1. CATHOLIC FAITH
1.1. Catechism of the Catholic Church
1.1.1. No official policy on transgender individuals
1.1.2. "Homosexual Acts" are "intrinsically immoral and contrary to the natural law"
1.1.3. "Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder" (1986)
1.2. Acceptance into the church for LGBTQ2+ is highly dependent on their local congregation, varies widely within the faith
1.3. Studies have shown that LGBTQ2+ teens from a religious family are more likely to be ostracized, pressured into "changing" or become homeless
1.3.1. Impact of family life on a student's educational opportunities
2. LEGAL ISSUES
2.1. 1996 Canadian Human Rights Act amended to include sexual orientation as prohibited grounds for discrimination
2.2. 2005 Civil Marriage Act allows legal same-sex marriage
2.2.1. Churches not legally forced to offer same-sex marriage
2.3. 2012 Anti-Bullying Legislation (Ontario) requires that all publicly-funded schools, including religious ones, accept student-organized gay-straight alliances
2.3.1. Anecdotally not always true in Catholic Schools, students often receive push back for creating GSAs
3. WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT TO EDUCATORS?
3.1. Student Safety
3.1.1. 33% of LGBTQ2+ youth have attempted suicide compared to 7% of youth in general
3.1.2. Promoting a culture of tolerance, acceptance in your classroom and/or school
3.1.3. Preventing bullying
3.2. Increasing Graduation Rates
3.2.1. LGBTQ2+ students are at a higher risk of not graduating high school due to a number of factors. By creating an inclusive and welcoming school environment, teachers can increase the likelihood that these students will graduate
3.3. Negative Stereotypes about the Catholic Fatih
3.3.1. The Church has historical and current negative stereotypes about attitudes towards the LGBTQ2+ community
3.3.2. Negative stereotypes affect both students faith and their learning