Let us pray over this situation. We pray for the softening of hearts, as we approach Resurrection Sunday, I pray that stories like this will lead more people to stand up for the love of Jesus, to feel the true love of our Lord, Amen! The parents of a first grader are suing a Pennsylvania school district, accusing it of violating their son’s constitutional rights when a teacher forbade him from distributing Valentine’s Day cards containing a religious message to his classmates.
Donald and Ellen Abramo filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday on behalf of their son, identified in legal documents as “J.A.,” against the Nazareth Area School District in Northampton County, Pa. The lawsuit alleges that J.A.’s constitutional rights were violated by a first grade teacher at Shafer Elementary School in Nazareth during a class “Friendship Day” party on Feb. 19, when the young boy attempted to pass out Valentine’s Day cards to his fellow classmates.
The school’s policy banning candy in class caused J.A. and his siblings to create Valentine’s Day cards with the message of St. Valentine written on the piece of paper. The message read: “Happy Valentine’s Day! St. Valentine was imprisoned and martyred for presiding over marriages and for spreading the news of God’s love. In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, I want you to know that God loves you!!!” It also included a reference to John 3:16, according to the lawsuit.
When J.A.’s teacher spotted the religious message on the cards, she reportedly brought the issue to the attention of the principal. She then removed the religious notes from J.A.’s Valentine’s Day cards, and the school principal later told the Abramo family that religious messages could not be distributed on campus during school hours.
The suit says that one of the boy’s siblings was able to hand out the cards to his third grade class because the teacher failed to notice the religious notes attached to each card.
