NBC News 9 in Boulder, Colo., reported on Saturday that the Denver Archdiocese has decided to not let a preschool-aged student return to school at a private Catholic school in Boulder next year because of the student’s parents’ sexual orientation.  

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese told NBC the fact the student has two lesbian mothers does not fall in line with Catholic Church teaching.  Since the parents’ lifestyle does not sit well with the Catholic Church, and therefore the school policy of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School, the student has no business being enrolled there.  

This story hit home for me because my entire learning experience before college was at private Catholic schools. I have no trouble imagining this happening at any of the Catholic schools in which I have been enrolled.  

Before anyone gets up in arms about this particular issue, I feel I must point out  the school is entirely within their legal rights to do this.  The school is a private business, just like any other, and they have the right to refuse service to anyone.     

The refusal makes the Archdiocese in Denver look like a bunch of children-hating fundamentalists who know absolutely nothing about childhood education.  

The article quoted school staff members, who wished to remain anonymous, who said they were disgusted with the Archdiocese’s decision.  It seems the staff at the school has noticed the dichotomy between the Archdiocese’s actions and the teachings of Jesus, the Catholics’ go-to guy on what’s morally right and wrong, with regard to accepting children into the “flock.”  

Secondly, the refusal to accept the student—the article did not say if the student was a boy or a girl—portrays the Archdiocese as more than a little uncaring with regard to the well-being of the child.  

I completely understand the Catholic Church’s viewpoint on homosexuality.  I certainly don’t agree with it, but the organization has been nothing but clear about their feelings toward that particular sexual orientation: not in our house.

Now, it seems to me the Archdiocese in Denver has missed a glaring opportunity to, in their eyes at least, save the very soul of an innocent child.  Given the church’s views on homosexuality, wouldn’t it be the Archdiocese’s duty to take the child in and teach the student the error of his or her parents’ ways?  

If my understanding of the Catholic Church’s views on homosexuality is correct, expelling the child from the school because he has two mothers is tantamount to not letting the child come back to school because his or her parents are abusive.  The Archdiocese is allowing what they perceive as mistreatment of a child to continue.  

I obviously cannot know what the parents of the child were thinking when they sent their child to this particular school in the first place.  If they were thinking anything like my parents when they sent me to Catholic school, all they care about is a great education for their child.  

I am incredibly grateful for the quality education I received at the Catholic schools I attended, but I would not be comfortable with sending my child to a school that would discriminate against an entire community.  What the Archdiocese of Denver needs to do is listen to the faculty and staff of the school and perhaps pay closer attention to words of Jesus when he said in Luke 18:16, “Permit the children to come to me.”

Jeremy Schwartz is a Western senior majoring in journalism and minoring in philosophy and Latin. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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