Cathal BarryJarlath Burns insisted that he was not making a political statement by marching in this year’s ‘Pride in Newry’ festival.
The principal of one of Ireland’s largest Catholic post-primary schools has defended his decision to bring a group of students on a gay pride parade in the Newry at the weekend.
Jarlath Burns, principal of St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook, Co. Armagh, insisted that he was not making a political statement by marching in this year’s ‘Pride in Newry’ festival.
“We were not making a bold political statement by marching, we are not a campaigning school,” he told The Irish Catholic.
“We were not saying that we are for homosexuals or that we are for the redefinition of marriage or anything like that.
“We just wanted to walk to show solidarity with what is a marginalised group in our society, to show them compassion, dignity and respect,” he said.
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) has distanced itself from the school’s decision to take part in last weekend’s parade.
In a statement to this newspaper, the management body said: “The decision by St Paul’s High School in attending the Pride event in Newry recently was an internal decision by the school. St Paul’s is well-known for its promotion of the Catholic ethos.”
Underlining his schools commitment to the Catholic ethos, Mr Burns claimed the decision to participate in the parade was intended to challenge societal norms.
“At St Paul’s, we celebrate diversity. It is a welcoming place where all students can feel comfortable.
“Schools should not be places where students are ridiculed or made feel isolated. We are proud to be a Catholic school and it because of that we decided to walk as a group and give Christian witness. It may have been controversial but we have to challenge ourselves and the status quo. We can’t be bound by tradition. It’s in that context that we decided to march and I’m very proud of what we did,” he said.