Nativity School in Worcester can no longer be called Catholic after flying Black Lives Matter and Pride flags
WORCESTER – Worcester Bishop Robert McManus announced that Nativity School can no longer call itself Catholic after it continued to fly the Black Lives Matter and Pride flags despite being told to take them down.
The school began flying the flags in January 2021, saying students called to make the community "more just and inclusive."
"As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people. These flags simply state that all are welcome at Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching," president Thomas McKenney said.
In March of this year, McManus and the Diocese of Worcester told the school to remove the flags. At the end of May, McManus warned Nativity School leaders that if the flags were not removed, it would no longer be able to identify as a Catholic school.
McManus officially signed a decree making that the case, and spoke about the issue Thursday in the Catholic Free Press.
"While we all share in wanting all our students, in particular our black and brown-inner-city students, to feel safe and welcome, we must abide by the moral axiom that 'the ends do not justify the means,'" McManus said.
Nativity School is independently funded and does not receive money from the Diocese.
McKenney said the school will appeal McManus' decision. He also said the school will continue to fly the flags "to give visible witness to the school's solidarity with our students, families, and their communities."
McKenney said any decision made by the Diocese will not change how Nativity School operates.
