Controversy swirls around Canadian Catholic schools celebrating ‘Pride’ month 

Bree Solstad, a former producer of pornography and recent convert to the Catholic faith who now creates rosaries and Catholic jewelry, is among those who challenge the celebration of “Pride” month in Catholic schools. 

“It seems obvious to me that Catholic schools should not be promoting and affirming things that are in direct opposition to Church teaching,” Solstad told CNA.

She added: “Catholic schools should be safe havens from the madness we now see in the public school system.”

Solstad criticized an X post by St. Joan of Arc Catholic Elementary School of Oakville, Ontario, that reads: “Today, we raise the Pride flag to symbolize that our school, along with all [Halton Catholic District School Board], is a welcoming, inclusive, and accepting building to all.”

A major difference between Catholic schools in Canada and the U.S. is that the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta provide public funding. At private Catholic schools that do not receive public funding, parents pay more of the costs. Quebec banned public funds for religiously affiliated schools in 1994. 

There have been increasing calls in the country to eliminate the public funding of Catholic schools, including pressure around the schools’ lack of affirmation of LGBTQ+ identity and abortion.