Parents protest removal of icons from California's oldest Catholic school

Several parents are outraged after the oldest Catholic school in California made the decision to remove its icons and statues in an attempt to be more "inclusive."

San Domenico, the first Catholic School in California, reportedly removed 162 icons and statues from its campus, prompting several parents to express their concern that the school is now abandoning its Catholic heritage.

Shannon Fitzpatrick, a parent of a student at the school, recently submitted a formal complaint objecting to the removal of the statues.

"Articulating an inclusive foundation appears to mean letting go of San Domenico's 167-year tradition as a Dominican Catholic school and being both afraid and ashamed to celebrate one's heritage and beliefs," the parent wrote, as reported by Marinij.

The parent also noted in her letter that the removal of the icons was only the latest in a series of moves that made the school less Catholic.

"In our time here, the word 'Catholic' has been removed from the mission statement, sacraments were removed from the curriculum, the lower school curriculum was changed to world religions, the logo and colors were changed to be 'less Catholic,' and the uniform was changed to be less Catholic," she went on to say.

Fitzpatrick said that similar concerns have been raised by other parents, and that many were disappointed by the school's failure to inform them about the changes before enrolling their children for the next year.

The school leadership defended their decision to remove Catholic references, saying while the school identifies itself as Catholic, it is also open to students of all faiths.

In a recent interview, head of school Cecily Stock noted that as many as 80 percent of the school's 660 students do not identify as Catholic.

Stock said that the school wanted to emphasize to prospective families that it is an "independent" school.

According to Life Site News, the K-12 school, located in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, was founded by Dominican sisters, who remain involved in its operations today.

The head of San Domenico's board of trustees, Amy Skewes-Cox, contended that the school's decision to remove the icons is not connected in any way to the recent push to remove Confederate statues from public places.

She said that the school does not want to "further that feeling" of "alienation" that non-Catholic students might have if they see the statues.

Skewes-Cox further noted that the decision to relocate and remove the school's 180 religious icons was "completely in compliance" with San Domenico's new strategic plan that was unanimously approved by the board of trustees and the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael last year.

She said that there are still 18 icons at the school, including a statue of St. Dominic at the center of the campus.

Sister Maureen McInerney, the prioress general of the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, said that she was under the impression that the icons had been transferred elsewhere on campus rather than removed entirely.

"[I]f there has been a reduction in the number of statues but there are still many statues around the campus, I think that would be fine," McInerney said.