The following comes from a February 27 story in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
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 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.
In his two years as Santa Rosa’s bishop, Vasa has attempted to bring his strict interpretation of church doctrine to a diocese that historically has had a more tolerant approach.
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.
John Collins, the diocese superintendent, said the contract language is not an effort to drive certain teachers away or “provoke” them. He said about 25 percent of the teachers are non-Catholic.
“People are being invited to grow in an understanding and appreciation and embrace of the Catholic faith,” he said.
He said he did not expect that many teachers would reject the document, which they must sign if they are to return for the 2013-2014 school year.
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.”
But Vasa said that very response is why he felt compelled to write the addendum. He questioned whether someone “can teach what the Catholic Church teaches with zeal and enthusiasm while holding, as they say, ‘in the privacy of their heart’ ” views that are contrary to Catholic doctrine.
He strongly rejected the notion that the letter was a move toward greater religious dogma. “That’s fear mongering, which does not in my view have a foundation in fact,” Vasa said.
“I’m not presuming that the campus is liberal or conservative. I am simply fulfilling my duty and responsibility to make sure that the Catholic faith, as it is presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is clearly and consistently taught in the Catholic institutions of the Diocese.”
The issue is similar to one that arose in 2004 while Vasa was the bishop of eastern Oregon. At that time, he asked lay ministers to sign an “affirmation of faith” that called on them to accept the church’s prohibition against contraception, premarital sex, masturbation, fornication, pornography and homosexuality as “gravely evil.”
The contract addendum has been distributed to the 200 educators at 11 Catholic schools who are formally employed by the bishop. These schools, which include Cardinal Newman and St. Vincent de Paul High School in Petaluma, have about 3,100 students. And additional four Catholic schools in the diocese are not under the direct authority of the bishop.
Teachers who have qualms about the document will confront the issue prior to receiving employment contracts in April. Beginning Saturday, teachers have until March 15 to submit their “declarations” of intent to work the following school year.
The diocese, which serves a population of about 150,000 Catholics, covers an area that includes Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Though it is geographically large, its population makes it one of the smallest dioceses in the state.
Cardinal Newman Principal Graham Rutherford said he expects the “vast majority” of teachers to sign the document. He said he hasn’t heard any direct complaints about the document from teachers at Cardinal Newman, which has about 50 educators, though he said some may be keeping their thoughts private.
“I don’t think that they want to lay out their private thoughts to me or you,” he said.
When asked if he thought any teachers might refuse to sign the document, Rutherford said, “It could happen.”
“For people who have been here longer, I think it’s highly unlikely” they would not sign the contract, he said, adding that newer or younger teachers might have “more leeway” in making their decisions.
Asked if he would fire teachers who refuse to sign the contract, Rutherford said teachers “have to choose to sign it. That’s not firing them.”
“If somebody says I’m not going to sign it but I still want my contract, well that would be difficult,” he said, because Vasa wants the teacher to sign the entire contract.
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.”
Diocese sources, as well as the Cardinal Newman teacher, said that specific language is what some teachers find troubling.
“I know this sounds like a cliche, but some of my very best friends are gay married couples. We have kids here whose parents are gay partners,” the teacher said.
Vasa said he would be “saddened” if teachers decided to quit or not sign a contract because of the addendum. But he said, “I would commend them for their integrity.”
Several teachers or school staff members reached at their homes or on their cellphones would not comment about the addendum. The Cardinal Newman teacher who spoke anonymously said he hasn’t heard anyone say they wouldn’t sign the document, though there are a “couple that are pretty upset about it.”
John Walker, the principal of St. Vincent de Paul High School, refused to comment about the addendum.
Collins, the diocese superintendent, said that Catholic-school teachers and administrators are in some respects “signs of the bishop and the church,” where adherence to church doctrine “goes with the territory.”
“It’s the same way that you’re a sign of McDonald’s if you’re an employee to the point where they’ll put their uniform on you,” he said.
When asked if the diocese was prepared to lose teachers over the addendum, Collins dismissed the question.
“I personally haven’t seen evidence of that,” he said.
To read original story, click here.
