A SYDNEY teenager shocked by anti-gay marriage literature handed out at her school is leading the charge to have the booklets banned.

Georgia Simpson was so offended when the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference booklet Don’t Mess With Marriage was dropped on her desk, she was moved to tears.

“It was pretty upsetting, I was offended and I know a lot of my friends were personally offended by it,” the 16-year-old student told news.com.au.

The year-11 student attends one of the Australian Catholic schools where the anti-gay marriage booklet, intended as a guide for “all Australians”, which Bishops hope to distribute to every school in the country, has been handed out.

With many students at the school identifying as gay, including some of Georgia’s close friends, the teenager was so incensed by the “pastoral letter”, she “just wanted to do something about it”.

After receiving the 18-page letter on Thursday, Ms Simpson started a petition on change.org.

“Please remove the ignorant and anti-gay propaganda from circulation in Australian schools regarding same-sex marriage,” she writes in the petition addressed to the Catholic Church in Australia and Sydney’s Archbishop Anthony Fisher,” she wrote on the petition.

“The messages contained in the Don’t Mess With Marriage booklet are humiliating and degrading.”

The petition has attracted close to 1500 supporters, many accusing the church of discrimination and sending “inappropriate political propaganda”.

The booklet, which refers to same-sex marriage as a “serious injustice” has already sparked outrage among parents of Catholic school students.

Canberra mum Tanya Howell told news.com.au she was “furious” to discover the letter had been handed out at her daughter’s school.

“I didn’t actually know what to say because I’m just shocked that in this day and age, knowing that they have children in that school who are gay people, that this sort of discrimination would be promoted,” she told news.com.au.

“I’m just furious. I am disgusted with what they have done.”

Should schools tell kids what to think about marriage equality? News.com.au's Liz Burke joins Studio 10 to discuss whether or not schools should be teaching children what's right and wrong when it comes to marriage. Courtesy: Studio 10/Channel Ten

Ms Howell’s daughter, Maddison Fisher, was given the pamphlet at her Canberra school Merici College on Thursday.

Since publishing both Ms Howell and Ms Fisher’s comments, news.com.au has received a statement from the school’s principal Loretta Wholley saying the letter was distributed under the directive of the Archbishop.

“It has not changed who Merici College is or how we work in the classroom or beyond. We are and will continue to be an inclusive Catholic school that promotes Christian values and supports girls on their academic, spiritual and personal journey,” she said.

“We want our students to be informed citizens — to research all aspects and understand all points of view, especially when it comes to making important ethical decisions. We have been impressed that many of our students have done this over the past 24 hours.”

Ms Simpson told news.com.au she believed if the church was going to force their views gay marriage on students, the school had a responsibility to show the other side of the debate too.

“I think if they’re going to show one side of the story, they need to show the other side as well,” she said.

“Otherwise it’s not really education, it’s propaganda.”