Is being Catholic a crime?
According to Fieldstone Secondary School in Rockland County, New York, it is.
Ninth-grader Jason Laguna, a former altar-boy, was suspended for daring to show the Rosary that he wears to school on a regular basis, generally under his clothes. He said that he received it as a gift and liked it so much that he wears it under his shirt, presumably to remind him throughout the day of his faith. Sounds reasonable right? Apparently not to his teacher who ordered him to put it away (despite the bell having rung and him being on his way out the door) and to the principal who upheld the teacher’s ruling.
The reason?
Beads are generally indicative of being in a gang. And moreover, wearing of the Rosary “endanger[s] the safety, health, morals or welfare of himself or others.”
Laguna, a straight-A’s student who is also a member of student government is nevertheless seeking assistance with his mother from the ACLU who has yet to comment. The superintendent put the suspension on hold pending an investigation. It’s unclear at this time if the school district is investigating whether or not the Roman Catholic Church is, in fact, a gang or something else.
Ugh.
H/T to Hot Air.
Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, Catholicism, Christianity, Education, New York, Political Correctness
May 24th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
being a catholic is fine…as long as the guy wasnt molesting children. wearing a rosary is just freedom of expression
May 24th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Freedom of expression is becoming more and more in danger if wearing a Rosary, a symbol used to remind a person that they can be better than they are and to constantly challenge them to work at improving themselves and the world around them, is going to result in prosecution. Are we returning to the days of Nero and Domitian and ancient Rome?
May 25th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
This is pathetic what happened. But I think the Catholic Church should probably be investigated under organized crime laws…