I support Bishop Vasa. I do not wish to be critical but in the com box of the Press Democrat article, I was disappointed that so many people are hostile to it. Also, Michael Voris and Karl Keating posted comments that were critical of other commenters but did not use their evangelist or apologist skills to help people understand why this is desirable.
Those who work for and represent the Church should assent to its fundamental and unchangeable teachings. That, I think, sums up Bishop Vasa’s approach. That such an approach would make headlines, or raise eyebrows, shows how badly we have lost our sense of mission in the the Church. We owe Bishop Vasa for showing the gap between the real and the ideal that has so seriously widened in the past few decades. Let us pray that this is the beginning of a most necessary reform in the Church. May all bishops follow his example, and soon.
Amen to that, Rodney.
Teachers at Catholic schools that cannot or will not adhere to the magisterium of the Catholic Church should be shown the door. Kudos to Bishop Vasa for defending the Faith in the midst of wolves.
Catholic schools have to first and foremost be places where Children Encounter the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
The Bishop must immediately fire those who do not sign the document,….a good step but 40 years too late.
It’s a good idea Canisuis….in the secular jobs, many are making their employee’s take sensitivity courses…forcing them to adhere to agenda’s and such, many who fear to lose their job, do not protest, they just go and conform even if it goes against their faith…..so if you are working in a faith based job, then it is not UN-reasonable to expect loyalty and faithfulness.
I find it interesting that the teachers have to sign a statement that they believe that contraception is a “modern error”. How are they going to ascertain that the teachers actually believe this and do not use contraception? I think many of the teachers will sign this just to keep their jobs. The best thing that our bishops can do is lead by example. Look at the example of Bishop O’Brien in Scotland. A large percentage of our bishops and priests are probably not living lives of chaste purity. That is why there was such a cover up of those that abused minors. Many of them talk the talk but they don’t walk the walk. Many bishops may believe that using contraception is as grave a sin as an adult having sex with a minor but most parents do not.
Again, Mark from PA, you are wrong. Bishops must teach everything that is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition.
There is no such thing as a perfect Bishop since they are humans too.
Bishop Vasa’s requirement for school teachers is a vast improvement over those who perfer to live sinful lives – giving bad example and scandal to children and others.
However, Bishops should teach by example in excommunicating those Catholics who are obstinate in grave sin causing Scandal.
Well, Andy, how many priests were ever excommunicated for raping and molesting children? Most were just transferred to another parish and things were kept quiet to protect reputations. By trying to prevent “scandal” many bishops were complicit in allowing more grave sins being committed against innocent children.
Mark from PA, two wrongs NEVER make a right.
Just because a few Bishops have sinned regarding protecting abusive Priests from righteous civil justice, does not mean that they should not teach according to the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition”.
Do not mix issues in the media.
Apparently you do NOT know the definition of SCANDAL –
CCC: ” 2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil.
The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death.
Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.”
Turning over child abusive priests to the authorities and making it impossible for them to come in contact with children does not lead another to do evil.
Please read the CCC.
I didn’t think you could get excommunicated for that. Are you referring to not being allowed to receive communion?
Mark from PA,
You know darn well what St. Paul wrote about Bishops, that they are to teach Christ crucified in good time and in bad. Bishop Vasa is working to do just that!
Kenneth M. Fisher
All Bishops in CA and the USA should require this of their Diocese Catholic School Teachers.
There are good Bishops such as Vasa and Cordileone in CA.
Setting good examples for children and all others is part of the educational and evangelization process.
When parents pay tuition for a Religious education, they expect a Religious Education in total. Anything else is fraud.
We can not keep our children in ignorance of the teachings of the Church because it might offend those who choose to live in sin.
Saving Souls for eternity must be a top priority.
” I am simply fulfilling my duty and responsibility to make sure that the Catholic faith, as it is presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is clearly and consistently taught in the Catholic institutions of the Diocese. ” – Bishop Vasa
It is time to clean house in every Diocese in CA.
Actions speak louder than words.
Bishops do your own job.
God Bless Bishop Vasa.
Catholic schools must teach Catholic ideas and that’s all there is to it. This is one case where a bishop really does need to step in and insist that it be “my way or the highway,” because he’s only requiring that Catholic schools be Catholic.
