Principal steps down over anti-gay contract

Citipointe Christian College withdrew its enrolment contract on Thursday which would have allowed the school to expel students based on their gender identity.

The contract also branded homosexuality “sinful, offensive and destructive” and lumped it into the same category as paedophilia and incest.

Now, Principal Pastor Brian Mulheran has revealed he will be stepping aside and taking “extended leave” in the wake of the backlash.

In a statement sent to parents on Friday night, Mr Mulheran said he will use his extended leave to “reflect on what has transpired and provide the College community time to heal”.

“Our Head of Primary, Ruth Gravestein has agreed to step into the role of Acting Principal and will be supported by former Headmaster Ron Woolley,” he wrote.

The contract drew widespread outrage, with a petition calling for its recall gaining more than 155,800 signatures in a matter of days.

The document was branded “utterly disgusting” and “inhumane” and prompted multiple parents to pull their children from the school.

The controversy also resulted in the school, which receives a combined $13 million in government funding, being placed under review by Queensland’s Non-State Schools Accreditation Board.

The board ensures all schools meet the required criteria for state funding.

In his statement, Mr Mulheran apologised that some students “felt they were being discriminated against”, reiterating that the school “would never discriminate against any student on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity”.

However, the enrolment contract parents had been asked to sign openly stated the school would expel students if they didn’t identify with their birth gender.

The contract stated the school had a right to “exclude a student from the College who no longer adheres to the College’s doctrinal precepts” – which includes the school’s beliefs around a student’s biological sex.

It noted that the bible does not make a distinction between gender and biological sex and there were certain distinctions based on their biological sex students were expected to adhere to – such as uniforms, terminology, use of facilities and amenities, participation in sporting events and accommodation.

Mr Mulheran claimed the school’s only intention was to allow families a “choice” about how their children were educated and to be “open and transparent” about their religious ethos.

“I am heartbroken that by doing so, our College, and our community have suffered so much,” he said.

He also said he had been “devastated” to hear students had suffered “hurtful and hate-filled verbal assaults simply because of their beliefs or for attenting the College”.

“Our College community needs time to heal after the events of this week,” he said.

Mr Mulheran’s decision to step aside comes after he doubled down on the contract earlier in the week, releasing a six minute video to parents in which he said exercise of religious freedom was “not discrimination”.

“As a college established for religious purposes, we have the freedom to maintain our Christian ethos and provide families and education based on their shared beliefs,” Mr Mulheran said.

“Legitimate exercise of religious freedom is not discrimination, it is a feature of an open society.”

The controversy has brought a lot of scrutiny to the Religious Discrimination Bill Prime Minister Scott Morrison is attempting to get through parliament.

On Thursday, Mr Morrison vowed to fast-track changes to the Sex Discrimination Act to stop religious schools from discriminating against students on the basis of their sexuality.

Speaking about Citipointe’s enrolment contract on Brisbane Radio B105, Mr Morrison said “I do not support that”.

“My kids go to a Christian school here in Sydney, and I wouldn’t want my school doing that either,” he said.

“The bill that we’re going to be taking through the parliament, we will have an amendment which will deal with that to ensure kids cannot be discrimin­ated against on that basis.

“The law, as it sits, would allow for that.”

Originally published as Citipointe Christian College principal steps down over anti-gay contract