We don’t know if Jody Maillet is more Catholic than the pope. But he does appear more Catholic than his local Catholic school board — and this has gotten him in hot water with the (thought?) police. In fact, after asking that board not to celebrate “Pride month” or fly the rainbow flag and citing both Catholic teaching and the Bible to buttress his position, cops are investigating the Canadian part-time university instructor over allegations he committed a “hate crime.”
Maillet, a father with two students attending his city’s Catholic schools, made his comments March 4 to the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s Student Achievement and Well-Being Catholic Education Human Resources committee. Yet his defense of virtue resulted in complaints, according to police, who’ve now put him in the cross hairs. As The Catholic Register reports:
“The Hate Crime Unit is working with the divisional investigator to determine whether or not the comments made during the meeting would constitute hate propaganda charges,” Cst. Jennifer Sidhu told LifeSiteNews.
Maillet told the committee “gay pride is not compatible with the Catholic faith.” Each June is celebrated as Pride Month to mark the LGBT community.
“Sending signals that support gay pride messages is contrary to the teachings of the Church and have no place in our schools,” Maillet told the committee.
It was Maillet’s concluding comments, where he quotes Matthew 18:6, that has drawn fire.
“The words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 18 verse 6 is a reminder for each one of us: ‘If anyone of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depths of the sea,’ ” he told the committee.
These final words enraged LGBT activists who called Maillet out for his “homophobic” message. Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam in a Tweet accused Maillet of calling for the death of LGBT people and their allies.
In other words, asking a Catholic institution to be Catholic — and “catholic,” as in promoting what is truly “universal”: Truth — and quoting the Bible can be a hate crime. But does anyone consider that making this accusation itself could reflect hate?
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Moreover, does the following sound hateful: “You have a spiritual and moral duty to ensure a compassionate, caring, and loving Catholic environment at our schools,” Maillet also told the board.
Quoting what the Catholic Church (RCC) states about homosexuality, he further stated that the “Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this with three simple paragraphs. Paragraph 2358 says that we must accept the [homosexual] person with ‘respect, compassion, and sensitivity.’”
“This is true, of course,” said the father. But he then provided perspective, adding, “I’ve seen this section used by lobbyists without quoting its sister paragraphs, 2357 and 2359; 2357 states that homosexual acts are ‘intrinsically disordered’ and ‘under no circumstances can they be approved.’”
“Groups that promote gay pride month and fly the gay pride flag by their nature support these relationships,” Maillet also told the board, stating the obvious. “Sending up gay pride flags and recognizing gay pride month are a sign that their message holds a place in our schools and that their message is not to be contradicted. Flags are flown by those who hold control.”
A video of Maillet’s board statement is below. Does he sound “hateful”? Or like an academic (which he is) expressing deeply held convictions?
Moreover, is it not more likely that the hatred is coming from the “outraged” sexual devolutionary activists?
What we’re seeing here is a clash between Truth and the tastes of the times. Just consider that the man who posted the above video, a teacher in a Toronto Catholic elementary school named Paolo De Buono, wrote in its description, “I regret the offensive content of this delegation.”
Of course, “offensiveness” is completely irrelevant to the matter of what’s “good” or should constitute curriculum — because it’s entirely subjective. Most everything offends someone and most everyone is offended by something.
De Buono, it turns out, has marched in “Pride” parades. Did it ever occur to him that pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, as defined by “his” church? It also turns out that De Buono made the news last year for reading sexual devolutionary (“LGBT”) propaganda to his grade-school students; in addition, he requested in 2020 that the Toronto school board formally recognize “Pride” month. Not very buono De Buono.
De Buono also writes in the video description that “parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church … are offensive to 2SLGBTQ+ persons.” One could wonder, though: If the Catholic faith so offends him, why is he teaching at a Catholic school? Are there not secular institutions that could use his inestimable abilities?
De Buono also wrote that Maillet was only allowed to read the “offensive” passages because the Archbishop of Toronto had rebuked the school board last year for prohibiting Catechism readings. Imagine that, reading the Catholic Catechism at a meeting of a Catholic school board! Will the radicalism never end?
This incident is just another example of dishonest secular authorities — conveniently labeling opposing dogmas “hate” so they can impose their own dogmas — and then essentially categorizing Christianity as hateful. Talk about “offensive.”
But De Buono and others likewise situated ought to consider a few matters: Are they following the Holy Spirit or the spirit of the age? A “Fallacy does not cease to be a fallacy because it becomes a fashion,” as G.K. Chesterton put it. And feelings aren’t facts — and faith, fantasy.
De Buono should also consider how his church teaches that if he does not assent intellectually to all definitive teaching — which includes the Catechism passages in question — he’s in a state of mortal sin.
If this “offends” him, he should consider what it is he really finds so offensive. As I heard a priest once say, “I always tell such people, ‘I’m in marketing, not manufacture.’”
