A few weeks ago Sydney Catholic Schools staged a massive production of the schools’ version of the ‘School of Rock’ musical. A team of over three thousand students and alumni worked with teachers and crew for almost a year on what was a phenomenal exercise in stagecraft and collaboration. More than 20 thousand people were in the audiences of the four performances over two days and most lauded the fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience the cast and crew had, with numerous parents posting how proud they were of their children.

As someone who was in the audience for the final performance, I can honestly say that the joy on the faces of the performers was palpable and that it was so obvious in the curtain calls at the end that every person was proud of their achievements.

Sadly, the joy and the boost to their collective confidence have been marred by a group of parents who found offence in the production. I have seen all the comments, heard the conversations and read the beat up in the media, and have had sleepless nights as I attempted to understand where these people are coming from.

But first a bit of background

I remember the advice a very wise nun gave 15-year-old me in the 1970s. She said that there will always be people who apply the bible literally and they will be the people who are loudest. The important thing to remember is that the messages and preaching of Jesus should be what our life and decisions should be based on so the Gospels are the important part we should heed. Everything else is just other people’s interpretations and messages, with much of the old testament being a library of stories that attempted to explain things for people from a much simpler time and the rest of the new testament being the preachings of people of faith who put their own interpretations on things. I am fairly sure that ultra-conservative Catholics would think she should have been thrown out of the order but what she said fifty years ago resonated with me.

Over the years I have thought about her often, especially in recent years when religious fundamentalists and extremists have been loud in their opinions. If pushed for my opinion I use a line I hear an Anglican minister use once… You are entitled to your opinion just as I am entitled to mine. Just know that I am not going to agree with your opinion so it is best that we agree to disagree.

So back to the current storm in a teacup

The parents who are complaining loudly are complaining about a number of things. I will use the words of some of their posts or comments to give context.

a) There was same-sex activity and that’s against what Jesus taught.

These people are obviously unaware that Jesus never mentioned homosexuality and that there are, in fact, only three mentions of it in the New Testament, all in Pauline epistles. So Jesus didn’t preach about it, Paul did. Or, as that lovely nun, said it was the “preaching of a person of faith who put their own interpretations on things”.

On a related note, Pope Francis made it obvious that Catholics should become more accepting of same-sex relationships

“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or made miserable over it.” Pope Francis indicates support for same-sex civil unions 21 October 2020

It is important to note that in a 30-second scene, one of the student characters was depicted as having two dads. This is what the complaining parents are getting upset about. Other parents felt that this was an acknowledgment that there are students in schools with same-sex parents while many others and most of the children in the audience didn’t even notice it.

b) Two characters kissed and they weren’t married.

This was a facepalm moment for me. Two adult characters who weren’t married played by adults kissed. I can only assume that the complaining parents did not kiss until they had been pronounced as husband and wife on their wedding day.

Also, if they have such a strong objection to characters in a work of fiction kissing they should probably ensure that their children do not watch any children’s movies where people kiss. Here I am thinking of scenes like Aladdin kissing Jasmine, Mulan kissing Shang-Li, and Ariel kissing Prince Eric. and the list goes on.

c) There was swearing in the production

The first alleged swear word was ‘pissed’. My granddaughter, who was in the cast, tells me the kids were singing miffed. The second was ‘screwed’ which most dictionaries describe as being informal language for ‘in a difficult or hopeless situation’. I think the root of the complaining parents’ problem lies in the fact that they are putting their adult interpretation of the word and extrapolating a sexual meaning. Here, I think, the problem is their interpretation as most kids use it in the context of ‘I screwed up’.

d) Satanic signals were used

This one relates to the cast all using the rock salute in one of the key numbers. This one is pearl-clutching in the extreme. The rock salute has been a part of rock music since Ronnie Dio used it when he took over as the Black Sabbath lead singer in 1979. Prior to that, it had been used by jazz musicians as a sign that they were having a great time. In the context of a musical called ‘School of Rock’ it is easy to see that the rock salute was being used to indicate ‘rock on’. No demonic messages here. Move along, please.

e) It encouraged challenging authority

Apparently, some parents took exception to one of the major rock anthems in the show “Stick it to the Man” as it will encourage their children to defy authority. Really? Give me a break. As a music teacher in high school for a number of years I never once encountered a student who reacted to a song by adopting its message as their raison d’etre. It’s just a song.

f) It was blasphemous

For this, I reflect back to the simplest definition of blasphemy ie saying something bad about a god or a religion. In this production, this didn’t happen. No one said anything bad about Christianity, Catholicism or any other religion and no one said anything bad about the god associated with a religion. This is literally a storm in a teacup.

So where are we now?

A group of ultra-conservative Catholics has an audience with a Sydney Bishop this week to lodge their complaint. The leader of that group basically posted a call to arms on the group’s page and, based on my own interaction, is deleting any posts that do not support his cause. But I overheard a conversation at a local school with two parents complaining that they were being harassed via social media and text messages because they couldn’t see anything wrong with the production and refused to complain. Their harassers told them they would go to hell because of this. A family member is experiencing the same thing. If you have to coerce people to join your cause then your cause is not very strong.

On the other hand, there are hundreds of posts from parents who were happy with the production and grateful for the opportunity for their kids to participate. One has to wonder if the voice of these people will also be heard by the Bishop, or if he is just going to listen to what my grandmother used to describe as the empty kettles making the most noise.

One big concern for me is that the children who were so pleased with their performances will now feel they have done something wrong and will now be hesitant about participating in anything like this ever again.

Sure, perhaps there could have been some sort of disclaimer in the program and the permission slips parents signed but the parents could also have done a little bit of parental due diligence.

I will be forever grateful to the nun who gave me a good insight in the 1970s. She was really ahead of the game on the whole ‘what would Jesus do’ thing. Hopefully, this will all blow over soon and the complaining parents can direct their energies to far more important global issues and apply the WWJD principles.