CLC Blog

No school board (especially one calling itself Catholic!) should voluntarily fund the killing of innocent human beings—directly or indirectly, right? 

That should be obvious. 

Unfortunately, it seems very few things are these days, which is why I need your help. 

Trustee Helena Karabela has repeatedly heroically put forward motions to prevent schools in the Halton Catholic District School Board from fundraising for charities or non-profits that support abortion, contraception, euthanasia, or embryonic stem cell research—all of which compromise the sanctity of life. 

This faithful, pro-life stalwart is once again planning on trying to amend the board’s School Fundraising Activities Policy V-04 at their next Policy Committee Meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, April 8 at the Catholic Education Centre (802 Drury Lane, Burlington, ON).  

Here’s the specific amendment: 

In keeping with the teachings of the Catholic faith on the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death, school and/or board fundraising efforts may not be directed to any registered charity or non-profit (including subsidiaries, affiliates and associates) that in any way are involved in or support advocacy, programs, financial or material support for abortion, contraception, euthanasia or embryonic stem cell research. 

I think this amendment will need a lot of support from parents and other stakeholders in the area to pass–which is where you come in.

Here are the ways you can really help:

Please email the trustees and ask them to support Karabela’s amendment. It’s important to write to your trustee and copy all the Trustees, so that they all see the positive support for this amendment. 

Here’s their contact info: 

Marvin Duarte (Chair of the Board)
Milton Trustee - Wards 1 & 4
416-559-9327
[email protected]

Emma Murphy (Vice-Chair of the Board)
Milton Trustee - Wards 2 & 3
[email protected]

Brenda Agnew
Burlington Trustee - Wards 4 & 5
[email protected]

Helena Karabela
Oakville Trustee - Wards 5 & 6
289-230-1423
[email protected]

Kirsten Kelly
Burlington Trustee - Wards 1 & 2
[email protected]

Robert Kennedy
Oakville Trustee - Wards 1, 2 & 3
[email protected]

Janet O’Hearn-Czarnota
Halton Hills Trustee
905-630-3581
o'[email protected]

Trish Powell
Burlington Trustee - Wards 3 & 6
[email protected]

Chris Saunders
Oakville Trustee - Wards 4 & 7
[email protected]

Alternatively, you can just copy and paste their email addresses, here:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], o'[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Please also include a request in your email that your correspondence be included in the meeting agenda package.

Also, please consider delegating at this policy meeting. Here’s the board’s delegation policy; please submit your request to delegate here and note you will need to send a “detailed outline” of your proposed delegation at least a week in advance of the meeting (i.e. 5 pm on April 1). 

Please also ask your pastor to delegate, or to at least attend the meeting. Direction from our Church leaders on this topic will go a long way. 

Of course, please plan on attending the meeting yourself, even if you don’t delegate. Prepare to pray and pray hard! 

I used to be a student in the HCDSB. In 2018, when I was still in university, I came back as an alumna to delegate on this same topic.

I pointed out that if we were talking about the killing of newborn babies, for instance, there is no way that Catholic schools would ever fundraise for any organization that supported the killing of newborns, even indirectly. We would recoil in horror at the prospect. 

The pro-life position (and the Catholic position) is that all human beings, born and preborn, are equal. One’s age and abilities (or lack thereof) have no bearing on one’s human dignity and one’s right to life. 

Therefore, consistency would demand that we be just as adamant about not raising funds for organizations that would support the killing of the preborn, be it through abortion, abortifacient contraception (which can prevent a very young embryo from implanting in the uterus) or embryonic stem cell research; or the killing of the disabled, the elderly, and infirm, through euthanasia. 

No one is arguing that Catholic schools should only fundraise for Catholic organizations. 

We’re arguing that schools should only fundraise for organizations that don’t support human rights injustices. 

Consistency also demands our perseverance. 

We shouldn’t still be having this debate… because the first time this Sanctity of Life motion passed in 2018, it should have stuck. There shouldn’t have been any backlash and an orchestrated media campaign to bring about its demise. 

So, while this good work remains unfinished, we must rally again and again. 

Please, write to the trustees, delegate to the April 8 policy meeting, and recruit your pastor’s support.