London School Is a Model for Church and LGBT Community Working Together

A story from London, England, offers a model of how Catholic schools and LGBT-rights group can  help each other out, all to the students’ benefit.

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School

London’s Evening Standard reports that Sarah Crouch, headteacher of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Wimbledon, invited Stonewall, the United Kingdom’s premier LGBT-rights group, to give the school’s teachers a lesson in how to eliminate homophobic bullying. Crouch said:

“We want to give our staff the tools to know what to do should an incident of homophobic bullying occur…It is important that children know it is not OK to use the word gay in a derogatory way.”

This positive action was not without controversy, however, as some people felt it was inappropriate for a Catholic school to bring in advisers from the LGBT community.  The Standard reports:

“Antonia Tully, national coordinator of the Safe at School campaign, said: ‘Many parents will be very concerned that a gay rights organisation is considered to be an appropriate source of advice on how to deal with children using inappropriate language in the playground.

“ ‘If a primary school takes on Stonewall’s agenda, young children will be exposed to homosexual issues, which they are too young to understand properly. Parents expect a school to provide an education, not subject their children to gay propaganda.’ ”

But Tully’s comments, exaggeratedly alarmist, ignore the facts of this case:

“Ms Crouch said that children were not involved in the training, which was carried out for teachers on one day in September.

“She added that Stonewall’s programme was tailored specifically for the Catholic school and did not mention same sex relationships or gay marriage. It concentrated on how teachers should tackle incidents of homophobic bullying.”

Boston’s Edge newspaper notes that the program, in fact, was approved by the local diocese:

“The authorities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark and all but one of the governors approved the event. Now, St. Mary’s stands as the first and only Catholic primary school to be listed as a Stonewall ‘Primary School of Champion’ of gay equality.”

Headteacher Crouch affirmed the goodness of the program presented and that it synchronized with the school’s Catholic tradition:

 “As a school, and as Catholics, we are opposed to prejudice of any kind and felt it was important to tackle the issue of homophobic language and bullying.

“The training was very successful and we feel confident that if any incidents occur our staff have the means to address them appropriately.”

Such an example deserves wide circulation as a model of how Catholic schools can be taking steps to eliminate homophobic bullying.  Ms. Crouch and St. Mary’s school show that concern for their students was able to outweigh any sensitivity about church and secular politics.  Their example of pragmatic partnering is one that principals–and bishops–should emulate.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

 

 

 

Graduation Gown for Transgender Student Becomes an Issue at Catholic H.S.

A Catholic high school in Albuquerque is insisting that a male transgender student wear a girl’s graduation robe at the school’s commencement ceremonies next week.

Damian Garcia

Damian Garcia transitioned last year and changed his name from Brandi Garcia, which is the name on his birth certificate.  KQRE-TV reports that St. Pius High School, which requires male graduates to wear black robes and female graduates to wear white robes, is insisting that Damian wear a white robe.  Damian stated:

“I just want to walk in my black robe, nice and proud and have that memory to look back on with my family and friends. I would rather not walk than to embarrass myself by wearing a female robe.”

The teachers and students at the school all refer to him as “Damian,” and his parents support his gender transition and wearing a black robe.

The television statement captured the remarks of Damian’s father, Luis Garcia:

“I look at him and I call him my son. That’s how he wishes to be acknowledged is as a male. . . All you want in life is to see your kids happy and healthy. You never want to see them suffer or being ridiculed or be made fun of.”

School officials say that if there is a question about which color robe to wear, they are guided by the information on a student’s birth certificate, and Damian’s birth certificate says “female.”

The school’s reasoning shows the problems that can occur when rules become more important than human beings and human reality.  For officials to say that they cede all of their ability to make a judicious decision based on the birth certificate, and not the human and social reality with which they are faced,  is ignorant and insensitive.

This situation highlights another important issue:  why are graduation robes “gendered” in the the first place?  Why must boys wear one color and girls another color?  A simple solution would be to eliminate the color distinction, since it serves no meaningful purpose anyway.

