Catholic Online Forum

French President Francois Hollande has stepped into a heated debate on the role Catholic schools will play in shaping children’s views regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage in the country.

France may become the wealthiest, most powerful nation to legalize gay marriage this year, when a bill approved by the Socialist administration heads to parliament for debate this month. But the Catholic Church has taken a stance against the bill, and now Catholic schools -- along with their students -- have become embroiled in the controversy.

It began when Eric Labarre, secretary-general of the national Catholic school system, sent a letter in early December urging educators to discuss same-sex marriage with students in class.

“Every primary and secondary school should take the appropriate steps to ensure everyone has the freedom to make an informed decision over the choices the government is considering today,” said the letter, according to France24.

Education Minister Vincent Peillon sent a quick response, arguing that discussing gay marriage in Catholic classrooms would not be appropriate.

“I have the deepest respect for the Catholic school system. But, the institution, which is under contract with the state, must respect the principle that everyone has the right to a neutral and free thought,” he wrote on Dec. 4, implying that Catholic teachers might use their classrooms to influence students against the idea of gay marriage.

President Francois Hollande and his government clashed with the Catholic Church last weekend, telling Catholic schools not to discuss the law with their pupils and urging state education officials to report anti-gay discussions at Catholic schools.

Leaders of almost all main faiths in France have spoken out against the law, but not called on their followers to march in Sunday's demonstration to avoid giving the opposition campaign an overly religious tone.

Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, head of the French Church, Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim and French Muslim Council head Mohammed Moussaoui have all decided not to join the street protest.

Oh, boy.

This march planned for Sunday is probably the last chance to stop homosexual marriage being put into law. They should pull out all the stops.



French Muslims join opposition to same-sex marriage

And the government will continue to stomp on the Catholic Church so long as the Church lets them.

The archbishop of Paris is no longer a general without an army. The bishops are with him too. They have elected him president of the episcopal conference, something that had never happened with his predecessor Jean-Marie Lustiger, a man of pope Karol Wojtyla but always left alone.

The Church of France was once called the "eldest daughter of the Church." As a creative minority, it could become that again. Even if it is defeated in the kingdom of this world.

BobA, Grace,

This commentary could change your mind about Cardinal André Vingt-Troisthe and the French Church: The Reawakening of the Church of France

BobA,

Perhaps, France is where the tide changes for the Church in Europe, where the revival of Christianity is the Holy Father's papal mission. It would be fitting as the country, which Hilaire Belloc once put it, was the battleground on which the great questions of the Faith and Western civilisation have always been fought out. It also gave us some of the greatest saints and Catholic institutions, but it was also where lethargy in the faith in Europe took root and led to its decay in the continent.

With France having the most number of approved Marian apparitions, and with Our Lady as our most powerful advocate and intercessor for the conversion of sinners everywhere, maybe the country would once again emerge as the eldest sister of the Church in Europe, if not the world.

“[T]he desire for God … is profoundly inscribed into each human soul and cannot disappear. Certainly we can forget God for a time … but God never disappears. This restlessness … is an expression of the hope that man may, ever and anew … start to journey towards this God.”

“The Gospel … is true and can therefore never wear out. In each period of history, it reveals new dimensions … as it responds to the needs of the hearts and minds of human beings, who can walk in this truth and so discover themselves,” the Pope said. “It is for this reason, therefore, that I am convinced there will also be a new springtime for Christianity.”

“Ideologies have their days numbered. They appear powerful and irresistible, but, after a certain period, they wear out and lose their energy because they lack profound truth. They are particles of truth, but, in the end, they are consumed.”

BobA,

Perhaps, France is where the tide changes for the Church in Europe, where the revival of Christianity is the Holy Father's papal mission. It would be fitting as the country, which Hilaire Belloc once put it, was the battleground on which the great questions of the Faith and Western civilisation have always been fought out. It also gave us some of the greatest saints and Catholic institutions, but it was also where lethargy in the faith in Europe took root and led to its decay in the continent.

With France having the most number of approved Marian apparitions, and with Our Lady as our most powerful advocate and intercessor for the conversion of sinners everywhere, maybe the country would once again emerge as the eldest sister of the Church in Europe, if not the world.

I pray it does. I have had my head in the sand these past few years and was shocked when I realized how far France and Spain had drifted.

So it's okay to indoctrinate them in public schools, but there should be silence on the matter in Catholic schools.

...but not called on their followers to march in Sunday's demonstration to avoid giving the opposition campaign an overly religious tone.

But he believed in a new springtime for Christianity in the continent, which is now more urgent than ever. Read here for some insight: Christianity Will Rekindle in Europe

Spain is of particular interest to myself.