Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools has suspended its invitation to Red Deer & Area Pro-Life to make classroom presentations following a controversial presentation to Grade 10 students.
In March the pro-life group presented a short video to a class that compared abortion to the Holocaust.
“We feel that we did not provide clear enough expectations for the Red Deer & Area Pro-Life presenter. We apologize to this organization, as well as anybody that was offended by the pedagogical strategies used to achieve our intended outcome, including our students and parents/guardians,” said board chair Guy Pelletier, in a press release.
The school division said it remains committed to teaching students that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” as described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Red Deer Catholic is now developing procedures for third-party presentations in its religious instruction.
Senior leaders in the division are working with the school-based administration teams to vet any future presentations until the procedures are in place.
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools serves over 9,500 students in 19 schools in Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail and Olds. It also supports the learning of over 600 students in a Home Education Program.