Friday, February 20, 2015

Calif. Wants Immoral Teachers in Catholic Schools

State and local lawmakers in the Archdiocese of San Francisco are calling on Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to eliminate the morality clauses from teacher contracts or expect legal action against the Church, but the Archbishop says he won't back down.
"Would you hire a campaign manager who advocates policies contrary to those you stand for, and who shows disrespect for you and the Democratic Party in general?"
-- Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, response letter
For background, read California Parents Say: Drop Morals for Catholic School Teachers as well as Fired Homosexual Music Director Sues Archdiocese of Chicago

Also read how Catholic schools are being attacked across America by their own parishioners for firing homosexuals.

In addition, read Archbishop Cordileone Denounces Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi as Anti-Life & NOT Catholic



-- From "Lawmakers Urge San Francisco Archbishop To Drop Morality Clauses In Teacher Contracts, Call Plan ‘Divisive’" posted at CBS News KPIX-TV5 (San Francisco) 2/17/15

The letter to Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is signed by all eight state lawmakers who represent the areas served by archdiocese’s four Catholic high schools.

It’s in response to his decision to include a morality clause for teachers that tells them they must honor the church’s teachings, both on and off the job. The archbishop specifically cited opposition to abortion, contraception and homosexuality.

The lawmakers say the new rules, “conflict with settled areas of law and foment a discriminatory environment in the communities we serve.”

It goes on to say the clause, “strikes a divisive tone, which stands in stark contrast to the values that define the Bay Area and it’s history.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lawmakers urge S.F. archbishop to withdraw teacher morality clauses" by Lee Romney, Los Angeles Times 2/17/15

Cordileone has spurred protests with his addition to the [high school faculty] handbook --  which guides the nearly 500 school employees -- because it focuses almost exclusively on sexual morality in language many consider harsh.

It asks employees to "affirm and believe" that "adultery, masturbation, fornication, the viewing of pornography and homosexual relations" are "gravely evil." Artificial-reproductive technology, contraception and abortion are described similarly.

The "fundamental demands of justice," it continues, "require that the civil law preserve the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

Cordileone also is seeking to define teachers as ministers in the collective bargaining agreement now under negotiation with the teachers' union -- a move that would probably strip them of recourse under anti-discrimination law in the event of dismissal.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Archbishop on crash course with S.F., state" by Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle 2/18/15

San Francisco’s archbishop is trying to make its Catholic schools more Catholic, but city and state officials are poised to push back, saying any effort to discriminate against employees will be met with legal action.

“Catholic schools exist to affirm and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as held and taught by his Catholic Church,” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in his explanation for the addition of language against homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, contraceptives and artificial insemination. Teachers who publicly violate that language could face discipline or dismissal.

That’s a problem, said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who said he will introduce a resolution Tuesday calling on Cordileone to resolve the issue of the morality clauses in a way that preserves the rights and dignity of teachers while respecting the church.

He also said city officials were looking at legal options to prevent discriminatory employment practices, if necessary.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "SF archbishop answers disapproving letter from lawmakers" by The Associated Press 2/20/15

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone wrote the message in response to a letter sent to him earlier this week by California lawmakers urging him to remove from a teachers' handbook morality clauses they say are discriminatory and divisive.

On Tuesday, Democratic Assemblymen Phil Ting of San Francisco and Kevin Mullin of San Mateo made public a letter to Cordileone written by them and signed by every lawmaker representing the communities served by the four Catholic high schools in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties.

The statement outlines the church's teaching that using contraception is a sin and that sex outside of marriage, whether it is in the form of adultery, masturbation, pornography or gay sex, is "gravely evil."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Middle ground remains elusive in San Francisco Catholic high school handbook fight" by Dan Morris-Young, National Catholic Reporter 2/17/15

[The faculty handbook] says "administrators, faculty and staff of any faith or no faith are expected to arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church doctrine and practice.

It calls on Catholic employees to additionally strive to "conform their hearts, minds and consciences, as well as their public and private behavior" to church teaching.

"There is no doubt about it that ... many people's notions of what is appropriate in the sexual area have changed, and that includes many Catholics," [archdiocesan vicar for administration and moderator of the curia, Jesuit Fr. John] Piderit said. "What the archbishop wants to do is reaffirm that ... the four archdiocesan schools as institutions still teach and defend the Catholic faith as it appears in the Catechism. He goes out of his way to say that the issues that he chose are not the most important, but they are important issues, especially for young people, because they are at a time when they are forming their views on these things. But he recognizes that there are many other issues. However, he calls these the 'hot-button' issues -- the issues upon which there has been severe changes in both secular society and in the thinking of many Catholics over the past 30 or so years."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read how the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Obama's EEOC cannot veto church hiring and firing decisions.

And read ObamaNation = 'Fake Church' Says Catholic Cardinal