Edmonton Catholic parents upset over message from school inviting families to abortion protest
Author of the article:Blair McBride
Publishing date:Sep 22, 2021
Parent Erin Gaudet is concerned about a letter emailed as an attachment from Holy Cross Catholic School asking students and parents to join an anti-abortion protest. PHOTO BY GREG SOUTHAM /Postmedia
Parents in the Edmonton Catholic School District are irate that an invitation to join an anti-abortion protest was included in a recent school council message.
The letter, emailed as an attachment to Holy Cross Catholic School parents on Monday, invites families to “stand and peacefully pray with (parish) St. John the Evangelist” on Thursday at the public right-of-way outside the Woman’s Health Options clinic on 109A Avenue.
The event is part of “40 Days for Life – 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion,” a worldwide grassroots movement.
“Please help to spread the truth about abortion in this important community outreach,” says the notice, which includes contact information for St. John the Evangelist parish officials.
The notice is also in the parish’s most recent church bulletin.
For Neil McLeod, whose daughter attends Holy Cross, the invitation was “very unsettling.”
“What are we promoting in our school? This isn’t a call for a compassionate outreach. It’s a call to harass people, who are in a very troubled situation,” he said.
“With the (unmarked) graves (at former residential schools) coming to light, I would hope the Catholic Church would be doing a deep think on their roles in schools and their historical legacy. That’s not the case here. And it’s truly making me rethink having my daughter in a Catholic school.”
It’s the first time Christie McLeod, Neil’s former spouse, has seen this type of notice in the four years their daughter has attended the school.
She said that when she contacted Holy Cross principal Marlene Forest-Wallace about the letter, she received an apology and was told it was an error that wouldn’t be repeated.
“At this point it’s not even about the school anymore,” Christie said. “My issue is about the parish organizing this protest that I think is sort of passive-aggressively designed to intimidate women who are trying to access health care, and using this guise of peaceful prayer.”
Although Erin Gaudet’s children attend other Catholic schools in Edmonton, as a longtime participant in that system she is shocked and disappointed at the letter.
“I’ve been involved with Catholic schools for a long time. You see a variety of social justice projects and that’s what’s great about Edmonton Catholic schools,” Gaudet said. “But this is inappropriate. The deeper level misunderstanding that comes from this is really hurtful to the Catholic Church.”
Postmedia’s efforts to contact Forest-Wallace weren’t successful.
However, Edmonton Catholic Schools District spokeswoman Christine Meadows said in an email that “including standalone information from the parish, regardless of the content, was an error” and staff have since been educated on procedures.
“We are reminding all our schools that the best way to connect families with their parishes is by sharing the link to the parish website instead of sharing excerpts of information,” she said.
In a statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, spokesman Andrew Ehrkamp said 40 Days for Life is a peaceful, pro-life prayer campaign for pregnant women seeking abortions and people performing abortions.
“Through peaceful prayer, the 40 Days for Life campaign touches hearts and changes communities. Faithful Catholic parents who attend our parishes are always made aware of events and activities which are consistent with the Catholic faith through our bulletin and other means. The parent and/or school newsletter may be an extension of this communication.”
Parents in the Edmonton Catholic School District are irate that an invitation to join an anti-abortion protest was included in a recent school council message.
The letter, emailed as an attachment to Holy Cross Catholic School parents on Monday, invites families to “stand and peacefully pray with (parish) St. John the Evangelist” on Thursday at the public right-of-way outside the Woman’s Health Options clinic on 109A Avenue.
The event is part of “40 Days for Life – 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion,” a worldwide grassroots movement.
“Please help to spread the truth about abortion in this important community outreach,” says the notice, which includes contact information for St. John the Evangelist parish officials.
The notice is also in the parish’s most recent church bulletin.
For Neil McLeod, whose daughter attends Holy Cross, the invitation was “very unsettling.”
“What are we promoting in our school? This isn’t a call for a compassionate outreach. It’s a call to harass people, who are in a very troubled situation,” he said.
“With the (unmarked) graves (at former residential schools) coming to light, I would hope the Catholic Church would be doing a deep think on their roles in schools and their historical legacy. That’s not the case here. And it’s truly making me rethink having my daughter in a Catholic school.”
It’s the first time Christie McLeod, Neil’s former spouse, has seen this type of notice in the four years their daughter has attended the school.
She said that when she contacted Holy Cross principal Marlene Forest-Wallace about the letter, she received an apology and was told it was an error that wouldn’t be repeated.
“At this point it’s not even about the school anymore,” Christie said. “My issue is about the parish organizing this protest that I think is sort of passive-aggressively designed to intimidate women who are trying to access health care, and using this guise of peaceful prayer.”
Although Erin Gaudet’s children attend other Catholic schools in Edmonton, as a longtime participant in that system she is shocked and disappointed at the letter.
“I’ve been involved with Catholic schools for a long time. You see a variety of social justice projects and that’s what’s great about Edmonton Catholic schools,” Gaudet said. “But this is inappropriate. The deeper level misunderstanding that comes from this is really hurtful to the Catholic Church.”
Postmedia’s efforts to contact Forest-Wallace weren’t successful.
However, Edmonton Catholic Schools District spokeswoman Christine Meadows said in an email that “including standalone information from the parish, regardless of the content, was an error” and staff have since been educated on procedures.
“We are reminding all our schools that the best way to connect families with their parishes is by sharing the link to the parish website instead of sharing excerpts of information,” she said.
In a statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, spokesman Andrew Ehrkamp said 40 Days for Life is a peaceful, pro-life prayer campaign for pregnant women seeking abortions and people performing abortions.
“Through peaceful prayer, the 40 Days for Life campaign touches hearts and changes communities. Faithful Catholic parents who attend our parishes are always made aware of events and activities which are consistent with the Catholic faith through our bulletin and other means. The parent and/or school newsletter may be an extension of this communication.”
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