Over the past few days, hundreds of Sydney parents were delivered a letter from their children’s Catholic school. A letter that encourages them to ‘vote No’ in the current marriage equality postal survey, and to reflect upon the “likely significant consequences of redefining marriage”.
The statement, authored by Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher and co-signed by Dr Dan White, the Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools, was aimed at parents and carers and distributed to all 152 schools in the Diocese’s jurisdiction.
In addressing the “significant consequences” of marriage equality, the letter spouts vague threats about how the way we traditionally understand “husband, wife and children” will be “undermined”, about how “freedom of speech, religion and association” will be compromised, about how ideas of “family, human sexuality and personal identity” will be forced on teachers and families, about how faith-based schools “have the most to lose”.
It concludes, “This vote and any subsequent law will affect us all. We will be voting NO and encourage you to do the same. God give us all compassion, wisdom and courage.”
The letter

