Quote from stu:
Well yes, it may well be irrelevant to what you are saying, but it isn't irrelevant to what I am saying.
As far as I am aware, KKK cannot force or oblige anyone to attend a meeting to hear their hateful bigoted preaching. Apparently the catholic church thought in De Salle school they could mandate people. So the -choice- thing is not at all irrelevant.
They were asked. The OP says there was measured knowledgeable objection to the remarks of representatives from an archdiocese. The offensive speech seems to have been one way - in the shape of a bigotted opinion of a church, which was personal, and upset those directly affected by its hurtful contents.
The OP indicates the type of offensive preaching at the students in the school. You might expect to hear such stuff in a KKK meeting but people attend those by choice.
I don't recall anywhere saying the school should not be able to call mandatory meetings. I do recall implying they apparently use them to verbally in this case, to insult and abuse children and their classmates and that it should not be allowed in a school, especially by those who are supposed to be fulfilling a role as teachers.
When being taught evolution, you don't get to personally insult students by calling them sociologically unstable and comparing them with bestiality.
If any school did that, private, catholic or not, I would have thought and hope you'd expect them to object and refuse it if nothing was done to stop it.
Making students attend a one off meeting in order to personally assault them with offensive remarks in the name of religion, is not what's expected in class or anywhere at all, other than at KKK or an islamic school.
There is nothing in the OP about students shouting anyone down. It mentions polite and knowledgeable rebuke. Feeling angry is not the same thing.
Students were obviously upset by some vile sounding remarks made by the church and objected, as was their right so to do, even if there had not been any question/answer, which apparently there was.
The impression you give is that private school has an absolute right over any situation, even when it is insulting offending or harming those in its care. Just because it is private. Just because it is catholic. Just because some parents want it that way.
So now they were personally insulting students.. personally. The bottom line is the church has every right to call a mandatory meeting and state its positions, AT ITS OWN INSTITUTION, indifferent to the possibility that certain individuals will be insulted or feel bad. There was no abuse as you state, and you certainly were implying that this shouldn't be allowed. And you are right the KKK can't force anyone to join and listen to them, but if one does decide to join and doesn't want to attend their meetings because they disagree, then why did they join? i just can't make this point any more simple: the church is openly anti-gay, if you are a gay teen and attend their institution it is possible, if not likely, that this position will be made known to you. religion is part of their curriculum, and the anti gay position is part of their religion. Sorry that's the way it is.. if the student is unable to accept this position because they feel personally attacked, they should attend another school. If their parents force them to attend, then they need to take it up with their parents. You can't actually expect that the church, or any private organization, should not discuss or be forced to CHANGE its positions because they might offend someone, when it was founded by people who promote and embrace those very ideas. And if you do expect that, then you are being both unrealistic and intolerant.