Diocese Says Mass. School Can't Call Itself Catholic After Refusing to Remove Pride, Black Lives Matter Flags

Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Robert J. McManus, Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, in May 2013

A Bishop in Massachusetts says a boys' middle school can no longer refer to itself as Catholic after flying Pride and Black Lives Matter flags on campus.

Bishop Robert J. McManus, of the Diocese of Worcester, has barred the Nativity School of Worcester from using the title "Catholic" to describe itself after the school refused to take down the flags earlier this year, according to a decree issued Thursday by McManus.

The decision comes "after discussions over the past few months in an attempt to find alternatives to flying the Black Lives Matter and gay pride flags outside the school," the diocese said, adding that the flags "are inconsistent with Catholic teaching."

"The flying of these flags in front of a Catholic school sends a mixed, confusing and scandalous message to the public about the Church's stance on these important moral and social issues," McManus said in Thursday's decree.

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Nativity Worcester will appeal McManus' decision, according to a statement from the school released Wednesday, the day before the decree was published.

In the meantime, Nativity Worcester will continue to fly both flags "to give visible witness to the school's solidarity with our students, families, and their communities," they said.

McManus did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Nativity Worcester referred PEOPLE back to its original statement.

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Nativity Worcester, founded in 2003, began flying the Pride and Black Lives Matter flags outside in January 2021 "following our students' (the majority of whom are people of color) call to express support for making our communities more just and inclusive," according to Wednesday's statement.

In March 2022, McManus allegedly "told the school to remove the flags" and then threatened to bar the school "from identifying itself as a Catholic school" in late May, Nativity Worcester said.

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In an April 3 statement referenced in Thursday's decree, McManus emphasized that the two flags "embody specific agendas or ideologies (that) contradict Catholic social and moral teaching."

"It is my contention that the 'Gay Pride' flag represents support of gay marriage and actively living a LGBTQ+ lifestyle," McManus said in Thursday's decree. He said the same is true for Black Lives Matter, which he believes "has co-opted the phrase" and "seeks to disrupt the family structure in clear opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church."

"Despite my insistence that the school administration remove these flags because of the confusion and the properly theological scandal that they do and can promote, they refuse to do so," the bishop wrote. "This leaves me no other option but to take canonical action."

Still, the school has not taken the flags down, and does not intend to.

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"As a multicultural school, the flags represent the inclusion and respect of all people," Nativity Worcester said. "These flags simply state that all are welcome at Nativity and this value of inclusion is rooted in Catholic teaching."

The school also noted that Pope Francis "has praised the outreach and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people" and that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops "supports the spirit and movement" of Black Lives Matter.

Boston Archbishop Seán Patrick O'Malley also voiced his support for the movement in a June 2020 letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Boston, released after the death of George Floyd.

Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Pope Francis

"Though any symbol or flag can be co-opted by political groups or organizations, flying our flags is not an endorsement of any organization or ideology, they fly in support of marginalized people," the school said Wednesday.

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Under McManus' decree, Nativity Worcester "is not allowed to undertake any fundraising involving diocesan institutions in the Diocese of Worcester and is not permitted to be listed or advertise in the Diocesan Directory."

But Nativity Worcester said Wednesday that it does not receive funding from the Diocese of Worcester, and is instead funded through donations "from individuals, foundations, and corporations." The tuition-free school is operated "fully independent of the Diocese" as well, they said.

Despite the Diocese's decision, Nativity Worcester now believes it is "stronger than ever" thanks to "the understanding and support" of its community.

"Please know that any decisions made by the Diocese will not change the mission, operations or impact of Nativity," the school concluded. "With your ongoing partnership, we will continue to provide a transformational education for many years to come."