Students Fight to Keep School's Paddling Policy

There is apparently one Catholic school in the country that still uses corporal punishment—and students are fighting to keep it that way. That's right, keep. Some 500 students, parents, and others tied to New Orleans' St. Augustine High School marched on Archbishop Gregory Aymond's offices on Saturday. Aymond is calling for the school to do away with its paddling policy—corporal punishment institutionalizes violence, doesn't jibe with Catholic teaching, and violates the archdiocese's school policy, he says.

Protesters disagree, and want Aymond to issue a "public, unequivocal retraction ... of all statements linking St. Augustine disciplinary policies with violence, particularly in the New Orleans community." They also want to see proof of the archbishop's claims that parents have complained about the policy, as well as a study he's cited that he says supports his position, according to Religion News Service. (More New Orleans stories.)