This is great news……a move foward is better than no move at all….Keep up the good works up there in Santa Rosa…..esp after such errors occured up there……
This story was all over Catholic websites this weekend. Bishop Vasa has responsibility for the souls in his diocese and if he knew or suspected there were abuses he should correct them. How many times have we heard that Catholic teaching was negligent over the last 40 years. This is one way to correct the situation and at least on paper insure that all are on the same page.
Prediction: Teachers will sign to keep their job. But, perhaps angered they had to do something they didn’t want to do to keep their job, it’s hard to predict what they will do behind the closed classroom door. Parental vigilance is needed.
If they get caught violating their contractual agreement, it is automatic grounds for dismissal.
They will lose their jobs.
Good point, you two! I imagine that some will make false professions, but when parents catch wind of it with dissent being taught in the classroom, that will allow the schools to more easily terminate the dissenters.
Good for the bishop!
I am a Catholic school teacher and teach seventh-grade religion. I would be more than happy to sign such a document. I am sure the bishop has run it by both canon and civil lawyers to make sure it can be readily enforced.
God bless you Tom!
Bravo to Bishop Vasa. Perhaps his efforts will help weed out some of the teachers who subvert the Catholic faith in our Catholic schools.
I remember clearly back in 2004 when one of Bishop Vasa’s employees quit his staff in the Baker, Oregon Diocese. The employee who quit had worked for the Diocese of Sacramento previously and was lobbying to be the Director of the Office of Worship. Fortunately she was not selected, but while she was in Sacramento she did enough damage and scandalized the Church while on a number of occasions assisting in concelebrating Mass at St. Francis Church, and even elevating the Host at the Great Amen!
Laurette, lay people don’t assist in concelebrating Mass. What you say is confusing. Sometimes in small group Masses people all gather around the altar. We did this at Mass in a chapel when I was at college but one doesn’t call that concelebrating Mass.
Laurette: No employee of the Bishop’s staff in the Diocese of Baker quit over the affirmation of faith. the woman who made all the national media ranting about the injustice of having to attest (not sign…no signature was ever required of the affirmation that he introduced there) to the affirmation simply by confirming with her pastor that she accepted the doctrines of the Catholic Church, was a parishioner at one of the local churches. She was never considered for any position in the diocese of Baker, perhaps you meant Sacramento? No women participate in mass in this diocese aside from lectoring.
Bravo to Bishop Vasa! He is calling a halt to all the foxes wreaking havoc in the hen houses of the church, if you know what we mean!
He is actually doing exactly what needs to be done about all the wolves in sheep’s clothing who have infiltrated the Church and caused so much destruction and have been doing so with nearly total freedom for so many years!
If we had more bishops like him, the Church would be the salt and light of the earth that Our Lord intended it to be! Amen! Amen! Amen! to Bishop Vasa!
Let us all keep up our prayers for an end to contraception and abortion in the hearts and minds of all Catholics. God bless you Bishop Vasa.
Thank you Bishop Vasa!!!! Our children deserve to be taught the truth by faithful teachers!
If they disagree with the teachings of the Catholic Church, why are they working at these Catholic schools in the first place? Maybe they are typical liberals who are incapable of a logical thought process.
I sincerely hope that this will apply to all schools and colleges in the area. I have seen and heard principals, staff and administrators “wink” at Church teachings. I have heard a priest apologize for the Bible readings on sex to a group of young teachers and staff (who openingly moaned and frowned). I have heard a principal comment that classrooms were too Catholic. We cannot expect our children to learn the ways of the Church if they are openly and deliberately ignored, distorted or belittled!
Thank you and God bless you, Bishop Vasa. Now you will be hated and called all kinds of names for the Lord’s sake but “hang in there”.
Better for him to add some discomfort and enforce what is right…than to bring forth more confusion and scandal…….just think how many souls may be pushed to walk in the right path….it’s not what we can see but it’s what we don’t see that matters the most….if this helps just one soul to wake up from sin…..that is something to rejoice!
Bishop Vasa is protecting religious liberty in the United States. Our freedom to live as Catholics and practice our religion. In reading Humani Vitae (sp) the Pope said that it was not easy. We are called first and foremost to love Christ and out of that love for Christ comes our obiedience and assent to the Church which we are apart of. Thank you Bishop Vasa.
