School won't call transgendered student by male name

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - School administrators at Cathedral High School say they won't recognize a transgender student. Their decision is based upon Catholic beliefs.

Officials at Cathedral High School say last spring a female student and her parents met with administrators. The student had decided to change genders and wanted to be referred to as a male.

“They asked the school where we stood on it. We explained we were there to care for her, love her, and we still wanted her to be a student in full standing,” said Principal Dave Worland.

But, after consulting with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the school made it clear its teachers and staff would not address the student by a male name.

“We wanted to make sure they would realize we still recognize her as a female, call her by the name she used when she enrolled as a freshman, and treat her throughout the day as a female student,” said Worland.

The student returned to the private school for her senior year. On Thursday, which happened to be National Coming Out Day, a number of seniors decided to show their support for their classmate.

They held a protest of sorts. Twitter and Facebook lit up with stories that the school refused to recognize a transgender student.

“I probably met with over a hundred of our seniors over this,” said Worland.

He says he explained the school's stance on the issue. A stance rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church which say changing one's gender is wrong.

“I felt like at the end of the day the students were much more understanding of the schools view,” said Worland.