Muslim Prayer Room at Catholic Secondary School.

I’m tired of this and it makes me more militant about secularism than I want to be.

You cannot teach, that is get a full-time contract with the Ontario Catholic School boards unless you are a Catholic.  Our current Ontario Premiere Dalton McGuinty put that legislation through I think it was back in the year 2000.  It’s legal.  They have the right to only hire Catholic teachers for long-term full-time positions.  Getting a job in the Public School System right now is nearly impossible.  So, if you want to teach and you have no problem with conversion whether you believe it or not, convert to Catholicism.   You’ll better your options for getting a job.  I was talking with a friend recently who told me an entire family converted to Catholicism in order to get their children into a Catholic school  that is near their residence.  This way the children can cross the road to school and not have to be bused.

This year I heard a round-table discussion on t.v. (I don’t remember the show.  If I remember I’ll insert it here at a later time.)  The topic?  Catholic teachers not being very Catholic.  That’s right.  Not attending Mass on a regular basis, which I’m sure has implications regarding confessional issues.  God!  What kind of teachers are teaching our kids if they haven’t been in the confessional to tell Father about their continued issues with masturbation?  Apparently there is a dogmatic push for Catholic’s to start looking like Catholics by practicing Catholic behaviour in Catholic churches.  Too many Catholics are too liberal and too cavalier about their Catholicism.  In other words, they aren’t good Catholics.  *sigh*  Yes, let’s police those bad Catholics and dump their sorry asses on to the unemployment sidewalk because they haven’t met Mass attendance requirements.   Why anyone thinks that looking more Catholic makes anyone a Catholic or a better Catholic or an honourable Catholic is beyond me.

And now . . . now a prayer room for the Muslim students.  Several years ago a crucifix had to come down from the wall in one of the Catholic school classrooms because a Muslim student was offended by the cross.  I don’t get it.  The system is dogmatically set up for Catholicism and it grows more dogmatic it seems to me as the Catholics turn up their evangelistic efforts.  Yet, what is this prayer room all about?  I don’t get it.  I’m for secular education in our schools.  If you want your children educated in religion, do it at home and in your faith-based buildings.  If we teach religion in our schools then teach them all.  If we allow a Muslim prayer room then set one up for all religions and don’t forget one for atheists.  Okay, so we atheists don’t pray but we wouldn’t mind having a room where we could gather and reason together.