The 16-year-old Baybayon has found the power to turn personal struggles into propaganda. Now a student trustee of the Toronto Catholic Education Bureau (TCDSB), his campaign called for the pride flag to be raised at the committee’s schools throughout June to commemorate Pride Month. A motion to do so was passed last month.

Breaking with tradition, at least eight Catholic school boards in some of Ontario’s most populous areas voted for this, and advocates say it will help LGBTQ students feel more welcome. But there was also some resistance, and some appointed members of the church condemned the decision, believing that it went too far.

Baybayon said that raising the pride flag in Catholic schools might help other LGBTQ students escape the personal unrest he endured.

“It just shows their solidarity with other students like me,” he said. “Make sure our voices are heard, share that we are well represented and we are really loved.”

‘A big step in the right direction’

The pride flag will be flying in schools in Ottawa, Durham, Niagara, Waterloo, Wellington, and Toronto. Some people will fly the pride flag throughout the month, while others will only fly it in the first week.

The Thunder Bay District Catholic School Board and the Northern Lights District Catholic School Committee in France started this trend, hoisting the pride flag outside their main office building for the first time in 2019. Ontario is one of three provinces that use taxpayer money to fund the Catholic school system; the others are Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Pride month commemorates 1969 Stonewall Uprising In New York City, this is a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ people to fight for equal rights. The rainbow flag was created ten years later as a symbol of community pride. It was flown by others as a symbol of support.

Terry Finucan is a retired teacher who has worked at TCDSB for more than 30 years. He said he never thought he would see it in front of a Catholic school.

“This is a big step in the right direction,” said FInucan, who teaches at St. Louis Catholic Elementary School in Etoboicoke, Ontario. “In fact, they put it in front of every office, every school building on the school board-it’s a big deal.”

Finucan is gay. He said that around 2000, about 16 years before retirement, he considered transferring to the public school board because of his gender identity. But he chose to continue his efforts to help support LGBTQ students who feel uncomfortable in Catholic schools.

“There are not many allies there,” he said.

Although Finucan said there is more work to be done to ensure that LGBTQ students feel accepted, he said that hoisting the pride flag is a crucial step. He plans to watch the flag raising ceremony at the school where he teaches.

“Looking forward, students who feel discounted — feel bullied, feel not included — have something to look forward to: stay in the community where they grew up and feel included.”

Protest is expected

But support for raising the flag in Catholic schools in Ontario has not received universal support. School board meetings for voting are often filled with clergy and community members expressing opposition.

Catholic teachings say that members of the LGBTQ community must be dignified and respected, but the Vatican says that sexual relations between the same sex are a sin.

The Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall, Marcel Damhousse, said he received dozens of e-mails from members of the Catholic community in the area who were angry at the decision.

“According to our Catholic values, parents-if they send their children to a Catholic school-they expect to receive a Catholic education,” he said. “Those people email me now and say,’We are hijacked.'”

It is expected that on Tuesday, the province’s Catholic school board offices will hold protests against the flying of the flag.

Demps said that the school must be inclusive and ensure that all students feel welcome, but he believes that the pride flag can represent a “lifestyle” that is not forgiven by the church.

“Let them say,’Well, I want to live a life based on the content promoted by the Gay Pride flag and the movement,’Well, I’m sorry, but this is not in line with our Catholic teachings.

“You can go to our Catholic school. This is a choice for you to come to our school, but we must know that we have certain values ??that we rely on for survival, and this is what we will teach.”

But Brendan Browne, director of education at TCDSB, said that raising the pride flag is the right thing to do.

Brownie said: “If this thing makes a student feel safe and tolerant, this is what we are committed to doing.”

“If it affects a student, that is something we are truly proud of.”

The board voted against the pride flag

Several school boards chose not to raise the flag.Officials come from Windsor-Essex And the Hamilton Catholic District School Board stated that the Canadian flag represents all Canadians, including the LGBTQ community.

A long debate last month at the board meeting of the Holton Catholic District School near Toronto resulted in a majority of the trustees voting against the motion.

“Actually I’m glad they refused, because it forced me [Halton] The trustee takes a stand,” said Nicole Hotchkiss, a 12th-grade student at St. Ignatius Catholic School in Oakville, Ontario, who first made the proposal in April.

“But it is clear that there is a sense of sadness when we learn that many trustees do not want to support queer students in the way we hope to be supported.”

The non-dualistic Hotchkiss said that LGBTQ students may feel that the school wants them to “hide” without obvious support symbols-and this moment represents the broader intergenerational struggle of the Catholic school board.

“This external reminder is a bit like saying,’We are proud of you, and we are not afraid that people will know that you exist… and you come to our Catholic school,'” they said. “Our generation will make this positive change.”

“The point is to show love to your neighbors”

Marcos Fonseca, a grade 11 student at Michael Power High School in Etobicoke, said that raising the flag made TCDSB “on the right side of history”.

For Fonseca, a 16-year-old bisexual, after years of inner turmoil and difficulties in self-acceptance, seeing it there means a “sigh of relief” for the individual.

“In my life, I have experienced too much inner pain and internal conflicts,” he said. “This is very wrong-a person thinks they are abnormal, thinks they are not loved, thinks they are not alone in their environment.”

He said that raising the flag will not weaken Catholicism-it highlights the other side of Catholicism.

“Raising the pride flag…will not affect anyone’s Catholicism. I am a Catholic, and this will not affect my Catholicism.

“The point is solidarity. We don’t have to agree with what everyone says, that is the teachings of Catholicism,” he said.

“But the point is respect. The point is to show love to your neighbors.”