For those who sign and then are found to be out of ‘communion’ with the Church’s teachings… their views will show up and then I say this with all due charity… don’t let the door hit you on the posterior as you leave!
AMEN!
Elizabeth what you said is what we call backbone! Many people today lack it…if we surely trust Christ, then we know that we must be be fearful to lead but to keep going with a fierce heart to honor Christ and His truths and ways….even if there are those who oppose Him, if we trust that in the end He wins, then we have nothing to fear but to keep leading with conviction and with backbone…I wish more and more of our church leaders would believe this in their hearts because right now we have so much as stake here.
I know that many judge the Westboro Baptist group but at least they have backbone to have strong convictions and some of their convictions do match our traditions, but many of us are fearful to state them such as saying that homosexual lifestyles are evil…yes they are!
Its not a sin to expect our church to act like it’s Christ’s church…because it is! But it’s a sin to be lukewarm…..
Yes, Abeca Christian, the Westboro Baptists are anything but lukewarm. They have backbone too. If you think some of their convictions match our traditions you had better check out what they say about Catholics. They know that a lot of our priests are gay and they don’t like that one bit. You may share the opinions of these people regarding homosexual persons but this is not the tradition of our faith. Actually the Westboro Baptists are an example of how horrible hatred is and they have contributed to people being more tolerant and accepting of gay people and feeling that gay people should be treated with respect and compassion.
PA I have no issues with the Westboro Baptist but I have issues more with those who promote or are gay activist for agenda’s that are only sending/misleading more lost souls into hell.
Do you think I like the fact that there are some homosexual priests that were permitted in? Not one bit!
One thing you are forgetting PA…the more the gay agenda’s grow, the more sects like the Westboro Baptist you will produce and I’ll tell you why….because some people are just fed up and scandal causes many things in different groups of people…scandal can produce more conforming to sinfulness, such as desensitizing sinful choices, it can also make souls stray away and start their own church because of pride and scandal pushed upon them….don’t think that asking or making people to accept sodomy as a normal sexual activity that it will produce virtue, it does not, not at all.
So if those from within our church have embraced and defend homosexual lifestyles and or abortion, then they dishonored God with their poor witness to the faith and that may have produced more sects that are fed up and take it upon themselves to lead outside the church not only by bad will because they felt let down by our own church leadership (they should of stayed and fought the good fight but they are scandalized lost souls led by their pride) and the hatred you so much see in them, is actually less hateful than the assault that one commits against the natural law. This assault produces reaction and the human being who seeks God, can be pushed to react….but those who are lukewarm will only resist and label such actions as hate…….HOW DO WE KNOW HOW JUDGEMENT DAY WILL BE LIKE? Perhaps to the great sinner…it will be harsh and they may be shocked that it will not be handled the way they see fit, for that is for our Lord to decide…HE IS PERFECT! We are not!
If Indeed the actions of the Westboro Baptist are hateful as some say here..then I leave that for God to decide but right now….we must take care of our own from within…..For the conversion of all sinners…we pray!
Abeca Christian, if you have no issues with the Westboro Baptists then I feel sorry for you. I doubt that many Catholics have joined this cult as it has fewer than 100 members and many of them are members of the Phelps family. Perhaps some Catholics have left the Church because they don’t like belonging to a Church that has many gay priests and gay Catholics. But in truth, as I have said, such groups are leading to more people being tolerant and accepting of gay people and this includes Catholics.
Abeca, you obviously know very little about the Westboro Baptist Church. I once took the Kansas Bar exam, and—oddly enough—the Westboro Baptist Church was picketing the state capital.
Bottom line, they are hate-filled, completely fake Christians who are about spreading hate while mouthing the word of God.
To truly understand the Westboro sickness, you need to understand its patriarch and founder: Fred Phelps. Fred Phelps is a worthless piece of dung, who—before founding the WBC—was a Kansas lawyer. Fred Phelps was such a moral role model that this loser—who couldn’t earn an honest living, decided to victimize the poor by hard-selling good to them and getting them to sign contracts with userous layaway plans written in legalese. Phelps used to lie the terms then strip them of their money.