An important lesson to be learned from this story, too, is that parental love for a child can often lead the way for the rest of the church to learn how to love and accept transgender people and other sexual and gender minorities.   The love of Damian’s parents, expressed by his father, is awe-inspiring, and reminds us of the unconditional love that God has for each of us.  So often our Catholic faith reminds us that God loves each of us as a parent.  It would be well for the officials at this Catholic school to learn a lesson from Damian’s parents on how to love and accept and treasure each student.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Administrator Says He Wasn’t Hired Because Catholic Schools Thought He Is Gay

A case of “he said/they said” is brewing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, this week, as a Catholic layman who was hired to be the president of a small Catholic schools system, said that his job offer was rescinded because it was assumed that he was gay.  The employer is denying this allegation.

Tim Nelson

Tim Nelson, 48,  was hired by the Regis Catholic Schools, an association of five Catholic institutions in Eau Claire,  on April 4th, but he learned on April 22nd that the school system rescinded the offer.

Nelson is charging that the rescinding is based on an incorrect assumption about his sexual orientation based on the wording of an obituary for his father that was printed two-and-a-half years ago.  Eau Claire’s Leader-Telegram reports:

“The Rev. Brian Konopa, pastoral dean of Regis schools, broke the news about ‘serious issues that have come to the forefront’ in a telephone call on April 17, or 13 days after Nelson had been introduced as the next Regis president, Nelson said.

“Regis officials indicated someone had given them information showing that a man’s name was listed in parentheses behind Nelson’s in the survivor list of his father’s obituary 2½ years ago, and they told him that is typically the way a gay partner is listed in an obituary, Nelson said.

“Nelson said he explained to Konopa that he considered the man his best friend and that the man was close to Nelson’s family.

” ‘I said, “If you think we are intimate or sexually active, you’ve got another thing coming.” We are not like that at all,’ Nelson recalled telling Konopa.

“Nelson pleaded ignorance to the traditions of obituaries and said, in retrospect, he should have asked to have the roommate, who was included in the obituary at his mother’s request, listed among other friends of the family.

“Regarding his relationship with the man, Nelson said, ‘The two of us live in community, we share expenses and live a devout Catholic lifestyle and meet daily in a chapel in our home for daily prayers.’ “

In addition, Nelson said that the school system checked out his Facebook account and found something objectionable there, too:

“Nelson also alleged that Regis officials expressed concern about a homosexual group he had ‘liked’ on his Facebook page. Nelson, who acknowledged having some gay Facebook friends, said he doesn’t know anything about the group and must have inadvertently ‘liked’ it. He immediately deleted it when it was brought to his attention.”

But Regis Catholic schools issued a statement denying that this was the cause of their action:

” ‘Regis Catholic Schools denies that any assumptions, insinuations or speculation played a part in its decision to not hire Mr. Nelson,’ the statement said. ‘Furthermore, Regis Catholic Schools categorically denies that sexual orientation was a part in its decision. Mr. Nelson’s speculation is unfounded and untrue.’ “

The system explained their reason for changing their mind:

” ‘Mr. Nelson was not hired as RCS president because of his lack of candor about his affiliations with religious communities during the interview process,’ the statement said.”

Nelson said that this statement refers to his membership as a Franciscan religious brother when he was younger, but he says he was forthcoming about that part of his life during his interview.

Nelson also alleges that Regis officials asked him to tell people that the reason he would not be employed by the school system is that he had decided not to move from New Mexico, where he currently resides.  The news report says that Nelson

“backed up his assertion by providing the Leader-Telegram with a string of emails, [and] said he refused to go along with what he considered to be a lie.”

While there is no hard evidence made public at this point to support either Nelson’s or Regis’ claims, it is hard to know which side to believe.  Nelson ends up being more persuasive because the school system’s responses are so guarded and vague.   Another thing that adds to the persuasive power of his side is that the case seems to fall into the growing disturbing pattern of church institutions firing LGBT employees.  The fact that an obituary was involved in his case, as it was in the firing of Carla Hale, also adds to the credibility of Nelson’s allegations.

