Officials at Charlotte Catholic High
School in North Carolina are under fire over a Catholic nun's remarks
to students.
Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, an
assistant professor of theology at Aquinas College in Nashville,
Tennessee, reportedly condemned homosexuality during a March 21
school assembly.
“The statement she basically made was
that homosexuality was something developed from lack of masculinity
or a lack of father figures in one's life,” a student told WSOC-TV.
Sixty-four students and eighty-six
alumni signed on to a letter criticizing Laurel's remarks and asking
for an apology from the school, Q
Notes reported.
“Using outdated or false statistics
to tell children and young adults that their LGBTQ friends, family
members, and colleagues are the result of their parents' missteps is
damaging,” the letter reads in part. “Suggesting that LGBTQ
members for the very audience you were addressing owe their sexual
identities to pornography and masturbation is abhorrent. Presenting
these false ideas to high school students not only advocates
discrimination of LGBTQ students, but also tells those individuals
that they are damaged or incomplete.”
Some parents said they were upset that
they were not notified about the assembly. A spokesman for the
diocese told WSOC-TV
that church leaders apologized to parents Wednesday night about the
“misunderstanding,” saying they believed the nun was there to
discuss gender.