He did this so frequently, that the Kansas Bar stripped him of his license. In fact, he agreed to this punishment to avoid criminal prosecution. So, to tell you exactly who Fred Phelps is, he is a man who is so ethically vile that he can’t make the standard to practice law. When he struggled to make a living, he victimized the poor and barely literate and treats his children and members of his church like a tin-pot dictator.
Not only does Fred Phelps picket about homosexuality, he praises God for the death of American soldiers (who are not gay), and says their deaths were a punishment from God for the USA’s permissive attitude toward homosexuality. He wanted to picket the funeral of CHILDREN, (such as the stonybrook elementary school) and the 8 year old gunned down in Arizona when that nutjob attacked Congressman Gabrielle Giffords.
BTW, Fred Phelps was a good buddy of Saddam Hussein and sang his praises, because this bloody-handed dictator kissed Phelps’ behind and told him how important he was on a visit to Iraq.
Fred Phelps and his Church is everything that is wrong with religion.
Thanks for the info, JonJ, I didn’t know a lot of that about Fred Phelps.
It’s true I don’t know a lot about them that is because they are not affecting my values through laws and such and I won’t listen to your gossip about that small group because they are not a threat, they are, like some say here, a small group who appears to them hateful and out there…..but people keep missing the point…..the real culprits that we should be concerned with and BE BOTHERED with are the homosexual activists who are and have spread their evil deeds throughout this world! The Gay agenda driven homosexual supporters are spreading their hate, imposing their agenda on many.
Some here stated that the Westboro Baptist have had:
1. Funeral protests
2. They have a guy name Fred Phelps
but are a small group right?
The “gay rights” activists have shameful
1. “gay pride parades throughout the country and are bigger in number , mock the church dressed as nuns, pass out condoms, are connected also to NAMBLA etc etc…they have mislead many of our youth too
2. they have a guy named H Milk, in which California has made a day for this sick man and is teaching about him in schools…..is Fred Phelps affecting us in such a way…NO! I don’t recall our schools having to teach about Fred Phelps
and I can go on and on…..
So yes I have no issues with the Westboro group…not at all, I consider them harmless, maybe a little out there but harmless comparing to the “GAY AGENDA Activism.” That is what I am trying to convey, not all those false allegations that some here want to accuse me of…..and like I said before, some of those who have mentioned them before, it is not only because of their protests of the funeral scandals but most likely because of your prejudges, some don’t admit to it but they hate them because of their strong convictions against sodomy! ……but I do say to you JonJ yes I don’t know much about this small group you mention….God bless.
PA did you get that? I hope so.
What, teachers of Catholic children in a Catholic school must teach The Catholic Faith?
God bless Bishop Vasa, I wish we had a bishop like that!
Whew! So many of the comments in here remind me of Henry VIII and his “off with their heads!” reputation.
Excommunicate! Fire! Deny Communion! Remove from office! Hopefully, all this anger gets released in this blog, so it doesn’t get dumped on friends and family instead…
Mackz in your world there is never taking action…just permitting more abuses….it’s a sad mentality you have there bud!
So Mackz – apparently you believe that Sacrilege against the Body and Blood of our Lord is a good thing?
You believe that scandal, relativism, secularism, heresy, confusion and schism is a good thing?
You believe that St. Paul did not know what he was talking about in 1 Cor 5:11-13?
We must encourage our Bishops to do their jobs, so they will not be judged by Jesus for participating in the mortal sin of scandal – by the sin of omission.
CINDY great comments…I appreciate your last words too to your post, it’s worth repeating ” We must encourage our Bishops to do their jobs, so they will not be judged by Jesus for participating in the mortal sin of scandal – by the sin of omission.”……the key word is encourage! Through our prayers and encouragement….God bless you!
Mackz, you have it backwards. Henry the VIII was the one excommunicated, not the one doing the excommunication. It was the pope who cut him off from the Sacraments of the Church not the other way around.
I support Bishop Vasa who is displaying a strong resolve and a firm stance on the fundamentals of the faith which are life is sacred and contains a God-given dignity.
Every day the public schools bully christians by requiring them to accept immoral behaviors such as homosexuality and abortion. Therefore it should not be an issue when the Catholic Schools require that the teachers do not support immoral behaviors.
