COMMENTARY: Cardinal O'Malley's View on Catholic School Matter Is Wrong

Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley this week finally provided his view on an incident in which an 8-year-old boy's admission to a Catholic school in Hingham, Massachusetts was withdrawn, once school officials realized that the boy's parents were both lesbians. Unfortunately, Cardinal O'Malley made the wrong decision in "justifying" the school's admission withdrawal.

This incident -- which has gained much national attention -- began in May 2010, when Cynthia Duggan, principal of St. Paul elementary school, and Rev. James Rafferty, the parish priest, decided that the boy must not be allowed to attend the Catholic school, because his parents' lesbian relationship was "in discord" with Catholic Church teachings.

This week -- 11 months after the boy was denied admission to the Catholic school last May -- Cardinal O'Malley stated publicly for the first time that Rev. Rafferty has "my full confidence and support" for denying the boy admission.

In supporting the decision made by Rev. Rafferty, Cardinal O'Malley has failed to show any compassion for the innocent boy involved in this case. Indeed, this unnecessary experience of the boy will undoubtedly have a negative impact on his self-esteem for many years -- perhaps even for his entire life.

The fact is that the 8-year-old boy was not gay -- his parents were lesbians. The boy's lifestyle as a student would have been similar to that of all the other students at this Catholic school. He was not different from other students.

Rev. Rafferty's decision was one that showed no empathy for the innocent child. Indeed, it was a hateful decision -- not only for this school, but for Catholicism in general -- because it conveys that the Catholic Church considers lesbian parents to be second-class citizens, thus justifying its denial of children of lesbian parents to attend Catholic schools. Cardinal O'Malley's support of Rev. Rafferty's decision in this matter only reinforces and exacerbates this Catholic prejudice.

Several gay rights groups have already blasted Cardinal O'Malley for his support of Rev. Rafferty on this incident. For example, Harry Knox -- director of the religion and faith program at America's largest gay rights group (the Human Rights Campaign) -- said that Cardinal O'Malley's support for Rev. Rafferty in this case "has failed on a number of accounts and further muddies the waters."

Now, that is a precise and sincere statement that delineates why Cardinal O'Malley is wrong in his view of this matter.