Whitby Priest Addresses Letter Issue Online
Durham Region
Parents still upset over letter being sent home with kids WHITBY -- Parents with children at a couple of Brooklin Catholic schools are still fuming over a letter sent home from their parish priest, while the Father himself has tackled the issue on the church website. The letter dated Lent 2013, a call to return to Catholic practices, included a two-page "examination of conscience" and invitation to reflect on sins before going to confession. From Rev. Charles Forget, pastor of Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church in Brooklin, the letter was sent home with students at St. Bridget and St. Leo Catholic schools. Sins included "Have I committed adultery or fornication?," "Have I become intoxicated?" and "Have I denied my spouse his or her marriage rights?" "It was in my youngest son's agenda. He's seven," said St. Leo mother Audrey Cowie. "He didn't open it, but it wasn't sealed." While most parents who contacted Whitby This Week after the paper put out the request for comments also say the letters weren't sealed, the Durham Catholic District School Board and Father Forget maintain they were. One person sent an e-mail in support of the letter, and another called and said he and a group of 10 to 20 parents were not offended by the letter. Twelve called or left e-mails indicating they were not pleased, most wishing to remain anonymous, one calling it "condescending and negative." One St. Bridget mother, whose son saw the letter, came home and asked about masturbation. "It's crazy. I mean we're not back in the 1920s," said Ms. Cowie. "I'm just disgusted about the whole thing." Nearly all could understand Father Forget's intentions to encourage parents to attend Mass, but disagreed with the letter coming home with the kids. Another mother wishing to remain anonymous said "he chose to approach the matter in a very condescending and negative manner, and I feel he crossed the line." Father Forget wrote on the church bulletin in a lengthy post he entitled "Hatred" that letters are sent home twice a year to reach parents who might otherwise not know what is going on in the parish. He said the 'examination of conscience' (which he said he didn't compose) was accompanied by his "admittedly blunt, straightforward message about the need for Catholics to attend Mass each Sunday and that not (doing) so constitutes serious sin, a sin that some parents pass on to their children who will continue to do what their non-church-going parents have taught them." He said a "soft, sweet and flowery letter would not have impacted anyone." He felt the true issue with the letter was a person taking exception to Catholic teaching. "Perhaps my letter and the attached Examination of Conscience hit such an unexpected nerve because those who are filled with rage don't understand the role and call of the Priest of Jesus Christ," he wrote. The board's director of education, Paul Pulla, said the board and schools combined received seven phone calls of complaint. Of 1,100 students with just seven complaints, he can't see any justification in changing the protocol regarding the exchange of information between the schools and the parish. The Catholic board values the relationship between the schools, church and parents, and the communication between them is key, part of the parents, school and church working together, he said. Mr. Pulla said Father Forget is extremely supportive of the two schools and was doing his job. He noted the letter was written at an adult level and "There's nothing in the letter the priest sent that is not supportive of the catechisms and the teachings of the church." As for some of the words the children were said to have questioned, "The kids see and hear a lot worse on TV and out on the street," Mr. Pulla said.
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