Our Bishop is standing form and supporting our local Catholic High School (see the post
below) in rescinding a job offer to a man who is in a same sex relationship. The Bishop released a statement:
While we respect all persons and civil law in regard to civil unions, the Church teaches based on natural law, Scripture and the Church’s 2,000-year tradition that marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman. The Catholic faith is central to our mission as a Catholic school and is an exercise of religious liberty. To deliver on that mission it is our expectation that staff and teachers support our moral beliefs as they are the models of our Catholic faith. Read it all here…
Amen. But I doubt that this is the end of it. The bullies will not accept that the Catholic Church has the right to hold fast to the faith which has been passed down from the Apostles for 2,000 years.
Sigh. Some of the students staged a walkout at the high school. I don’t think this is a reflection on the school. Most likely it is that they and their parents have bought into the culture. I just think that we need a new approach to teaching Catholic morality.
Rod Dreher, an Eastern Orthodox Christian, believes that those who oppose orthodox Christian teaching are not interested in understanding why we just can’t go along:
Similarly with Christianity and its sexual ethic, both regarding homosexuality and heterosexuality. It is clear to me that almost nobody on the modernist side is interested in understanding why Christianity teaches what it does, and why it’s important to the orthodox to hold on to this. You can see it in the style of argumentation from the other side. They are fond of saying, “Well, once upon a time you changed this thing, so why can’t you change now?” It never seems to cross their minds that a thing that was once changed might have had separate grounds for the change, or that maybe the thing that was changed ought not to have been changed, because it had deleterious consequences.
Rather, the idea is: “You ought to change this thing, and I don’t see why you can’t come up with the rationalizations to do it.”
This strikes me as very, very American: decide what you want to do, and come up with the rationalizations later.
Some of us, believe it or not, still believe ourselves bound to an authority outside the Self. I don’t expect you to agree with us, but I do expect you to try to understand why we think the things that we do, and in the way that we do.
Actually, I don’t expect that at all anymore. It’s pointless. It always was. The media set the terms of the debate a long time ago.
Do read his entire post. It is well worth it.
A Deacon's Wife 
My son is a senior at Dowling and he knew that this man was gay a couple of weeks ago because other students knew from seeing him and his partner at the fitness center. I do stand with Church Teachings, not necessarily Dowling. They messed up big time. First they should have checked his credentials before they hired him as a sub and asst. track coach. They should have never verbally hired him and announce it on the PA as my son said they did. I pray that this ends quickly and we move on, however social media will continue to be relentless in saying terrible things about our church and faith when they should be seeking Truth. We must press on and hold fast to our faith. We are an Easter People!
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NFadeaconswife: Susan, I know that things are not perfect at Dowling, but I have seen it become more Catholic the last several years. When we first moved here 17 years ago, I was appalled at the lack of Catholic identity. Judging from what I here from many parents–who wouldn’t have sent their children there just a few years ago–the school is becoming much more (faithfully) Catholic.
As for the teacher in question, I don’t know if background checks that include social media are allowable or feasible for non contract personnel. If he was acting in a way–at the fitness center for example–that was verifiably scandalous that would be troubling. There are many questions. Did the students witness behavior that left no doubt that the two men were not chaste? Did they bring it to the attention of the school administration? Or was it just gossip.
The school, perhaps, should have handled it better. But I give them a lot of credit–the Bishop too–for not backing down or maintaining radio silence. They are standing up, now, for our Catholic faith. The diocese of Lincoln is not handling a similar situation nearly as well.
It is possible for a gay person to identify as gay and be employed as a Catholic school teacher. But he would have to be affirming a celibate lifestyle. Too many Christians have been hostile to gay Christians who are striving to be faithful disciples of Christ.
We are indeed a Easter people. Jesus makes all things new.
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That is hear not here. 🙂
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