On Friday The Pilot, the official newspaper of Boston’s Catholic Archdiocese, featured the wisdom of Michael Pakaluk, an author and university professor, on why the children of gay parents shouldn’t be allowed in Catholic schools. Yesterday, the paper’s editor apologized: Sorry if you were offended!
Pakaluk’s own son, when he was in the first grade at the Boston Archdiocesan parochial school, had to deal with a classmate who had two daddies. Disgust! While we’d all like to pretend that it’s not the child’s fault for having gay parents and there’s nothing wrong with enrolling these children alongside the offspring of “traditional” families, Pakaluk writes, the situation inevitably breeds scandal.
For three reasons, one of them involving “a real danger” that a child of gay parents would bring porn to school. Get ready!
One:
How about we take this to the next level?
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It was inevitable that either the teacher, or some parent, would deal with the two men in such a way as implicitly to teach my son, or other children in the class, that there is nothing wrong with same-sex relationships. But this is scandal: that is, leading a “little one” astray in some serious matter by the example you set.
Two:
The second reason is that parents are rightly given access to a child’s classroom, and yet I could not trust the designs of the same-sex couple. A mother or father may volunteer to read to the class or chaperone for a class trip. If the homosexual parent does so, what guarantee would I have that he would not be an advocate for his lifestyle, implicitly if not explicitly? One would expect him to be: he says he takes “pride” in his life; the school, it seems, has implicitly endorsed his role; and so why wouldn’t he speak unabashedly about his lifestyle? He might even view himself as something of a “pioneer” and “reformer,” helping to encourage what he regards as “progressive” (“spirit of Vatican II”) aspects of Catholicism in opposition to the “backward” and even “hateful” positions taken by “the Vatican.”
I saw this happening in my son’s school. The same-sex couple was interestingly activist in hosting pizza parties, sponsoring tables at fundraisers, and volunteering when parental help was needed. I found out only by accident that the pizza party–a “beginning of the school year” celebration, held as an afterschool event–was going to be held at the apartment of the same-sex couple. The school felt no obligation to inform the parents of this fact. When I complained to the principal, she claimed that the school would never divulge such information, as it was “confidential” and a matter of “privacy.”
And three:
The third reason is that it seemed a real danger that the boy being raised by the same-sex couple would bring to school something obscene or pornographic, or refer to such things in conversation, as they go along with the same-sex lifestyle, which–as not being related to procreation– is inherently eroticized and pornographic. He might expose other children to such things, as he might easily have encountered them in his household.
So here comes The Pilot‘s editor Antonio M. Enrique, apologizing to readers: “This particular column was written as a personal opinion of Mr. Michael Pakaluk who is expressing his views following his own experience of being a father of a first grader at a Catholic School. The tone of the piece was strong and we apologize if anyone felt offended by it. Pilot readers are accustomed to reading differing views on many complex social issues. Our Catholic laity is well educated and can make up their minds on whether they agree or disagree with a particular opinion. Mr. Pakaluk’s column, as is the case with other opinion pieces, does not necessarily represent a specific position or endorsement of The Pilot or the Archdiocese. We see ourselves as a vehicle to promote conversation and better understanding of the different positions on issues of interest to Catholics within the bounds of the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
While the apology — which arrives after GLAAD made a stink — is a reasonable thing to print, at first glance it’s also a curious one: Isn’t the Catholic Church in the same business as Pakaluk, branding gay families as places of moral destruction? Actually, no, at least not in Boston. We’ve already seen Archbishop Seán Patrick O’Malley come to the defense of a gay family whose child was refused admission at a Catholic school. If The Pilot is O’Malley’s newspaper, then, editor Enrique’s rebuke — or “clarification” — of Pakaluk’s column is in keeping with this surprisingly refreshing position.
But Jesus still hates gays, so there’s that.
Drake
The issue of kids of gays and lesbians in Boston Catholic schools is very interesting, and a welcome development. Especially after the huge anti-gay anti-same sex marriage that Cardinal Sean O’Malley has been leading for years, trying and failing time after time to get a state constitutional amendment against same sex marriage. Yet, let’s praise a hopeful development on the rare occasion when we see one.
nikko
Pathetic. Such is the stupidity of straight men who rule the world. And THE PILOT issued anapology whish was a non-apology. “We’re sorry if you were offended” instead of “We’re sorry for the lies and misinformation that M. Pakaluk wrote.” If this piece was about someone’s race, there would be an uproar. Hey , listen up: Our homosexuality is as immutable as race. Get over it.
Xtian99
The church is a joke- if only it could pry the alter boy of its collective crotch long enough to read up and educate itself about science, evolving attitudes, knowledge, theory, etc. it might still be able to do some “christian” good. But nope, they’re gonna stay blindly head down in out dated dogma to make damn sure those sweet little HIV+ guys in Africa do NOT wear condomns when they have sex, and those silly raped girls do NOT have abortions, etc. and so on.
So depressing. I see this guy and think I’d not want my kids to go to schoo with HIS kids – because how screwed up are they going to be with an idiot like this guy as the sperm fountain?
Mr. Enemabag Jones
I wondered what kind of university would have this douche as an instructor, so I googled and found this tidbit:
Michael Pakaluk, a former philosophy professor at Clark University in Worcester and former visiting scholar at Harvard who now teaches in Virginia
Uh huh. What I see is a father who ignores his son, and upon hearing that his kid had fun at a gay family’s house, got pissy because the son he ignores had fun with a boy whose parents are gay men. So not only does he attack gay parents, but the children of gay parents, just because he’s a distant father.