Thank you Bishop Vasa
I agree John
The public schools are like the protestants who created them, in that the kids do not have to believe what they don’t want to. Catholic schools force each one to believe whether it is true or false. Catholic schools tramp on the nature of free choice that God put in each soul; public schools cannot get away with this.
OOPS, wrong thread. My previous post does not fit the context of this thread … round peg in square hole. Oh well, shoot from the hip and miss the mark. Try try again. But I think I’ve hit on a contrast, public school freedom of religion vs Catholic school freedom of religion: for a nother thread
Skai you are funny. What do you think of my comments from March 8, 2013 at 11:45 am. I meant them for Mackz,, PA etc who keep bashing the Westboro Baptist by mentioning them….maybe that will stop that hypocrisy. I don’t recall there being laws that make people study that small group…..but I do recall the approval of sodomy lifestyles that the schools are imposing on Elementary schools…God have mercy on us all.
I just now read it, Abeca. Well done post!!! Bloggers like JonJ go bananas over Phelps because he targets the evil machinations of gays and their agenda. Phelps might be corrupt, but that does not mean his point is gay bashing as much as messaging the world about the evilness of the gay agenda.
Also, in the JonJ blog he ramps up the villain he calls “hatred”; where, JonJ, does God tell us Thou shalt not hate? Read your own blog, and note that you express a great deal or irate hate towards Phelps. How would you explain this, JonJ?
Yep, people need to bash those who hate … trick is how to do it without hating them. But then God hates evil, and some men become evil; therefore, God hates some men. Can’t get much simpler all you dudes who faint away at the thought of hate.
abeca, you should look at the sister site of Westboro Baptist which states that every Catholic parishioner is a pedophile rapist enabler and the every Catholic is going to hell and that God has chosen their delusion. The blessed Sacrament is called the “goofy “Eucharistic” wafers”. Oh well, they speak out against gays so that makes it cool with you. Good to know.
Yes Skai also Jon J was trying to educate me I suppose but he and PA keep missing my real point as to why I find the Westboro harmless to a point. Anyhoo leaving the Westboro out of this, I wish not to keep sounding like I am defending them but I was only trying to expose the hypocrisy.
Thanks Skai God bless you. : )
Anonymous our sins create those type of groups….especially homosexuality…you have two extremes……on one side you have those like the Westboro’s who truly are out there and they are produced by the sins of homosexuality and our church’s lack of holiness and being like minded in Christ…then you have the other extreme…the Gay movement…..their lifestyles, their sins cry out to the heavens for vengeance. Their hatred against the Natural Law in which God has created for mankind.
Like Abortion…..it is there because of sin and innocent blood is shed, it’s a product of idolatry.
The act of molesting a child is scandalous, evil and hurtful and the issue we have had in our church is that it was not taken seriously as it should have….so now you have this sin passing on…and others who hate the church, will continue to look at those faults of ours and condemn us because our own church leadership has neglected to act as Christ would have had them do so……No I don’t care for the Westboro Baptist but they don’t bother me because they are cold for the faith…cold to an extreme, they are definitely not lukewarm….we can pray for them because they only see the evil that our church has permitted…at least they respect children enough to voice their distaste…. I don’t like it but like St. Paul, he once persecuted the church because he thought he was doing the right thing and he took action and he had St. Steven, the first martyr killed …., those poor lost souls from Westboro are really out there…..it’s hard for me to understand them but they are not too far from the truth when it comes for their distaste for sodomy. When you have a society that has so easily has embraced homosexuality and even has encouraged it, you gotta understand that there will be those who oppose and some of them are gonna have a strong voice…unlike most people……they are not politically correct that for sure.
I unreservedly believe in — and support the unambiguous teaching and adherence to — those matters of doctrine and morals which Bishop Vasa would have ALL teachers in Catholic schools present as true, without any hint of disparagement or disagreement. Yet to force those who are not Catholic to conform their consciences in their private lives (perhaps dishonestly or against their will) to teachings they sincerely can’t believe in, is troublesome to me. Of course, I’m not including matters causing public scandal such as undergoing or promoting abortion, unmarried cohabitation or drug abuse, etc. But in other matters on which the Church has taught but which may be the sincere subject of disagreement by non-Catholic teachers, should we push adherence down their throats even if they keep their opinions and actions to themselves? Doesn’t our moral theology teach that an erroneous conscience must be followed if there is a sincere reflection on a Catholic teaching, but yet a sincere inability to accept it in conscience after prayer and reflection? That standard used to be termed “invincible ignorance” — which I admit is a less than gracious term. But is it no longer in effect?
