The Catholic Episcopal Corp. has released a new draft policy on same-sex attraction and is asking for public feedback.

Yukon government lawyers have confirmed that it complies with existing legislation, including the Yukon Human Rights Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Department of Education's relevant policies.

The draft policy has removed references from the previous guidelines which called homosexual acts morally wrong and intrinsically evil, and seeks to promote a "safe and caring school environment.”

"From the perspective of the Roman Catholic faith, every human person is created in the image of God,” the document says.

"Every human being is a child of God. Thus, respect is due everyone regardless of race, gender, age, stage of development, disability, sexual orientation, class or religion ....

"The scourge of bullying in education and in society must be resisted in Catholic schools and in the Catholic community at large. Bullying, be it verbal, physical, or social, is not to be tolerated in any measure whatsoever.”

The document goes on to express understanding that LGBTQ students, who are referred to as "students of same-sex attraction or same-sex identity” in the policy, are at higher risk of bullying and discrimination and outlines actions schools can take to promote a safe and inclusive environment.

The draft policy also allows for a support group for "students of same-sex attraction,” which must include "One Heart” in the title.

It suggests the group could be called "One Heart: Gay/Straight Catholic Allies.”

But the policy notes that the bishop reserves the right to disassemble the group if he becomes aware that it is providing instruction and/or counselling contrary to the teachings of the church.

It also includes a complaint procedure and provides suggestions for staff who may be approached by a student who wants to discuss his or her sexual orientation.

The document does direct the reader to "A guide for Pastoral Ministry to Young People with Same Sex Attraction” for more information on the Church's teachings on homosexuality.

The letter by the Commission for Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops which accompanies the guide outlines the Catholic teachings that "sexual relations belong within the marriage covenant between a man and a woman, for it is only within this covenant that the two inseparable ends of marriage can be achieved: the deepening of love between spouses and the procreation and education of children.

"Any genital act outside the covenant of marriage cannot fulfill this twofold purpose intended by the Creator and thus is morally wrong,” it says.

The letter goes on to say that that "sexual relations between persons of the same sex are not in accord with God's original intention expressed in the plan of creation.

"For this reason, the Church has consistently taught that homosexual acts can never be approved.

"While homosexual acts are always objectively wrong, same-sex inclinations are not in themselves sinful or a moral failing,” it continues.

The new draft policy is publicly available online at oneheartfeedback.weebly.com.

Community members wishing to comment can either respond through the website, through a letter to one of the three Catholic school councils, or at public meetings to be held in October.

Controversy over the previous Catholic school policy on homosexuality exploded last February after a parent publicly raised concerns about it in a letter published by the Star.

Stories of bullying at Vanier Catholic Secondary School further fueleld the debate, which culminated in a public and well-attended school council meeting in late March.

At the time, the Department of Education committed to developing a new policy, hoping to have it ready for late April.

Then-education minister Scott Kent later sent an open letter to Catholic Bishop Gary Gordon mandating that the new policy would have to align with Yukon human rights laws.