Church institutions could increase their credibility by adopting non-discrimination employment policies for LGBT people, and enforcing these policies well.  Not only would it help their credibility, but it would also help to strengthen their Catholic identity by living up to the church’s ideals of social justice.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Another Canadian Catholic Teen Speaks Out for Equality

In Canada it seems that Catholic school teenagers are leading the struggle for LGBT equality in church institutions.

Last week, we reported the case of an 11th-grader in Yukon province who successfully lobbied to have a bishops’ document removed from his Catholic high school’s website because it contained pastorally harmful terms to describe lesbian and gay people.

Halla Scott

This week, we have the case of a Saskatchewan 11th-grader who is trying to form a gay-straight alliance in her Catholic high school, but meeting with roadblocks from the administration.  Halla Scott, a student at LeBoldus High School, Regina, said that when she proposed the idea, she met with resistance.  The CBC.ca reports:

“She said a guidance counsellor suggested her idea might go against Catholic values.

” ‘It’s funny … the main Catholic value is to treat your neighbour as you want to be treated,’ she said. ‘If that’s true, wouldn’t you want to treat your LBGTQ [lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer] neighbour the same way as you’d like to be treated?’ “

“She said if the group got the green light to proceed, students would support it.

” ‘It would provide support to LGBTQ students in the school and also, you know, help squash some stereotypes that some people hold about students that identify that way,’ she said.”

If Scott succeeds, it will be the first gay-straight alliance in a Saskatchewan Catholic school.

One lesson to be learned from these stories is that the next generation of Catholics seem willing to continue to the struggle for LGBT equality in church institutions.  They have a lot more support in that struggle than previous generations have had, and may meet with much greater success.  The future looks bright.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Lesbian Teacher Fired for Listing Her Partner’s Name in Her Mother’s Obituary

Carla Hale

Carla Hale, a teacher at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio, has been fired because she listed her lesbian partner’s name in her mother’s obituary, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

But the firing has not sat well with students at the school.  They have organized a change.org petition to have Hale reinstated to her post as a physical education teacher.  The petition states, in part:

Bishop Watterson High School

“Carla Hale, a beloved teacher at Bishop Watterson High School, was fired because of her sexuality. She was a teacher who cared for her students and treated each one with respect. The school, however, did not reciprocate that respect in its treatment of her. Discrimination and injustice is something that we all have a duty to fight in today’s society. It’s unfair that someone who cared so much about her students and her job should lose them on the basis of something she cannot even control. The school claims its mission is to teach its students about love, acceptance, and tolerance, and yet it did none of this in the way it treated Ms. Hale.”

According to the Dispatch story, Hale, who has worked at the school for 19 years, was fired after a parent complained about the obituary to the Diocese of Columbus.

According to LGBTQNation.com, the petition was started by Jackson Garrity, a senior at Bishop Watterson, who explained the motivation for the response:

“My classmates and I feel very passionately about this issue. We (the senior class) agreed that we needed to take a stand as leaders and voice our opinions.”

This is the second time this year that a Catholic school in Ohio has fired someone over LGBT issues.  The other case was Cincinnati Assistant Principal Mike Moroski, who was fired because of stating his support for marriage equality on his personal blog.

And the firings are part of a national trend of church leaders dismissing both paid employees and volunteers who are LGBT people, or lesbian/gay people who have become civilly married, or people who have stated their support of marriage publicly (see list of related blog posts below my signature).The most recent case before Hale’s was Nicholas Coppola in Long Island, New York, who was dismissed from several parish ministries because it became known that he married his partner.

If church leaders continue with this trend, they will soon find that they have no one left working in their institutions.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

April 4, 2013: Long Island Gay Catholic Expelled from Parish Ministries for Marrying

January 9, 2013: Transgender Teacher Sues Catholic School Over Firing

September 25, 2012: Fired New Zealand Teacher’s Final and Most Powerful Lesson

August 22, 2012: Catholic John Doe Fears for His Church Job Because of Marriage Equality Contribution

June 28, 2012: Fired Minnesota Catholic School Teacher Calls for Dialogue on Marriage Equality

May 5, 2012:  Excluding Lesbian and Gay Church Workers from Employment

April 29, 2012:  “Whodunit” Surrounds Decision to Disinvite Gay Alum from Commencement

March 1, 2012: Is It Possible to Find Hope in This Week’s Painful News?

