![donald trump gay pride flag upside down donald trump gay pride flag upside down](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/F94D/production/_114412836_sticker_976.jpg)
While Finucan says there is more work to be done to ensure LGBTQ students feel accepted, he said flying the Pride flag is a crucial step. Retired Catholic school teacher Terry Finucan says raising the Pride flag at some Catholic schools in Ontario is a 'big step in the right direction.' (Evan Mitsui/CBC) "There weren't a lot of allies there," he said. But he chose to stay in an effort to help support LGBTQ students who didn't feel comfortable at Catholic school. Louis Catholic Elementary School in Etobicoke. "The fact that they're putting it in front of every office, every school building in the school board - that is a big deal."įinucan, who is gay, said he considered switching to the public school board because of his sexual identity around the year 2000, about 16 years before he retired. "This is a big step in the right direction," said Finucan, who taught at St. #LGBTQ #patriotpride #pride /3fAIB2kUEp- Finucan, a retired teacher who worked for the TCDSB for more than 30 years, said he never thought he'd see it fly in front of a Catholic school. Saint Paul CHS proudly joins in celebrating diversity and inclusion in our schools during Pride Week by raising the Pride Flag.
![donald trump gay pride flag upside down donald trump gay pride flag upside down](https://imageio.forbes.com/blogs-images/dawnstaceyennis/files/2019/06/PopularInfo.jpeg)
"Ensuring that our voices are heard, sharing that we're well-represented and that we're actually loved." "It just shows their solidarity to other students like me," he said. Toronto Catholic schools will raise Pride flag for 1st time next monthīaybayon says Catholic schools raising the Pride flag might help other LGBTQ students escape the personal turmoil he endured. But there's also been pushback, with some ordained members of the Church denouncing the decision, arguing it goes too far. The motion to do so was passed last month.īreaking with tradition, at least eight Catholic school boards in some of Ontario's most populous areas have voted to do the same, which advocates say will help LGBTQ students feel more welcome. "It just took me a while to realize that this is the person I am, that I'm part of this community and that I should be proud."īaybayon, 16, found the strength to turn personal struggle into advocacy. Now a student trustee on the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB), he campaigned for the Pride flag to be raised at the board's schools for all of June to mark Pride month. "I thought there was something genuinely wrong with me," said Baybayon, who is bisexual and a student at Marshall McLuhan Catholic High School in Toronto. In his early days of high school, Keith Baybayon was living through one of the most difficult periods of his life, shutting out his friends and family as he struggled to reconcile his sexual identity with his Catholic faith.