Your point is taken, but I would find it hard to believe that Catholic school teachers can’t be found for every position in a school. This applies to staff, as well.
I add this part because I have witnessed a staff that are mostly not Catholic and they made fun of our Catholic Mass and audibly moaned and frowned during a Bible reading (and the priest actually apologized!!!!!!). Further, during an in-service on contraception, these same people were rude to the Catholic presenters. NOTHING was said or done to them, but the same cannot be said for the Catholic teachers who complained.
Being politically correct and/or worrying how we Catholics are perceived by others has got to stop!!!
If half the Vatican II “catholics” stood up against the critics of the Church as they do against fellow Catholics our society would be in fine shape.
That is exactly why the Bishop has asked for this provision: anyone who cannot in his heart witness to the doctrines of the Catholic Church should not be put in that kind of a position. They may wish to teach in a public school where anything goes. I know in this economy there are many Catholic teachers looking for work… I hope they find employment in the SR diocese and free those who are uncomfortable teaching according to Catholic beliefs to follow their consciences elsewhere.
Fr. Bob B. – all employees of the Diocese who set EXAMPLES for impressionable children and others should MORALLY adhere to the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition”.
That is what this is all about.
This is for Catholics as well as non-Catholics.
Those who want to publically support abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, homo-sexual acts, fornication, adultary, and other gravely sinful lifestyles need not apply.
ALL can attend the Church of their own choice, and need not be Catholic, but they must attend Church.
The 10 Commandments – including keeping Holy the Sabbath is for all Christians as well as Jews (Old Testament), and the Muslims don’t even need to be told since they attend Mosques without being told.
Others need not apply.
The Church needs to start cleaning house after 45 years of doing nothing to protect the children and make certain they learn right from wrong, and learn their Faith – including by example.
Parents who pay tuition have the right to expect a “Catholic” not watered-down education for their children.
Fr. Bob B. I was in a Sunday School class when a child asked if girls could be priests. The teacher said “No, but maybe someday.” I said “No”. The teacher looked at me very surprised and said “You don’t think they will change that?” I said “No that will not ever change.” You don’t know what kids will ask or what teachers might answer.
BISHOP VASA FOR POPE!
Mackz, please re-read the Holy Gospels, and notice how Jesus spoke to religious leaders who mislead their flocks. Charity? Yes, of course! But not at the expense of truth and justice!
Sometimes, tough love is called for! May you be blessed by His Love, Truth, Wisdom and Justice!
And by the way, let us pray that our next Pope has much in common with our beloved Bishop Vasa! And may our other bishops follow his good example!
After all it is a Catholic school! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure the connection between a religious school and to the adherence of its faith. If a person cannot grasp the sense in that they do not have the intelligence to qualify as a school teacher.
Santa Rosa is blessed to have such rarity within the American hierarchy. A Bishop with backbone who does not wish to compromise his faith or the schoolchildren.
Baron: you make the perfect point here: those who are worried about the teacher’s delicate sensibilities, should rather be concerned with the rights of Catholic children to learn their faith in an environment that is actually Catholic and respected for being such.
“Santa Rosa is blessed to have such rarity within the American hierarchy. A Bishop with backbone who does not wish to compromise his faith or the schoolchildren.”
Baron and Alice,
Excellent comments! There are graduates of St. Thomas Aquinas who could replace those teachers who do not want to sign an agreement. Also the credentialed young adults who were home schooled and who also know the teachings of the Catholic Church would love to teach and uphold the faith in a Catholic school. Perhaps Bishop Vasa might consider bringing in more Sisters in full habits to his Diocese.
