PRESS RELEASE

Yesterday, Garden State Equality released a statement condemning the removal of a student’s LGBTQ pride mural at a Hackensack public charter school over church objections. In response, last night The Archdiocese of Newark claimed that “there was neither any specific discussion about that section of the painting, nor direction to remove it.”

Today, Garden State Equality is calling on the church to restore the student’s mural.

The following statement may be attributed to Garden State Equality executive director Christian Fuscarino:

Rev. Paul Prevosto—the pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Hackensack which is the landlord of BASCS—is on the record calling the 16-year-old student’s LGBTQ pride mural “sexual,” “offensive,” and “obscene” while confessing he demanded the school “to take care of it.”

Garden State Equality works with many affirming religious institutions, but few have come close to displaying such militant opposition to LGBTQ people and recklessness for the facts throughout history.

In spite of Rev. Prevosto’s public comments, The Archdiocese of Newark claims they neither discussed nor directed the school to remove the student’s LGBTQ rainbow heart mural, so if they sincerely want to “embrace and welcome” everyone as stated, we expect The Archdiocese’s swift and urgent call for the school to restore the mural.