Catholic school removes Jesus statues to be ‘more inclusive’

Art Moore, wnd.com

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167-year-old California institution fears 'alienating' students

Parents of students at a Catholic school in the San Francisco Bay area are protesting the board’s decision to remove and relocate more than 160 statues of Jesus, Mary and historic church figures from the campus in an effort to make the school more “inclusive.”

Shannon Fitzpatrick, who has an 8-year-old son at San Domenico School in San Anselmo told the local Marin Independent Journal that “articulating an inclusive foundation appears to mean letting go of San Domenico’s 167-year tradition as a Dominican Catholic school and being both afraid and ashamed to celebrate one’s heritage and beliefs.”

She said that during the time of her family’s association with the K-12 independent school, “the word ‘Catholic’ has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be ‘less Catholic,’ and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic.”

The chair of the school’s board of trustees, Amy Skewes-Cox, explained to the local paper that the move was made to help non-Christian students feel more welcome.

“If you walk on the campus and the first thing you confront is three or four statues of St. Dominic or St. Francis, it could be alienating for that other religion, and we didn’t want to further that feeling,” she said.

The removal of a statue of Mary and the Christ child from the school’s center courtyard was especially troubling to parents.

Fitzpatrick said other families share her concern.

“Many parents feel if the school is heading in a different direction then the San Domenico community should have been notified before the signing of the enrollment for the following year,” she said.

Another parent, Cheryl Newell, told the Independent Journal the school is “trying to be something for everyone, and they’re making no one happy.”

Skewes-Cox told the Marin County paper the relocation and removal of some of the school’s 180 religious statues was “completely in compliance” with a new strategic plan approved unanimously last year by the board and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael.

She said at least 18 remain, including a statue of St. Dominic at the center of the campus.

The trustees’ director insisted that while the removal coincides with the removal of Confederate statues across the United States, the issues are “totally different” and have “absolutely no connection other than it is change, and people have a hard time with change.”

In 2006, WND reported a cross in the chapel at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, was removed to make the chapel “a faith-specific space, and to make it more welcoming to students, faculty, staff and visitors of all faiths.”

San Domenico, founded by the Dominican Sisters in 1850 as an independent, Catholic school, meaning its not owned by a religious order, has 660 students, including 98 from foreign nations. Among the religions they represent are Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.

Instead of teaching Catholic theology, the school provides instruction in world religions and philosophy.

The head of the school, Cecily Stock [JB - see], told the Independent Journal the school’s approach is “really about empowering each student and giving them the information so they can discover their own purpose, their own truth.”

Mirza Khan, the school’s director of philosophy, ethics and world religions, told the paper the Dominican teaching philosophy “is not to teach there is only one truth.”

“It is to foster conversation, to intentionally invite in participants that have different perspectives in a very open-ended process of philosophical and spiritual inquiry. That has been a long-standing part of the Dominican tradition.”

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From the San Domenico School homepage

Inclusivity and Non-Discrimination Statement

In keeping with our core values, San Domenico is a community of belonging where students, staff, and families are dedicated to inclusion and respect for all. We welcome and embrace students, families, and staff who both enrich and promote diversity. We value the representation and full engagement of individuals whose differences include, but are not limited to, age, ethnicity, family makeup, gender, learning style, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Further, we acknowledge and recognize that diversity is often a relative and complex idea to define and quantify. Beyond physical differences, San Domenico School also embraces diversity of thought, culture, philosophy, and all that may be unseen but also subject a person to preferential or disadvantageous treatment.

SD students and families represent a wide spectrum of cultures, identities, and backgrounds, all of which make our community stronger and richer. We believe that diversity makes our students, faculty, and community members smarter, wiser, and better able to fulfill our vision of graduating students who go forth to shape a better world.

As we seek to strengthen a spirit of inquiry and study, we know we can only accomplish this with a deep commitment to continually working to increase inclusivity and diversity on our campus. Among our faculty and staff, we seek out opportunities and channels to increase community awareness of, and support for, diversity and respect among all beings. For example, by working with organizations such as A Better Chance, The SMART Program/Breakthrough Collaborative, Next Generation Scholars, Summerbridge, and Aim High, our admissions team is able to create a more diverse student and parent body, who then enrich community life by sharing their backgrounds and cultures with our School constituents. Our religious studies, ethics, and service learning curriculum encourage systems thinking and an understanding of our global interconnectedness and the ensuing need for social justice, and a constant striving for peace and equity.

With this, San Domenico School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, and national and/or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation/identity, disability, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law, in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, athletics, or any other school-administered programs.

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Definition of catholic: 

"including a wide variety of things; all-embracing."

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from linkedin

Cecily Stock

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Head of School at San Domenico School

San Domenico School

 University of California, Davis - School of Law

San Francisco Bay Area

 500+ 500+ connections

A proven school leader who empowers administrators and faculty to educate confident, aware, and ethical young people, I work to support a campus culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

Specialties: academic, business management, conflict management, consulting, counseling, customer relations, hiring, legal, management training, marketing, meeting facilitation, organizational skills, policy analysis, research, sales, teaching, training programs.