In the old days, Catholics burned heretics at the stake but these Orwellian times have brought something new and in some ways worse. Canadian Catholic Schools are casting out and suing students who support Catholic doctrine.High school student Josh Alexander is being pursued for $47,000 by the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board (RCCDS) to cover legal costs owing to their own actions against him. The board kicked him out of school for saying in class and online that there are only two genders, that people cannot truly change them, and that male students should not be allowed in women's washrooms.Such statements would not have been controversial 20 years ago and should remain quite defensible in any Christian institution today. But it would seem there's no room for them at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Renfrew, Ontario.Alexander left public school to attend the Catholic school where ostensibly, his traditional views on gender should be okay — but no. In 2022, he was suspended by the Catholic school board for stating his opinions.The suspension was due to end early in 2023. However Alexander would not accept the board's condition for his reinstatement: exclusion from being in the same classroom as a transgender student. When he arrived at school, he was issued a trespass notice by his principal and barred altogether for the rest of the school year.Alexander appealed the suspension and lost for reasons the board initially refused to even make public. Liberty Coalition Canada lawyer James Kitchen, who defended Alexander, said the board repeatedly claimed that Alexander was “a threat to other students." The board dismissed Alexander's subsequent appeal and said he was a "safety risk" in their written decision.“While individuals are entitled to their religious beliefs, opinions and views, what they are not entitled to do is act in the manner that disrespects, discriminates, insults, denigrates, harasses, bullies or otherwise creates an unsafe environment for any person in the school," the decision read.Very well, but Alexander was not doing any of those things. He expressed his opinion and that was all. He never engaged any transgender students personally with his opinions. Unfortunately this school has adopted a common but false definition of "safe space." Here, any disagreement or disapproval is treated like a threat and an act of discrimination.Catholic doctrine is out and Cultural Marxism is in as the new orthodoxy. This makes disagreement with the claims of a supposedly oppressed class an act of heresy. "White fragility" is a hypocritical joke when the people promoting such terms can't handle a single contrary view.Alexander subsequently appealed to the Ontario Divisional Court where two Liberal-appointed justices ruled against him. However, the third judge, Justice James Ramsay, wrote a refreshing, partially dissenting verdict.“I do not agree that the applicant’s conduct before December 22, 2022 met the definition of ‘bullying,'” Ramsay wrote. “It was not reasonable to conclude that it occurred ‘in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance between the pupil and the individual.'”“The applicant was in a similar position to the [self-professed] transgendered students,” he explained. “He was invited to give his views in math class, and when he did he was called a transphobe, a homophobe and so on.”“Finally, I would also have set aside the Committee’s finding of bias as unreasonable. It was beyond question on the evidence that the applicant’s views were the product of sincerely held beliefs in a recognized religion,” Ramsay continued. “I would have quashed the suspension.”Thanks to Ramsay’s comments, Alexander can continue his fight in the Ontario Divisional Court and also appeal to the Human Rights Tribunal. A GiveSendGo campaign aims to raise $60,000 for Alexander. As this article is written, donors have given $24,000 for this cause."Both Josh’s parents who were teachers in a different board, were fired simultaneously," the campaign reads. "This young man and his family have faced incredible hardship over the last 2 years as a result of standing for what is right and honourable in the sight of God."The fundraising page calls Joshua's fight "a modern day David and Goliath story." Unfortunately, a Catholic institution is part of an imposing establishment against one who, like David, was a young hero standing somewhat alone.Unfortunately, so many teachers and administrators have been taught Cultural Marxism as they pursued their education degrees, they are now more disciples of Marx than Jesus. They would rather defend the thinking of the world instead of the teaching of the Church.Even the socially soft Pope Francis has come out strong on gender issues. This was on display last March when Canadian archbishop Marc Ouellet organized an international symposium at the Vatican entitled "Man-Woman: Image of God."The Pope said transgender theory was an "ugly ideology of our time" because it sought to erase all distinctions between males and females. To do so, he said, “is to erase humanity. Man and woman, instead, exist in a fruitful ‘tension’.”A Catholic institution that won't defend Catholic teaching has already compromised the rationale for its distinctive existence. It does even worse when it goes to great lengths to persecute those who boldly stand for those distinctive beliefs.Catholic doctrine is what it is. Fall under its framework in Catholic education or go elsewhere. This should be so simple for educators and students, yet it isn't.In a post to X on December 4, Alexander himself wrote, “My school board, @rccdsb, argues that I have the right to believe what I want, but the second that I express that opinion, it is acceptable to subject me to ridicule, faithism, suspension, exclusion, arrests, charges, a permanent education ban, and now an invoice for almost $47k. If they can do it to me, they can do it to you and your children." .Such dark times were predicted in the Bible itself. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul the Apostle said of the Antichrist, "He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God."The hour is late and so it is that God and traditional doctrines are getting usurped right in Christian institutions. Regardless, the people on the right side of history are the ones staying true to His story. Alexander is one of those people, standing up while others stand down or even stand against him. On pillars like Alexander, Canada can be rebuilt, not to mention Christ's Kingdom to come.
