A Minnesota Catholic high school has deleted a gay teen's editorial calling for increased gay rights, including marriage, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

Officials at Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota deleted two student editorials that criticized an anti-gay marriage DVD produced by Minnesota's Catholic bishops. The DVDs were distributed to parishioners prior to Election Day, November 2, and called on Catholic voters to reject pro-gay marriage lawmakers. (Minnesota voters did overwhelmingly vote for Republican candidates.)

The student-run newspaper The Knight Errant published two editorials along with a story about the bishop's Preserving Marriage in Minnesota DVD last Thursday. But both editorials were removed from the paper's website just days later.

One editorial, written in part by senior Bernardo Vigil, the paper's arts and entertainment editor, criticized the bishop's stance on the issue.

Editor Sean Simonson's op-ed titled Life As A Gay Teenager sparked a heated debate online.

“You fear looking the wrong way in the locker room and offending someone,” Simonson wrote. “Politicians are allowed to debate your right to marry the person you love, or your right to be protected from hate crimes under the law. Your faith preaches your exclusion – or damnation. And no one does anything to stop it.”

The editorials – and the comments they inspired – were removed and replaced with an explanation from Principal Sue Skinner: “While lively debate and discussion clearly has its place in a Catholic school, this particular discussion is not appropriate because the level of intensity has created an unsafe environment for students. As importantly, the articles and ensuing online postings have created confusion about Church teachings.”

Vigil told alternative weekly City Pages that several students were protesting the decision by wearing rainbow clothing to school.

“The people who said it was inappropriate for us to publish these stories are the same people who are perpetuating an atmosphere of homophobia on campus, so caving to the calls for censorship is basically showing solidarity with the view that homophobia is okay.”

“The articles need to go back online,” Vigil added.