Maybe if this asshole spent less time writing ridiculous columns, and more time with his kid, he wouldn’t feel the need to hate other people’s kids
Baxter
Is it really so shocking that there are strict Catholics in Catholic schools?
Jim Feig
I’d say that guy has something to hide.
ossurworld
If gay people want to belong to this church, good luck.
Fitz
1) That man looks like a text book alcoholic.
2) How powerful my sexuality must make me if my kid’s existence threatens the core of that man’s parenting abilities.
3) Judging kids on their parent’s behavior is a very, very dangerous path. Does he really want to go there?
Andy
Pizza parties? Volunteering? When will the gays stop their sick lifestyle?
Gorbeh
The question is why would a gay family ever take their child to Catholic school? Or any family in general?
Oh and #3 is the best. The breeders do way more sick shit in bed than we do. And ask any random breeder couple getting married if they’re doing it for procreation or eroticism, the reason the divorce rate is 50% is cause their relationships are only based on eroticism. Silly breeder, common sense is for homos.
counterpoll
Why would any self respecting gay man or lesbian be Catholic?
Once you get over that questionable hump, then you need to wonder why two same-sex parents would willingly send their child to a Catholic school? {assuming other options}
If the Catholic church wants to exclude children of same-gender parents, then they should be consistent with their own mind-bending theology and kick out kids whose parents don’t attend mass every Sunday and day-of-obligation, parents who are divorced, unmarried, use any form of contraception, who have participated in in-vitro fertilization or support a woman’s right to abortion.
The Church cannot enforce those rules because the schools would soon be empty or bankrupt.
I personally would not allow my own {hypothetical} child to ever be within 10 metres of a Catholic priest, but that’s just my own agnostic belief system showing through.
Lamar
So what if anyone tells his children if being gay is O.K, they will have to make up their own mind in the end anyway. What about when Catholics advocate for THEIR lifestyle encouraging people to become ex-gays and so on.
The school was damn right for not informing the parents that the hosts happened to be gay, it’s their business and it won’t affect anyone else. Would he have complained if the hosts happened to be black or atheist, I doubt it so he is just a homophobe using religion as an excuse to discriminate.
His last point is so stereotypical it just fails his comment is like saying he doesn’t want his child to be in a class with black children in case they bring in drugs
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Parents rage as principal laments pervy chaperon from hell’s bus gropes
BY Kate Nocera In Stamford, Conn., and Bill Hutchinson
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Friday, June 4th 2010, 4:00 AM
Related NewsChaperon on grope binge, cops sayDetails revealed about perv chaperone
He’s likely the most embarrassing parent in the country.
Chaperon from hell Tomas Manzano remained on a timeout at Bellevue Hospital yesterday while his fifth-grader son was offered counseling to cope with his old man’s wild behavior.
Manzano, 35, shouldn’t expect any Father’s Day presents this year after getting drunk on a school field trip to Manhattan, groping six of his son’s female classmates and fighting with a teacher – and with cops.
“He came up to us and sat down, and started touching my friend and then he started touching me,” said one of the girls Manzano is accused of fondling.
“I cried so much. I knew I had to go tell someone right away,” said the 10-year-old student at Stillmeadow Elementary School in Stamford.
Her mother expressed shock and anger. “I don’t know why he did what he did. I’m just angry,” the 40-year-old mother said.
A day after Manzano leaped from doting dad to belligerent pervert, the school’s principal was dealing with concerned parents.
“It was a horrible, isolated incident. This is a great school and a bad thing happened,” Principal Michael Sanders said.
Manzano was one of 40 chaperons for the 97 students on a trip to the city.
Sanders said Manzano appeared sober when he boarded the bus in Stamford. Unbeknownst to the principal, Manzano’s plastic water bottle was filled with vodka.
“He was drinking during the trip, drinking from a bottle,” said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Manzano began showing signs being sloshed while the group was touring the city on a Gray Line double-decker sightseeing bus.
He is to be arraigned today at Bellevue, where he is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. His wife refused to comment.
“A mother or father may volunteer to read to the class or chaperone for a class trip.”
Michael Pakaluk: FUCK YOU
Phyllis Fordham
@Baxter: If they are so “strict” do they prohibit the children of divorced parents at their school?
Xerxes
So he said he is afraid that kids of gays will bring gay porn to school. Are his kids bring straight porn to their Catholic school?
This guy looks like he gets an erection just from being smug and self-righteous.
Robby
This jerk was my professor in school…. He told me that gay people were nothing more then people attempting to live out the opposite sex! When I told him that was one of the most hetrosexist and uneducated statements I have ever heard… He informed me that he was “friends” with gay ppl and they said the same thing….he was a all full of himself in class too just rambling on as if he was gods gift to the world… Yea right
hyhybt
Vatican II? Vatican II? Forget it, anyone still complaining about THAT is a hopeless case for gays.
But also: probably old, so there is that at least.
hyhybt
Vatican II? Vatican II? Forget it, anyone still complaining about THAT is a hopeless case.
But also: probably old, so there is that at least.
jeffree
Sterile logic: By Packaluk’s definition,.sterile men [dudes who have low sp€rm count, one te$te, or have had testicular cancer] or post-menopausal women, sterile women or women who had full hysyterectomies should IMMEDIATELY cease all breederish s€xual relations because there’s NO chance a Catholic Child could be born.
His logic says that any str8 couple with any trace of a IUD, condom, v@ginal foamy thangs, or dental dam, should have their kids immediately booted from Catholic school.
Somehow he is *fixated* on teh gheyz, instead, and well well well, we sure as hay know what the frakk HIS problema is.