Charlotte's Bishop Jugis Defends Fr. Kauth...

...and laments lack of charity on the part of critical parents.

Bishop Jugis calls Charlotte Catholic controversy 'difficult'

Diocese of Charlotte Stands Behind Sister Laure!

According to a report in LifeSiteNews:

“Nothing in Sister’s talk opposed Church teaching,” says Bishop Peter Jugis' spokesman. “Sister would be welcomed to speak in the diocese in the future.”

LifeSite also reported a comment by a doctor who heard the same talk recently on Long Island:

Charlotte Catholic High School: How Many of the Families are Really Catholic?

The situation at Charlotte Catholic High School with the politically incorrect Dominican nun is still in the news. I have no idea whether Sister said anything imprudent. Which of us doesn't occasionally? But regardless, Fr. Kauth, the chaplain, made it clear that she said nothing contrary to Catholic teaching. She apparently quoted unpopular statistics from reputable sources that point out the serious ramifications of a number of family issues. And with children whose faith is often dry and parched, the spark exploded into the wildfire that has engulfed Sister and others who offend the zeitgeist.

Fr. Z has a great post on this that I hope you'll read. Here's the beginning:

The Muddled Thinking of Our Catholic School Students

It had to happen. The secular world feeds lies and distortions to our kids by the bucketful: films, videos, TV sitcoms, song lyrics, dirty dancing with the stars, violent and sexually depraved video games, easily available internet and print pornography. Good grief, you can't pass the check out at the grocery or pharmacy without blinders!

Are parents teaching their children the real faith?

So the situation in Charlotte over a nun discussing sexual issues including homosexuality has taken on a life of its own. (Perhaps nightmare would be more accurate.) The Charlotte Observer is covering the flap. So is LifeSiteNews (LSN). Here's the basic content of the student petition condemning the talk which is now closed. Interestingly, the petition can no longer even be read on the petition website. Here's what LSN reported as its content. I've highlighted several spots in red with my comments in blue:

“We the students of Charlotte Catholic High School would like to issue a formal complaint regarding Sr. Jane Dominic’s speech given on on [sic] Friday, March 21st,” the petition begins.

Prayer Request for our Scandalized Catholic Children

I received the email below from a friend in Charlotte with regard to a controversy over a religious sister explaining to Catholic high school students the truths of Catholic teaching on homosexuality. That such an event could cause "controversy" at a Catholic school is highly disturbing. That it could be the source of the orthodox chaplain's persecution is outrageous. It illustrates that many parents at Catholic schools are either 1) not Catholic and oppose church teaching or 2) are cafeteria Catholics who pick and choose the doctrines they follow and publicly repudiate those with which they disagree. If you live in Charlotte, I hope you will sign up for the 40 hours prayer vigil. If you don't live in Charlotte, please join spiritually praying for the parents who are scandalizing their children. Please also pray for Sr. Jane Dominic, but especially for the school chaplain Fr. Kauth. "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...." 

My dear friends in Christ,

As many of you have heard by now, our very own Charlotte Catholic High School is embroiled in quite a spiritual battle. Among other crisis, we are currently witnessing an intense backlash regarding a lecture given to the student body last Friday by Sr. Jane Dominic of Aquinas College. In her talk, Sister highlighted the beauty found in God's creation, specifically that we are made in His image as male and female. She lovingly and methodically went through salvation history, employing sacred scripture, art, philosophy and science to develop the theme that God's gifts are intrinsically woven into our nature as either male or female; and that when we serve each other through these roles, we bring untold blessings to our families and to society. The talk espoused nothing but perfect Church teaching, which I'm sad to say is not universally accepted at our school. 

The controversy is primarily centered around the second half of Sister's talk which tackled homosexuality. She approached this difficult subject with humility and bravery. I attended the lecture and I felt joyful and relieved that such a large group of our teenagers were being exposed to these truths. 

Unfortunately, the most malicious attacks are being directed at our good chaplain, Father Kauth, who invited Sister to speak. And while he was not previously aware of Sister's plans to poignantly challenge homosexuality, he obviously stands in defense of her and more importantly in defense of Church teaching. This fact outrages some of our parents, who sadly prefer to threaten and scorn rather than explore Church teaching.

I invite each of you to take part in a 40 hour prayer vigil in support of Father Kauth. As our leader in the Faith at Charlotte Catholic, he will bear the brunt of this battle. Let us get behind him and help him.

My greatest thanks to those of you who will attend,
As always in Christ,

To sign up, go to: 

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C054FA9AB2FAA8-prayer

And please forward on!