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“Sometimes it’s not easy to do this, but I believe it’s a constructive process that will lead to a positive outcome in the end,” Eggen said.

But Henry said the guidelines take a “totalitarian approach” and must be rejected.

“This approach and directive smack of the madness of relativism and the forceful imposition of a particular narrow-minded anti-Catholic ideology,” Henry wrote.

“(Gay-straight alliances) and (queer-straight alliances) are highly politicized ideological clubs which seek to cure society of ‘homophobia’ and ‘heterosexism,’ and which accept the idea that all forms of consensual sexual expression are legitimate,” Henry wrote. His language focused on sexual orientation and sexual activity, rather than gender identity and expression. “The view of sexuality that they espouse is not Catholic.”

Kris Wells, faculty director of the Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services, called for Henry to immediately apologize for what he called misinformed, irrelevant, archaic rhetoric.

“The only madness that Bishop Henry describes is his lunacy,” Wells said. “What the bishop fails to realize is that this kind of harmful rhetoric does great damage to LGBT youth and individuals in our province.”

“It’s certainly not reflective of what most Catholics would think. They want the church to move past these things,” said Mickey Wilson, executive directive of Edmonton’s Pride Centre.

He said Henry has no jurisdiction over school representatives who were elected to serve youth and children, not appointed by the church. “It’s just shameful that he would put students in a position where they have to choose between being schooled in their faith and having a safe place.”

Marilyn Bergstra, chairwoman of the Edmonton Catholic school board, said she would like her board to accept all 12 suggestions in the guideline document.

jsinnema@postmedia.com

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