impossible,” he said.
Douglas Farrow,
Professor of Religious Thought, McGill University
The goal of Jesuit Education is to help people discover their
destiny in God's image. With Christ as the model of all human life, we want our
pupils to become men at the service of others, "Men for Others".
destiny in God's image. With Christ as the model of all human life, we want our
pupils to become men at the service of others, "Men for Others".
Fr. Rob Brennan, SJ
President, Loyola High School
No way to turn off being Catholic, court told
By Sue Montgomery, Montreal Gazette
MONTREAL — Students at a Montreal high school can’t simply stop being Catholic while they take Quebec’s new ethics and religious culture course, since everything they do, from football to math class, is infused with their belief system, a McGill University professor told Quebec Superior Court Tuesday.
Douglas Farrow, an associate professor of religious thought, said the goal of the course — the recognition of the dignity of the other and pursuit of the common good — is completely compatible with the Second Vatican Council’s education goals. Where the two part ways is the requirement of the complete exclusion of God in the course.
“(The Education Ministry) is not interested in a deeper level of analysis of religion, but rather looking at it as a cultural phenomenon,” said Farrow, who is testifying on behalf of Loyola High School, a private Catholic boys’ school, which is asking for an exemption from the course.
The ministry is requiring the school to put aside its teaching methods for one course, said Farrow. But these methods spring from a world view that can’t be ignored.
“Should a Catholic institution . . . be forced to change the way it does things to fit someone else’s world view?” he asked. “In the Catholic world view, it’s not possible to be Catholic for 22 hours a day, then hold another world view for the other two hours.
“I’ve tried it and it’s not possible.”
The fact that talking about God in the course is not allowed makes teaching it in a place like Loyola “virtually impossible,” he said.
Loyola is still free to teach its own religion classes, but it must also teach the new ethics course — something both teachers and parents oppose.
Parents of 630 of Loyola’s 731 students have requested the course not be taught to their children.
Montreal Gazette
smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com
Ethics and Religious Culture in Court
Loyola will be in court from June 8th to 12th. Can the "pursuit of the common good" and the "recognition of others" be taught from a Catholic perspective or does it have to be secular?
The following documents outline the key issues that are at stake. The letters are perhaps the best place to start as they outline the main issues but you are also encouraged to look at the court documents themsleves. Please keep this case and the deliberation in your thoughts and prayers.
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