Catholic homophobes claim that flying a rainbow flag during Pride Month is the same as literally crucifying Jesus
(Muhannad Fala’ah/Getty Images)
A Catholic school board has scrapped plans to fly a Pride flag after a concerted campaign from anti-LGBT+ activists who compared it to crucifying Jesus.
Waterloo Catholic District School Board in Ontario, Canada, buckled under pressure from ultra-conservative activists over its decision to fly an alternate version of the rainbow flag to mark Pride Month.
The design featured an image of Jesus above an array of rainbow-coloured figures, alongside the words: “We are all wonderfully made. We love because he first loved us.”
Fundamentalists accuse Catholic school board of ‘crucifying Jesus’ by flying Pride flag.
Even the mildly-implied pro-LGBT+ message sparked a tidal wave of fury, with the fundamentalist Campaign Life Coalition urging its supporters to phone and email to complain.
The pro-LGBT Catholic Pride flag had attracted anger
The group described the flag as “sacrilege and an obscene scandal”, claiming in a public petition that it “subtly but unmistakably honours gay Pride Month, in which the grave sin of sodomy will be exalted”.
The petition continues: “It is grave sins like sodomy that drove the nails into the sacred body of our lord on the cross! Why would any Catholic institution want to crucify him again by defiling his month of June with a flag, however subtly designed, that pinches incense to sinful acts?”
The group’s president Jeff Gunnarson added that the school board is reinforcing the “lie” that “gay people are born that way” in order to “normalise homosexuality in the minds of the public”.
School board pulls flag after ‘feedback from the broader community’
Despite the extremist rhetoric of the activists, the school board appears to have backed down – and no longer plans to fly the flag.
In a public statement, the school board said: “After receiving feedback from the broader community – but, more importantly, also from some of our students – it is clear that the WCDSB’s decision to fly a provincially developed image on a flag during June, to mark Pride month, which was intended to send a message of unity and support, has instead led to division.
“Out of sincere respect for all viewpoints shared, the school board will not fly any flag during Pride month.”
It added that the flag will continue to be “displayed in school foyers” despite not being flown, and that the school board will “consult with the LGBT+ community on next steps leading to Pride Month 2021”.
The Campaign Life Coalition celebrated the decision, saying: “We thank all the CLC supporters who took our urgent call to action about the board’s anti-Christian witness.
“Those of you who signed our petition to bishop Douglas Crosby, who phoned and emailed his office, may well have had an impact on the WCDSB’s decision.”