Catherine, is it OK if he brings in Sisters who don’t wear full habits? There are very few sisters that wear full habits anymore. The sisters in my school stopped wearing full habits when I was in grade school. They were allowed to drive cars but it would have been a safety hazard to drive wearing medieval habits as they had no peripheral vision with the veils they wore and their skirts went to the ground. When I was a child the sisters didn’t even own coats, they just had shawls. The best thing they ever did was modernize their habits as the old habits were surely uncomfortable and on rare occasions unsafe.
Gee Mark, I thought that your were a real history buff. I should think that you would love to hear about the good ol’ Medieval days!
MEDIEVAL PHRASES IN USE TODAY
“GIVE SOMEONE THE COLD SHOULDER” – In The Middle Ages, lords and nobles were often faced with the common problem of getting rid of unwanted or obnoxious guests at feasts and gatherings. There is no evidence of when this practice actually started, but an unwanted guest was served a cold shoulder of meat; the toughest and most undesireable portion of a roast. Receiving this token symbol often resulted in giving the guest enough of a hint that he or she over-stayed their welcome.
“CAUGHT YOU RED-HANDED” – This phrase comes from the 12th Century practice of dipping a thief’s hand in berry-dye. The dye would soak into the skin and stain the hand for several weeks and as such, serve as an act of public humiliation of being convicted. All who saw the ‘red-handed’ person knew he was a thief and a criminal.
“GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE!” – This phrase is commonly used toward someone who is acting pompous, arrogant or lofty. The phrase comes from the 13th Century. During that time Nobles were given a taller breed of horse to ride to signify their status and authority. Often commoners would tell each other to “Get off their high horses” when one was acting more authoritative than he had a right to.
Then Please Google You Tube Caritas Dominican Sisters Mother Mary of the Eucharist
“In 1996 Pope John Paul II wrote Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, calling for a renewal of religious life.[1] Inspired by his words, Mother Mary Assumpta Long, former superior of the Nashville-based Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia,[2] and three other Sisters of the community, Sr. Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, Sr. Mary Samuel Handwerker and Sr. John Dominic Rasmussen, set off to “undertake a new initiative”. On February 9, 1997 John Cardinal O’Connor established the new foundation as a “Public Association of Christ’s Faithful” in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. After their canonical establishment, the Sisters accepted an invitation by Bishop Carl Frederick Mengeling to teach in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing and began to administer the Spiritus Sanctus Academies located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Plymouth, Michigan.[3]
In 2010 the congregation announced that it had agreed to buy the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. to be used as a house of studies,[4][5] but withdrew from the purchase in 2011 to concentrate on building their new priory in Austin, TX.
[edit]Apostolate
The community’s apostolate is Catholic education. They currently run the Spiritus Sanctus Academies, private and independent K-8 Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan and also have small groups of sisters teaching in the Catholic dioceses of Charleston, Sacramento, Austin, Phoenix, and Venice (Florida) at both the elementary and secondary levels. They also offer spiritual retreats, and spread the Christian faith by giving talks at such places as colleges, universities, Catholic groups and vocation fairs. The sisters also host a catechetical series on EWTN entitled “Truth in the Heart” for elementary school age children.
[edit]Spirituality
The Sisters “fully embrace the charism and spirituality of the Order of Preachers”, the Dominican Order.[6] The Sisters have a devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic adoration is an important part of the spirituality of the Sisters.[7] They also have a “total filial entrustment to Mary, the Mother of God”.[8]
[edit]Current status
The Motherhouse in Ann Arbor today counts over 100 Sisters with an average age of 28. The average entering age is 21.[9] The Sisters are currently expanding geographically, with missions in California, Florida, South Carolina, and Texas, as their Motherhouse in Michigan is at its full capacity.”
Thanks for the info, Catherine.
Catherine you do have a good sense of humor….excellent comments…..
NOW PA you thanked her for her comment….how about you read my comments from March 8, 2013 at 11:45 am. The Gay Pride Parades are pagan and truly hateful to all that is good and honest in Christ.
And they’ve been on Oprah!
A year or so before I found the Catholic Church, I was taking a class at UCLA, a medieval history class, with the classroom part taught by a Jewish grad student. He explained the Holy Eucharist perfectly as I was to later find out. He simply said what the Church says and in a completely clear and concise manner, thus proving that a non-Catholic can explain the Church doctrines and dogmas.
Wow – this is frightening!