Same-sex marriage and funding for faith schools

In a media release today, Family First points out that Louisa Wall is making veiled threats of removing government funding against integrated schools (mostly Catholic) that oppose same-sex marriage.

Family First NZ is hugely concerned by comments made by the author of the bill to redefine marriage regarding integrated schools who receive government funding and may disagree with altering the definition of marriage.

In comments to a gay website about Northland’s Pompallier Catholic College and comments made by the Principal opposing the bill, Labour MP Louisa Wall said ‘I don’t think in these days of integrated schools and given this school does receive some form of state funding, that advocating against equality and non-discrimination and supporting discriminatory laws is what schools and a principal should be promoting.’

“This seems to be a veiled but real threat to integrated schools, many who are faith-based and would oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds, that they will either have to promote same-sex marriage against their own beliefs or be threatened with losing funding,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“This flies in the face of her earlier guarantees when she said that the bill ‘will preserve the rights of our churches to discriminate, because under the Bill of Rights we have freedom of religion.’”

Guarantees in this day and age are worthless unless they are written into law.

But I say, if same-sex marriage proponents want to use this to attack Catholic schools that are mostly nominal and don't really produce practicing Catholics, then bring it on, because persecution of Catholic always increases fervor. Do they really know what they are up against here?

Related link: Faith Schools Opposing Gay Marriage Could Lose Funding ~ Bob McCoskrie's Blog