Catholic School Removes Statue Of Jesus And Mary To Be More Inclusive

Guardians and parents of the students at a 167-year-old Catholic school in California are protesting the school board’s decision to teardown and relocate historical figures from the campus.

In an attempt to make the catholic campus more “inclusive,” the schools biggest fear is “alienating” the students. More than 160 statues of Mary, Jesus, and important church figures are all part of the removal and relocation.

The removal of a statue of Mary and the Christ child from the center courtyard  of the school was especially troubling to many of the parents.

The chair of the school’s board of trustees has mentioned that the move was made to assist non-Christian students feel welcome as well.

What on Earth is happening to this nation?

According to dailywire:

Thus far, the school has removed and relocated all but 18 of their 180 Catholic icons and statues. The head of the school’s board of trustees, Amy Skewes-Cox, claims such removals are “completely in compliance” with school rules, which were approved by the board and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael last year.

Kim Pipki, whose daughter used to attend San Domenico, recalled the removal of the statue of baby Jesus and Mary as particularly contentious.

“The one main statue that has everyone fired up is the baby Jesus and Mary one,” said Pipki. “It was at the center of the primary school courtyard.”

“It was less about God and more about passing on some traditions,” the mother noted. “People were shocked that the statues were pitched in the basement.”

Shannon Fitzpatrick, whose eight-year-old daughter currently attends Domenico, wrote an email to school officials and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael expressing her disapproval of the so-called inclusive changes, suggesting their version of “inclusion” apparently means gutting Catholicism from the school altogether.

“Articulating an inclusive foundation appears to mean letting go of San Domenico’s 167-year tradition as a Dominican Catholic school and being both afraid and ashamed to celebrate one’s heritage and beliefs,” wrote Fitzpatrick.

“In our time here, the word ‘Catholic’ has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be ‘less Catholic,’ and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic,” she continued.

Head of School Cecily Stock explained that this is precisely why the school has acted to become more inclusive; many know the school is Catholic, she said, but neglect to realize it is also independent.

“If you walk on the campus and the first thing you confront is three or four statues of St. Dominic or St. Francis, it could be alienating for that other religion, and we didn’t want to further that feeling,” she said.