February 12, 2012:  Church Music Director Fired For Marrying His Partner of 23 Years

Two Gay Students Allowed to Attend Catholic High School Dance as a Couple

Two gay young men at an all-boys Catholic high school in Rochester, New York, will be allowed to attend a formal school dance together as a couple this spring.

RochesterHomePage. net reports that Father Edward Salmon, SJ, the president of McQuaid Jesuit High School, sent a letter to the student body’s parents informing them of his decision to allow the couple to attend the annual Junior Ball:

“I have made the decision that, if our two brothers who have asked to attend the Junior Ball together wish to do so, they will be welcomed.”

Fr. Salmon framed his decision in the context of statements from Pope Francis:

“Our new Holy Father,  Pope Francis, in the homily for his Inaugural Mass, had encouraging and inviting words: ‘Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others. To protect creation and to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds.’ Darkness and heavy clouds have gathered here at McQuaid recently because of misinformation, fear, misunderstanding, and even anger. That misinformation, fear,misunderstanding, and even anger came about after two of our brothers asked whether they could attend the Junior Ball together. Into the darkness of misinformation, fear,misunderstanding and anger, together with Pope Francis, I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who bring hope to one another. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to be men and women who look upon one another with tenderness and love. I invite and encourage each and every one of us in the McQuaid family to open up a horizon of hope,to let a ray of light break through heavy clouds.’ “

The president cited the U.S. bishops’ letter Always Our Children  and Vatican documents for support for his decision:

“I, together with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who in their Pastoral Message, Always Our Children, ‘. . . call on all Christians and citizens of good will to confront their own fears about homosexuality and to curb the humor and discrimination that offend homosexual persons. We understand that having a homosexual orientation brings with it enough anxiety, pain and issues related to self-acceptance without society bringing additional prejudicial treatment.’

“I would like to let a ray of light enter into possible misunderstanding of the Church’s teaching. In that same message, Always Our Children, the Bishops are clear –’Nothing in the Bible or in Catholic teaching can be used to justify prejudicial or discriminatory attitudes and behaviors.’ The Bishops continue: ‘It is also important to recognize that neither a homosexual orientation, nor a heterosexual one, leads inevitably to sexual activity. One’s total personhood is not reducible to sexual orientation or behavior.’ In that same message, the Bishops refer to a 1986 Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which emphasizes that ‘Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them.’

“The Bishops continue, ‘It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2358). They, as is true of every human being, need to be nourished at many different levels simultaneously. This includes friendship, [brotherhood] which is a way of loving and is essential to healthy human development. It is one of the richest possible human experiences. Friendship can and does thrive outside of sexual involvement.’ “

Concluding the letter, Father Salmon cites Pope Francis again:

“With this decision I am not contradicting the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to human sexuality; I am not encouraging nor am I condoning homosexual activity just as I do not encourage or condone heterosexual activity at a dance. I am not contradicting the Church’s opposition to the redefinition of marriage. With this decision I invite and encourage us all, as Pope Francis does, to exercise care, protection, goodness which calls for a certain tenderness ‘which is not a virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness.’ “

(You can read the entire text of Fr. Salmon’s letter at the end of the RochesterHomePage.net report or by clicking here.

WHEC.com, the NBC affiliate in Rochester reports that the school’s parents appear to be supportive of Fr. Salmon’s decision:

“. . . News10NBC managed to speak to several parents over the phone who belong to the McQuaid Parents’ Association. One parent said they are thrilled officials made the decision to write this letter. Another said they hope that issues involving homosexuality like this won’t be news one day.”

Father Salmon’s sensible and compassionate approach are a model for other Catholic school principals to use when making such decisions.  What is good about his decision is not only his sense of hospitality and inclusion, but that he de-sexualizes school dances, which is the reality for the overwhelming majority of attendees.  In doing so, he puts gay and lesbian relationships, as well as heterosexual ones, back in the category of human affection, where they properly belong.

