The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
When I was four years old, I started school at a tiny Catholic school in my town called Trinity Catholic Academy. I spent most of my life at this school—eleven years to be exact. Growing up in a Catholic school was a great experience for me, and I had several really good friends, one of whom I still go to school with 16 years later. I genuinely loved my time at that school, but eventually, it was time for high school.
In September of 2014, I went to a brand new school for the very first time since I was four— Holy Name High School in Worcester, MA. I still remember driving up the hill in my mom’s car and barely being able to get out of the car in one piece. Once I finally pulled it together, I walked into the auditorium where I heard the school motto for the first out of about a million times that day: “Loved at home. Loved at school. Loved by God.” For a brief second, I felt my nerves melt away. I felt like I belonged and that everything would be okay.
The next four years were very transformative for me. Because I had been essentially living in a bubble for the past 11 years, going to school in Worcester with a much more diverse group of people was a huge culture shock for me. Even though it was a Catholic School, people had opinions I had never heard before. Kids my age talked about LGBTQ+ issues, politics, abortion, women’s rights, etc. I was also fortunate enough to take several AP courses during my time there, and through those experiences, I met some incredible teachers who changed my perspectives so drastically that I wouldn’t be who I am today without them. I became a much more progressive thinker and open-minded person because of them. Overall, my time at Holy Name was a great experience and I always felt like I had a place there.
It wasn’t until I graduated, however, that I saw some of its faults. I realized that my privilege as a middle class, white teenager had blinded me from seeing how other students were treated differently from me. The biggest difference I noticed was how my LGBTQ+ friends were not afforded the same respect that I had under the Catholic Church/Catholic school system.
This brings me to Holy Name post-graduation. I recently found out that a transgender student at Holy Name was not being called by his preferred pronouns, and that the Bishop went as far as to inform administration that under no circumstances were they allowed to call him by his prounouns. I found this appalling, and incredibly hypocritical of the school that so often preached how students were “loved at school.” To me, this incident proved that this sentiment was only applied to certain people that the church and school deemed “normal” or “appropriate.” This kind of action by Catholics is absurd and goes directly against what Jesus preached. To quote Ephesians 4:31-32, “All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
I am embarrassed having graduated from a school that is so vehemently against equality for all people, even though that’s what they preach. I truly hope that the Catholic Church changes its ways before it becomes completely associated with hatred and discrimination. To end this, I wanted to share what I personally took away from Catholic experience is to treat ALL people with kindness, always. Love your neighbor. And possibly most importantly, fight for those who can’t fight for themselves.