A controversy erupted this summer over religious statues being removed from the Catholic San Domenico School in San Anselmo, Calif. The decision to mothball some statues of saints (far fewer than originally believed) sparked a debate over whether Catholic identity should or must be sacrificed for the sake of inclusivity.

Shannon Fitzpatrick, a mother whose child attends San Domenico, wrote to school administration and community leaders that the removal of the statues for the sake of “an inclusive foundation” felt like the school was “letting go” and “being both afraid and ashamed” of its Catholic identity.