If you support the president’s decision, it would be appropriate to send him a supportive letter or email.  His contact information:

Father Edward Salmon, SJ, President, McQuaid Jesuit High School, 1800 South Clinton Avenue, Rochester, New York, 14618

Email: esalmon@mcquaid.org

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Ontario Catholic School Controversy Could Easily Have Been Avoided

A recent story from Ontario highlights institutional Catholic intransigence over LGBT issues is trumping reasonable solutions to simple problems.

Xtra.ca, a Canadian LGBT news source reports on the case of an 18-year old secondary school student named Brooke who has experienced repeated harassment at a Catholic school in Windsor, Ontario:

Brooke with her girlfriend

“Administrators at a Catholic school in Windsor, Ontario, are allegedly threatening to launch a lawsuit in an attempt to silence a gay student who is speaking out against homophobic discrimination at the school.

“Brooke, 18, a Grade 12 student at St Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School, who asked that her last name be withheld, has had a rough school year so far. It began with the death of her father on Oct 1. On top of that, Brooke says a teacher has been bullying her because she is gay and in a relationship with a fellow student.

“And ever since the teacher outed their relationship to her girlfriend’s parents, Brooke says, the school has become the only place the pair can see one another, so she has no choice but to stay.”

Brooke claims that harassment from her religion teacher, Jolene Coste, has been occurring all year, with the teacher making remarks in class about the girl’s relationship with her girlfriend and with negative remarks about homosexuality.  Things came to a head when Brooke alluded to an obscenity when answering  a question about “real” marriage on an exam.  Her response resulted in a ten-day suspension from school.

The arguing and accusations have been going on for most of the past school year.  School administrators have brought up the possibility of suing Brooke for defamation.

Clearly, this situation has gotten out of hand.  What is sad here is not just the possibility that a religion teacher would be bullying a student or that a student would resort to near-obscenity on an exam, but the fact that school administrators have not explored some way to mediate the situation by having the student, her parents, and the teacher discuss the situation together and come to some ground rules for behavior.

As Bondings 2.0 has reported, Ontario Catholic schools are state-funded, and are also subject to the province’s recent Accepting Schools Act, which was designed to eliminate bullying.  Though Catholic schools originally balked at such a law, this situation clearly shows the need for it.  One member of the Ontario parliament, Cheri DeNovo spoke to Xtra about the need for student safety:

“ ‘That’s not just physical safety, but also psychological and emotional safety as well,’ she says. ‘I call on every adult that surrounds her in that school system to stand up for her safety.

“ ‘Here we have a student in a publicly funded school that is not getting the support from her administration. She does not feel safe. Her concerns are not being addressed. Frankly, I think it’s disgusting that no [administrator] is standing up for her.’

 ’DiNovo says it’s now the province’s job to ensure the act is enforced. Students shouldn’t have to face a legal battle to get the protection they deserve, she says. ‘[Education Minister] Liz Sandals herself should intervene. It’s sad we have to ask this of our students.’ ”

It is terribly sad that the government might have to become involved here.  Last week, Bondings 2.0 reported on a dispute in New York City between a Catholic pastor and a nearby drag show.  The dispute was easily resolved by the parties sitting down and speaking with one another.

In this school case, good Catholic pastoral care and simple human contact and dialogue could have defused this problem before it escalated to such proportions.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Musical Nun Sings: ‘You Are Not Alone’

The character of a nun, in an off-Broadway musical provocatively entitled Bare, is now singing a song which one writer thinks will become an anthem for LGBT youth facing bullying and harassment.

