TORONTO – School-trustee Michael Del Grande of the TCDSB (Toronto Catholic District School Board) has presented – last March 21st – a motion that will be discussed and voted at the board meeting on April 23 to require every school in the TCDSB, and the offices of the District, to fly the international pro-life flag, every year, in the month of May, starting this year.
In his motion (you can read it here), Del Grande writes that “as a public expression of this Board’s fidelity to the pro-life teachings of the Church and to Catholic education, all TCDSB schools, the Catholic Education Center (CEC), and Office of the Board, shall fly the International Pro-Life Flag, annually, throughout the month of May, commencing May 1, 2024”.
If the motion passes, this month-long campaign will serve as a powerful “amplifier” for the National March for Life taking place on May 9 in Ottawa. Additionally, “for the benefit of students and staff who cannot attend the National March for Life in person”, Del Grande’s motion would require every TCDSB school to spend March Day studying a special pro-life curriculum. In fact, the motion states that “as an alternative to those staff, students, teachers and supporters of the TCDSB who are unable for any reason to attend in person the National March for Life, the Board mandates that for the duration of the time the March occurs during the normal school day, that the entire teaching curriculum be exclusively devoted to explicitly teaching the portions of the Catechism identified in this motion, the book entitled, the Gospel of Life, authored by Pope John-Paul II, and the corresponding portions of the HOLY Bible, that is the source and foundation of the Church’s teachings”.
“This TCDSB development fills me with such joy: imagine the culture shift that can happen if the 90,000-strong student body, plus all TCDSB staff begin to radically support the pro-life cause in this way” – said the president of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), Jeff Gunnarson, hoping that “we will see the pro-life flag (in the pic above) flying atop 197 Toronto Catholic schools this coming May”.
Finally, Gunnarson recalls that Del Grande is defending himself in court against the TCDSB, “for having committed himself to the promotion of Catholic values against those of gender ideology” and he renews the invitation to support him in this battle through the fundraising started to pay his legal fees at https://www.lifefunder.com/StandWithMike
In the pic above, Michael Del Grande (from www.campaignlifecoalition.com)
