A Catholic secondary school in Canada has been accused by an atheist group of being “vile and manipulative” 
for encouraging its pupils to sign a petition backing a call for a parliamentary committee to determine if life begins before birth.
The group, the Toronto-based Centre for Inquiry, said that St Joseph Catholic Secondary School in the city of Mississauga, had engaged in “an abuse of power” and was politically biased, according to the Tablet.
They also criticised the school for the appearance at a school assembly of the head of the Toronto Right to Life group.
However Catholic groups have responded say promoting the right to life is simply part of the schools’ duty to advance Catholic values.
Bruce Campbell, spokesman for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, which oversees the school, defended its actions. He said the petition was “reflective of the Catechism” adding: ” If you come to a Catholic School you would expect that would be something you would be exposed to.”
An e-mail was sent to all teachers at St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School encouraging them to have students sign Life Canada’s petition in support of Motion 312, LifeSiteNews reports.
The motion, sponsored by Canadian MP Stephen Woodward which is scheduled for its first debate this week, seeks to establish a special committee to consider when human life begins.
In particular, Woodworth is calling for a re-examination of section 223 of the Criminal Code, which states that a child only becomes a “human being” once he or she has fully proceeded from the womb.
Secular groups have also complained that students have been encouraged to raise funds in support of the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Share Life campaign, which supports pro-life groups and other charitable initiatives as well as the Canadian Catholic Organisation for Development & Peace.
An article in the Toronto Star quoted secular groups complaining that the Catholic schools should be barred from using tax dollars to “indoctrinate” students.
But the school board insisted that they will continue to support efforts to promote the right to life among their numerous social justice initiatives.
“No one was forced to sign anything, it was presented as an option,” Mr Campbell told the Toronto Star.
“Pro-life, right-to-life, is part and parcel of the catechism of the faith, which affirms life from conception to natural death,” he said. “So, certainly we support students and staff in engaging in marching and awareness around that issue.”
According to the Canadian Secular Alliance, however, the right to life should not be promoted in publicly-funded Catholic schools.
“Individual students have the right to hold whatever opinion they come to independently,” president Greg Oliver told the Toronto Star, “but this is a case of a publicly-funded school system essentially using these children, either indoctrinating them, or using them as a political tool, to advance certain opinions.”
Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, said the pro-life petition is an “admirable and appropriate activity for a Catholic school.”
“For Catholics the respect for life is not a political activity – it’s a religious and moral activity,” she told LifeSiteNews. “I think [the petition] has to be seen in that context – that they’re not after the politics of it, they’re after the religious and moral teachings.”
“People should understand that Catholic schools exist to promote Catholic teaching, and the respect for life is a part of it,” she added.