Despite the title, the show does not focus on nudity, but on the struggles of two gay high school students at a Catholic boarding school

In a Huffington Post piece, Mark Canavera draws attention to a song in the second act, “You’re Not Alone,” sung by the character Sister Joan:

” ‘You’re Not Alone,’ developed by lyricist Jon Hartmere and composer Lynne Shankel for the current off-Broadway revival of the musical Bare, will become a new anthem for LGBT youth. Bare churns in tempo with the lives of a group of sexually awakening teenagers who are struggling within the confines of a Catholic school. ‘You’re Not Alone’ comes late in the second act and represents the show’s emotional pinnacle, piercing through the turmoil. (Although no official recording of the song yet exists, a demo version is available to stream here.) Sister Joan, an empathetic nun, is consoling one of her gay students who is caught in the whirlwinds of the drama. She uses the clearest words imaginable:

“You’re created in His image. / You’re a perfect child of God. / And this part of you / It’s the heart of who you are. / It’s who you are / And you just need to know / You’re not alone.” ‘ “

Canavera describes how the song was developed, and the reason the composer and lyricist put it into the mouth of a teacher:

“That the song is sung by a teacher to her student illuminates the special role that teachers can play in supporting their students while opening new horizons. ‘I think that teachers have such an amazing opportunity-slash-responsibility to their students to open a kid’s eyes to what is possible beyond what they think is possible,’ says Shankel. Hartmere himself was a teacher who spoke frankly to his classrooms about his sexual orientation and the offense he felt at hearing insults tossed around. ‘One day on the yard,’ he describes, ‘I heard a kid call someone else gay, and one of the girls from my class said, “Don’t use that word because my teacher’s gay, and I like him.” ‘ “

Of course, more importantly is the fact that the character is not only a teacher, but a Catholic nun:

“In addition to being a teacher, Sister Joan is obviously a nun. Hartmere, who was raised Catholic and whose great aunt is a nun, believes that this character and her song should help to provide a counter-balance to conceptions of the Catholic Church as a monolithic, doctrinaire haven for sex offenders. ‘There’s another angle here,’ says Hartmere, ‘another way of looking at things. Nuns are an amazing group of people who have an amazing worldview that should be listened to more.’

“I couldn’t agree more. Listening to Sister Joan send her clarion message to the struggling student in a recent performance of Bare transported me directly to 1992, when I was a freshman at a Catholic high school in Charleston, South Carolina. I was coming to terms with my sexual orientation, lonely, lost, confused, and yes, suicidal. My Sister Joan was Sister A.J. — short for Alice Joseph — of the Sisters of Mercy order. Sister A.J. was in her 50s when she taught me and passed away some years ago now; God rest her soul. Much like the teacher whose supportive note to a gay studentrecently went viral, Sister A.J. wrote the following note on one of my essays:

By the way, you were born homosexual, overweight, and with a loving heart. Don’t worry about your homosexuality. One day the pope will understand. PS…I love you.

” ‘You’re Not Alone‘ and such notes are crystal lasers of love, beaming direct and clear from the hearts of nuns to their LGBT students. May such love go viral.”

At New Ways Ministry, we’ve known for over 36 years how much nuns have been supporting LGBT people and ministry because they have been the backbone of our financial and spiritual support.  We are deeply grateful. We are glad that a song such as “You Are Not Alone” is helping to spread the message of nuns’ love–and God’s love–of LGBT people.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry

Cincinnati School Administrator Is Penalized for Supporting Marriage Equality

An assistant principal at a Catholic high school in Cincinnati is about to be fired because he wrote statements in support of marriage equality on his personal blog.

 

Mark Moroski

News.Cincinnati.com reports about the decision directed against this Purcell Marian High School staffer:

“The Archdiocese of Cincinnati placed Moroski on administrative leave Feb. 4 and plans to fire him, Moroski said. He says he has hired a lawyer.

“Moroski refused to take down his statements on the blog.

“ ‘I believe in Catholicism,’ Moroski said in an interview. ‘But my conscience will not permit me to recant my statement.

“ ‘I put it up there because I really truly honestly believe it,’ he added. ‘I’m absolutely willing to lose my job over this. The only difficult thing for me now is the students.’ ”

Moroski admitted that he knew he was making a statement that was not in accordance with church teachings about marriage, but his conscience directed him to do so.

Of course,  church teaching clearly states that we must follow our consciences, so, in reality Moroski is following church teaching by stating his beliefs.  In doing that, he is teaching his students an invaluable lesson about the importance of following one’s conscience–a very Catholic lesson.

