At a January 21 board meeting, trustees from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) in Ontario voted 10-1 against a motion to reverse the ban on flying non-governmental flags, such as the pro-LGBT 'pride' flag, at district schools.
(LifeSiteNews) –– A Canadian Catholic school board voted in near-unanimous fashion against a motion calling upon it to reverse a ban that prohibits flying any flags other than the national or provincial flag atop its buildings, including the pro-LGBT “pride” flag.
At a January 21 board meeting, trustees from the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) in Ontario voted 10-1 against trustee Brea Corbet’s motion to reverse the ban on flying non-governmental flags, such as the pro-LGBT "pride" flag, at or atop district schools.
This was not the first time Corbet had tried to get the ban on flying non-governmental flags overturned, with a similar motion from Corbet being voted down in June. The original DPCDSB ban on non-governmental flags went into effect on May 15, 2024.
As a result of the motion being voted down, only the Canadian flag and Ontario flag will be permitted to be flown.
While there were many in attendance at the meeting in favor of allowing “Pride” flags, there were also a sizable number of Catholics in attendance expressing their support for Church teaching, which rejects gender ideology as gravely sinful.
Among them was Matthew Wojciechowski, who serves as the vice president of Campaign Life Coalition.
A father of two children who attend the school, Wojciechowski spoke on behalf of CLC at the meeting in regard to the motion.
After the meeting, he noted that the “victory was truly remarkable and nothing short of God answering our many, many prayers.”
‘Faithful Catholics showed up’ to convince the board to vote against motionSpeaking to LifeSiteNews, Wojciechowski noted how it was parents and other faithful Catholics who showed up to urge trustees to “say no to the motion" that secured the victory.
“They also turned out in great numbers for the meeting on Tuesday night. Many, with rosaries in hand, prayed for divine intervention. What a beautiful witness of faith!” Wojciechowski celebrated.
Wojciechowski said there were a handful of delegates at the meeting who “spoke in support of upholding Church teaching in Catholic schools,” many of whom “pointed to the Cross as the true symbol of inclusion, compassion, and love had a significant impact on the trustees.”
“It's easy for Catholics to sit back and complain about the state of Catholic schools in Ontario. That won't change anything. Every time, the unions and LGBT activists try to impose their woke ideology on our schools, concerned parents, teachers and clergy need to show up and push back,” Wojciechowski told LifeSiteNews.
Another “deciding factor” in getting the school board to vote against the motion was the involvement of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Wojciechowski relayed that the head of the archdiocese, Cardinal Francis Leo, was contacted by trustee Paula Dametto-Giovannozzi and that Leo's endorsement of a May 2021 statement against "pride" flags was integral to having the motion defeated.
"A simple reaffirmation by the Archdiocese of the Cardinal's views on the issue showed the type of moral authority and leadership that is necessary to protect Catholic education,” Wojciechowski told LifeSiteNews.
“It was great to see all but one trustee (Corbet) vote in line with the Cardinal's wishes. In moments like these, trustees need to fulfill the commitments they made when becoming a Catholic trustee – to keep Catholic schools Catholic," Wojciechowski added.
Despite the flag ban, some DPCDSB schools have been caught displaying “pride” flags, including one example of such a flag being blasphemously affixed to an image of Christ.
