Posted on 03/01/2013 5:34:59 AM PST by NYer
Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, California, has done the unthinkable—nay, he has gone beyond outrageous, to a place so foreign and radical, many Catholics in his diocese are going apoplectic and having complete meltdowns (with low-fat lattes in hand, I presume). Prepare to be shocked:
The Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese is requiring its 200 schoolteachers to sign an agreement affirming that "modern errors" such as contraception, abortion, homosexual marriage and euthanasia are "matters that gravely offend human dignity."
The move is an effort by Bishop Robert Vasa to delineate specifically what it means for a Catholic-school teacher -- whether Catholic or not -- to be a "model of Catholic living" and to adhere to Catholic teaching.
That means means abiding by the Ten Commandments, going to church every Sunday and heeding God's words in thought, deed and intentions, according to a private church document that is an "addendum" to language in the current teachers' contract.
Who does he think he is? Their employer? Their bishop? Um, yeah, he is both, in fact. But, of course, some of the teachers would rather not walk the talk and be adults about the reasonable requirement:
But some teachers fear the addendum is an invasion of their private lives and a move toward imposing more rigid Catholic doctrine.
"Personally, it's probably something that I can't sign," said a teacher at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa. ...
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, said he has not made a final decision whether or not to sign the document.
"On my high moral days, I feel I absolutely won't sign," the teacher said. "And on my days that I think about my job, I think who will it affect if I don't sign it."
The teacher said he objects to the "whole idea that they want me to live their morals when it's my personal life what I do outside of work."
Even more depressing are the vast majority of the nearly 90 comments (as of this posting), many of which raise the question: "Were you educated in a Catholic school? Can you spell 'Catholic'?" And, "If your conscience tells you that 2+2 = 5, do I have to affirm how wonderful of a teacher you think you are?" Here are a couple of the more ridiculous comments:
Coercion of any kind is wrong. You can't say "well we aren't firing them if they choose not to sign..." That's like a armed robber saying "I didn't shoot you, you shot you by not handing over your money when I asked so very nicely the first time." I believe in God and I was raised a Catholic, but more and more I have to put my faith in what my heart believes instead of what a single man such as this one demands I believe. Shameful.
Oh my! My heart goes out to all these teachers. To force them to sign this document (and it is force) is despicable! These teachers have families, obligations, homes, etc. Wouldn't it be amazing if all the teachers refused to sign? How would this bishop run the schools without all these dedicated teachers. This is positively disgusting of this Bishop to demand this.
I suggest teachers who are opposed to this look for jobs at less discriminatory schools. For those that can't find work elsewhere, they should sign it and then be as immoral as possible in protest of this terrible agreement.
Yes: be immoral in order to show you own the moral high ground. Brilliant. Meanwhile, here is some of what the offending addendum states:
Titled "Bearing Witness," the addendum asks teachers to "acknowledge" or "recognize" that:
They are called to a "life of holiness" and that "this call is the more compelling for me since I have been entrusted, in my vocation as a teacher/administrator in a Catholic school, with the formation of souls."
As a teacher in the Santa Rosa Diocese, "I am, by that fact, also a ministerial agent of the Bishop who is the chief 'teacher' of the Diocese."
It also requires all teachers to "agree that it is my duty, to the best of my ability, to believe, teach/administer and live in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes.
"I am especially cognizant of the fact that modern errors -- including but not limited to matters that gravely offend human dignity and the common good such as contraception, abortion, homosexual 'marriage' and euthanasia -- while broadly accepted in society, are not consistent with the clear teachings of the Catholic Church."
Read more here. Prepare to laugh, to cry, and to say a prayer for Bishop Vasa.
The teacher said he objects to the "whole idea that they want me to live their morals when it's my personal life what I do outside of work."
Not only does this teacher lack a properly formed conscience, this teacher is not intelligent enough to teach at the high school level.
This is an individual who could not reason his way out of a wet paper bag.
I guess I would have had a retreat this summer and during the retreat re-taught the Catechism. I’ve done several weeks now of RCIA as a team member. I probably would have had issues with signing off on some of this stuff at the beginning of the series but now I would crawl over broken glass to sign it.
I guess I would have had a retreat with the teachers this summer if I were the bishop and during the retreat re-taught the Catechism. I’ve done several weeks now of RCIA as a team member. I probably would have had issues with signing off on some of this stuff at the beginning of the series but now I would crawl over broken glass to sign it.
THE CHILDREN!!! Oh, Dear Lord, Please save the children!
I am sick to death of this self congratulatory streak in teachers and nurses. Dedicated, hardworking, devoted, blah, blah, blah. Newsflash, it's a job. You're not doing it because you love it. Or at least that's not the only reason you're doing it. You're doing it for a paycheck.
Here's another newsflash. You may be a good teacher. But there's one lined up right behind you for your job. You may even be a great teacher who really truly is irreplaceable. We'll be sorry to lose you. However, if you quit your job, the world will keep spinning. Kids will still learn, and life will go on.
ZC,
This is the same bishop who wrote the intro to this book: http://www.amazon.com/Doctrines-Genesis-1-11-Compendium-Traditional/dp/0595452434
Whoa! Just came across this by accident: http://books.google.com/books?id=-JNaLoaCagwC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Well all of these teachers should have been asked this when they were hired.
If they teach at a Catholic school it should be no problem for them to adhere to catholic principles. If it is they need to look elsewhere.
When we lost the nuns to Vatican II or whatever it was that drove them from the habits and to feminism it was the kiss of death for Catholic schools. Some still survive, but they arent the same.
If you really want to hear some squealing add that to the employment contracts at Notre Dame and Georgetown.
Whenever I falter with the Church, it’s for just the opposite reason.
I get fed up with the irreverence at Mass.
I despise the bishop’s and priest’s ignoring abortion advocating politicians.
Half of those sitting in the pews don’t believe in the faith and only want the social justice aspects of the Church....and worse vote for abortion loving Dems.
Then a Cardinal Dolan, right before the Conclave, comes out and supports Obama’s gun control plan. (sickeningly political)
It wears you down at times. I have to remind myself that the American Bishops are not the entire Catholic Church. I do not want an American to be Pope, unless it’s Chaput.
“Then a Cardinal Dolan, right before the Conclave, comes out and supports Obama’s gun control plan. (sickeningly political)”
Are you Catholic? Which parish do you attend?
Is divorce included as one of the 'modern errors'?
It is the thinking of a teenager.
When MA ordered kids to affirm transgendered by using the same bathrooms (showers?), not that many freaked out.
What a crazy world
Profoundly moving statement. You have come to recognize how truth is liberating. God bless you!
Yes. I’m Catholic.
I’m in Western Maryland...Our Lady of the Mountain Parish.
We have Capuchins here. They are excellent.
My complaints are with the broader Church. When I said, “a Cardinal Dolan”, I meant his specific action and other Bishops, as well.
Amen to that.
Amen.
...Chaput defended his decision in support of Sacred Heart by asserting that Catholic schools were obliged to provide an environment where the faith is “fully taught and practiced.” He said concerns about offending students or engendering alienation between parents and children at home would hobble those efforts.
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