The Canadian Egyptian Congress, Vs the Toronto School Board, with the Trinidad Concordat thrown in for good measure

The issue of the Coptics in Toronto wanting to pull their children out of Catholic Schools, should it (the Catholic Schools) fail to protect Catholic teaching in Catholic schools is interesting. it is an issue that I wonder about here in Trinidad too.

An article by Patrick B Crain on Lifesite.com dated August 16th 2011 explained it.

A group which calls itself the Canadian Egyptian Congress has threatened to remove 4000 families from the Toronto District School Board. If this occurs the Schools could loose 150 teachers and 40 million in funding per annum. Other Coptic groups are against the Canadian Egyptian Congress and their stand including the New York Coptics.

The Ontario government passed an equity bill earlier this year. This bill "has sparked an unprecedented mobilization of parents who fear that it will give homosexual activists a foothold in order to further subvert already weak Catholic sexual teaching in the schools. On August 31st, the board will be considering a set of amendments to the policy promoted by trustee John Del Grande and Angela Kennedy to ensure that equity and inclusion are interpreted consistently with Catholic teaching."

Of course the media is in a tizzy over the Coptics position stating that publicly-funded Catholic schools “must abide by the equality principles in the Canadian Constitution – even if they are out-of-step with the church’s own teachings.”

But the Church has full Authority over their schools. But Toronto lawyer Geoff Cauchi said the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in 2001 that Catholics’ denominational rights in section 93 of Canada’s Constitution are “absolute.”

“Any statute or government edict that would force Catholic schools to teach that homosexual behaviour is ‘moral’ would certainly” violate Catholics’ denominational rights."


Adam and Steve is a reality, and it’s not what we believe.” Says a Catholic priest in Toronto.

The agreement with the Catholic School Board and Canada is not a Concordat. Not like the agreement we have in Trinidad. Otherwise they would be listed on CONCORDAT WATCH as we are. Concordat Watch is a website that believes that the Catholic Church agreements are bad and should be negated.

Eric Williams, the first (late) Prime Minister of Trinidad had great ideas about education in Trinidad and made an agreement ALL denominational schools which had primary, secondary or both, schools. Concordat Watch does not worry about the other churches. It is worried about the Catholic church viewpoint. It says the following:

When the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago was a lad, his country was a British Crown Colony, and its government offered one university scholarship a year to the entire population. Young Eric Williams won it. Years later, on the eve of his country’s independence from Britain, he told the islands’ young people: “Yours is the great responsibility to educate your parents…you carry the future of Trinidad and Tobago in your school bags.”

Unfortunately, the religious groups, led by the Catholic Church, wanted to retain their grip on the country's educational system. They tried to hinder what they called “godless schools” — the state schools where Dr. Williams hoped to bring together the young people of the new nation.

As Catholics, we need to keep control of what we teach in relation to our religious belief. Once we are prevented from teaching in schools, we will then be told that we cannot teach in church... it will be called hate speech. And we will be forced to give our soul away to the evil one. We cannot give an inch, or we will give a mile.

I agree with the Canadian Egyptian Congress. Fight the good Fight man!