Archbishop speaks against separate school policies for homosexual students

London, England, Dec 13, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham has said that no particular or separate policy is needed in Catholic schools to protect homosexual students from bullying because all students — regardless of their sexual inclinations — share the same inherent dignity.

“A robust policy on bullying of all kinds was the best way forward,” he reportedly told the Commons education committee on Monday.

The head of the Catholic Education Service, Archbishop Nichols was responding on Monday to concerns raised by MP Stephen Williams. Williams, who is homosexual, is among a group of ministers pushing for the development of separate school policies to address homosexual bullying concerns.

However, Archbishop Nichols suggested such policies would demand artificial neutrality towards homosexuality that would not accurately reflect Church teaching, reported LifeSiteNews.com.

“I do not believe citizenship education should, or could, claim to be a morally neutral area in which a whole set of other moral values is subversively introduced," he said.

The archbishop emphasized that the Church does not condemn individuals for homosexual orientation, but that it prohibits homosexual behavior.

"The Catholic Church would stand very firmly for the equal dignity and rights of a person no matter what their sexual orientation,” he stated firmly.

The archbishop underlined that Catholic schools have a better-than-average record in dealing with bullying among their students.