"This is not an appropriate thing to do."
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I mentioned this story in a post not too long ago, on how the Archbishop of New Orleans stated corporal punishment in high school is not part of Catholic teaching in 2011: ""I do not believe the teachings of the Catholic Church as we interpret them in 2011 condone corporal punishment." Evidently it was such a sore spot with him that he ordered the school in question to halt the practice. Parents and faculty disagreed.
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"Gregory Aymond, archbishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, said he could not “possibly condone” corporal punishment, noting that St. Augustine was the only Catholic school in the nation to continue the practice. “My image of Jesus is that he said, ‘Let the children come to me.’ I cannot imagine Jesus paddling anyone,” he reportedly said at the assembly.
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“St. Aug is different, it’s unique, the culture and so forth. And I think all those things need to be looked at but...it (paddling) weighs heavy on my heart,” Aymond said.
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According to a statement posted on the school’s Web site, St. Augustine alumni, current students, parents, school administration and other supporters of corporate punishment packed the town hall meeting and “clearly did not buy the ‘arguments’ proposed by the archdiocese.”
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It went on to say many supporters were dismayed that persons outside the Black community were trying to dictate how the school should run.
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“Many expressed outrage that African-American parents (have) to haggle with non-African-Americans about how to raise their own sons!,” the statement read. - Source
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Interestingly enough, the Archbishop seems to be supportive of popularized versions of Theology of The Body, lending his imprimatur and composing recommendations for books on the subject. Therefore, I wonder if he'd approve of spanking as foreplay in marriage? What?
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