"It could be that parents will opt not to send their children to a school that will teach their children that their parents are living in an objectively sinful situation," the bishop wrote.

After a same-sex couple attempted to enroll their child in a Catholic school in Springfield, Illinois, the city's bishop is requiring all parents to sign an agreement that critics say is designed to drive away the children of same-sex couples and divorced parents. The agreement requires parents to "agree that our child(ren) will be taught the teachings of the Catholic Church in their fullness even if we are living a way of life that is contrary to those teachings." Those who "do not live in accord with Church teaching" must pledge "to discuss with the pastor of our Catholic parish ways in which we could." Though more than 10 percent of children in archdiocese Catholic schools are not Catholic, parents must also commit to attending mass weekly and to commit to giving at least 8 percent of their income as tithings to their parish.

The policy was officially implemented by Springfield Bishop John Paprocki on July 15, but it was first reported by the local paper, the State Journal-Register, last week, which said the school where the couple tried to enroll their child was Christ the King. The school's principal, Pam Fahey, declined to comment for this story. LGBT Catholic advocates who spoke to BuzzFeed News call the policy "unprecedented." Several archdioceses have recently imposed policies restricting teachers in Catholic schools from expressing support for marriage equality and several have fired gay and lesbian faculty members who have married. But advocates said they knew of no other archdiocese that required parents of students to sign what they say amounts to a morality agreement. The new policy comes shortly before Pope Francis is due to visit the United States and attend an event called the World Meeting of Families, and LGBT advocates say this new policy appears to be a direct attack by Paprocki on Francis's more inclusive tone towards LGBT people. There has also been a wave of firings of LGBT faculty from Catholic schools ahead of the pope's visit, including a teacher at a primary school just outside Philadelphia with the blessing of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. The Philadelphia Archdioceses will host the pope's visit to a church-organized World Meeting of Families at the end of September. "This is clearly the rejection of children of same-sex couples and contradicts the welcome that all should experience in our church," wrote leaders of the LGBT Catholic organization Dignity USA, in a letter protesting the policy to the pope's representative to the United States, Apostolic Nuncio Carlo Maria Viganò. The group noted that the pope has said that baptism should not be denied to the children of same-sex couples and the same logic should dictate welcoming these children into Catholic schools without unreasonable barriers. Paprocki became infamous among LGBT Catholics after he held an "exorcism" service as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn enacted a marriage equality law in 2013. Dignity USA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke told BuzzFeed News that Paprocki and the Philadelphia Archbishop Chaput are "choosing their moment to roll [hardline policies] out on the eve of the pope's visit to the U.S." to send a message to the pontiff.

Archdiocese of Springfield, Illinois / Via dio.org

Paprocki's office did not respond to requests for comment. In the letter sent to school officials, Paprocki said that the policy was "prompted by a same-sex 'married' couple seeking to enroll their adopted children into one of our schools." He said the policy "as actually developed will not single out same-sex couples," and that "we are saying that the children are welcome and we will not turn them away." However, he continued, "it could be that parents will opt not to send their children to a school that will teach their children to a school that will teach their children that their parents are living in an objectively sinful situation if they are not married in the Church," which would also apply to people who had divorced and remarried, a practice the church does not recognize. While Pope Francis has consistently expressed opposition to same-sex marriage and said that children are harmed when not raised by married, heterosexual parents, he has explicitly called on church leaders to welcome the children of same-sex couples into the church in the name of evangelization. In a January 2014 interview, the pope explicitly called for training Catholic educators to welcome the children "who live in complex situations, especially family ones." The most important question, he said at the time, was, "How can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing?" Driving them away from the church was a mistake, he said. "We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them." Bishop Paprocki is technically subordinate in the Catholic hierarchy to Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, a moderate appointed last year by Pope Francis, a move widely seen as reflecting Francis's desire to push the American church away from the "culture wars" that prevailed under the last two popes. Cupich appeared to deliver an oblique rebuke to Paprocki in his homily on the Sunday after news of the new policy broke. "It is clear that the Holy Father is calling the Church to examine our categories of expression about what we believe and be open to new avenues and creativity when it comes to accompanying families," Cupich said in remarks about a highly contentious meeting on family teachings scheduled for October in Rome. "All of this has much to say to us in Chicago, that we not settle for solutions that no longer work, expressions that no longer inspire and ways of working that stifle creativity and collaboration." Cupich's office did not respond to request for comment.