On January 27th, Moroski wrote the following statements on his blog, www.mikemoroski.com:

“I unabashedly believe that gay people SHOULD be allowed to marry. Ethically, morally and legally I believe this. I spend a lot of my life trying to live as a Christian example of love for others, and my formation at Catholic grade school, high school, 3 Catholic Universities and employment at 2 Catholic high schools has informed my conscience to believe that gay marriage is NOT something of which to be afraid.”

Since then, Moroski has posted several times about his reflections on the situation, including this post, entitled “Prayer”:

“Many folks are beginning to say that they will pray for me to repent and realize the error in my ways.

“I, too, am praying for them to realize that this stance is NOT an attack on them or their church.  It is about trying to make us all a little bit better.  And who knows, I may be wrong in God’s eyes.  I have no idea what God thinks.  I just try to live my life in a way that doesn’t harm anyone.  And I realize all of these other folks feel the same way about their lives.  I respect that.

“But my conscience tells me that I am not doing anything wrong.

“Between the two camps of prayer, I fully expect that we will find God in the middle.”

Moroski’s case is similar to the New Zealand teacher who was fired last year for criticizing his principal’s derogatory comments about lesbian and gay parents.   Unfortunately, it is similar to the increasing number of cases here in the United States where employees of Catholic institutions are being fired either because they support marriage equality or because they have married a same-gender partner.

Instead of teaching students about the primacy of conscience, the Archdiocese is instead teaching them about homophobia.

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Minsitry

Catholic Support for Fired Transgender Teacher

About three weeks ago, Bondings 2.0 reported on the case of Mark Krolikowski, a Catholic high school music teacher who claims he was fired because he is transgender and had been coming to work with longer hair and manicured fingernails.

Equally Blessed, a  coalition of four national Catholic organizations that work for justice and equality  for LGBT people in church and society, has published an essay in support of Krolikowski, and all transgender people, on the Washington Post’s  “On Faith blog.”  The essay is authored by Jim FitzGerald, executive director of Call To Action, an Equally Blessed coalition partner.   The essay is worth a read not just because of its support for Krolikowski, but because it provides some good information on the life experiences of transgender people.  For example, FitzGerald states:

“In an extensive 2011 nationwide survey hosted by Penn State’s Consortium on Higher Education, 78 percent of transgender people said that they had been bullied or harassed as children. Forty one percent said they had attempted suicide. Thirty-five percent had been physically assaulted and 12 percent had been sexually assaulted.

“Discrimination against transgender people is pervasive. Like Mark, 47 percent of those who responded to the survey said that they had suffered employment discrimination. Nineteen percent had suffered housing discrimination and a similar number had been denied health care due to their gender identity.”

Some progress is being made to correct old prejudices:

“Until recently the U. S. medical establishment treated transgender people as though they were mentally ill. The fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual includes a category called “gender identity disorder,” but, in a significant breakthrough for transgender people and our society’s understanding of gender identity, the soon-to-be published fifth edition does not.”

Despite this progress in the scientific world, the religious world has a lot of catching up to do:

“As Catholics, we regret that the leaders of our church and other conservative Christian organizations are leading the fight to deny transgender people their full human dignity and equal treatment under the law. In a recent address, Pope Benedict XVI argued against the very concept of gender, saying that one’s sexual identity is determined entirely by one’s biology.”

Given the increasingly-known fact that Catholics are generally very supportive of LGBT issues such as marriage equality, it should not  come as too much of a surprise that Catholics are also supportive of transgender equality, too:

“Whatever their beliefs about human sexuality, members of the pope’s own church in this country reject discrimination against transgender people. A 2011 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 93 percent of U. S. Catholics believed that transgender people deserve the same legal rights and protections as other citizens. The survey also found that approximately three-quarters of Americans-from across the political and religious spectrum-believe that Congress should pass employment nondiscrimination laws to protect transgender people. A similar majority favor Congress’s recent expansion of hate crimes legislation to protect transgender people.”

The case of Mark Krolikowski shows how strongly a wide discussion of gender and sexuality is needed in the Catholic Church.

(Equally Blessed coalition is comprised of Call To Action, DignityUSA, Fortunate Families, New Ways Ministry.)

–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry