Irish Priest James Rafferty has hit the headlines this week as it was revealed that it was his intervention with a  Catholic school in Boston which resulted in an offer of a place  to an 8 year old being rescinded due to the child’s lesbian parents.   The school like most religious schools in the US is  private and the parents had attended open evenings, had the application for their son’s admittance accepted and paid the deposit and ordered uniforms.

However Fr. Rafferty opposed the decision.  He and the principal informed the parents that their son would not be accepted as their relationship was in ‘discord’ with church teachings.

This case is one of several to be raised in the US recently where children of same sex parents are being discriminated against because of the nature of their parent’s relationships.

The Church authorities are investigating the matter and have indicated that the exclusion is not in line with their policy and have indicated that they are to help the family locate a new school.

It’s interesting to see this Archdiocese’s response but not surprising given the outcry and the collapse of respect for the church in Boston over their handling of clerical sexual abuse. Lay organisations (Family values types) have defended the priest’s decision and said that Christian schools must have the right to refuse admittance to pupils where families do not adhere to church teachings.

Couldn’t happen here could it?

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