Morality Pledges

quote:

Educators at East Bay Catholic schools must sign a new contract Friday with the Diocese of Oakland pledging to conform to church teachings outside the workplace - leaving some, particularly non-Catholics, wrestling with a professional and moral dilemma.

In contention is an updated clause specifically outlining what teachers of the diocese's 54 schools do in their personal lives.

"In both the employee's personal and professional life, the employee is expected to model and promote behavior in conformity with the teaching of the Roman Catholic faith in matters of faith and morals, and to do nothing that tends to bring discredit to the school or to the Diocese of Oakland," the new contract says.

The previous contract did not delineate between a teacher's personal and professional life.

The clause is creating anxiety in a diocese where 18 percent of the 1,217 teachers are not Catholic, according to church statistics.

The new contracts were due May 1, but some sympathetic school administrators gave teachers until Friday to sign.

State and federal employment law offers little protection from being fired for violating church teaching - sparking fear that teachers could lose their jobs for using contraception, having premarital sex, trying to conceive a child by artificial insemination or marrying someone of the same sex.

unquote

more at:

http://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Oakland-Diocese-requiring-educators-to-conform-to-5464492.php

Originally posted by JS357
quote:

Educators at East Bay Catholic schools must sign a new contract Friday with the Diocese of Oakland pledging to conform to church teachings outside the workplace - leaving some, particularly non-Catholics, wrestling with a professional and moral dilemma.

In contention is an updated clause specifically outlining what teachers of the diocese's 54 sch ...[text shortened]... e.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Oakland-Diocese-requiring-educators-to-conform-to-5464492.php

Do you think God should punish the Catholic Church for hiring non-Catholics in the first place?

Originally posted by JS357
quote:

Educators at East Bay Catholic schools must sign a new contract Friday with the Diocese of Oakland pledging to conform to church teachings outside the workplace - leaving some, particularly non-Catholics, wrestling with a professional and moral dilemma.

In contention is an updated clause specifically outlining what teachers of the diocese's 54 sch ...[text shortened]... e.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Oakland-Diocese-requiring-educators-to-conform-to-5464492.php

Why?

Originally posted by josephw
Do you think God should punish the Catholic Church for hiring non-Catholics in the first place?

I'm pretty sure that's rather inconsequential to God.

I think he'd be more concerned about the existence of the abomination (as it exists today, anyway) called the Roman Catholic Church.

Originally posted by divegeester
Why?

Evil men often seek control of others. The misinformed then blame this on religion.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Evil men often seek control of others. The misinformed then blame this on religion.

I see. When the followers of the religion do good things, they are a part of the religion. When they do bad things, they are evil men acting of their own accord.

Convenient.

Originally posted by josephw
Do you think God should punish the Catholic Church for hiring non-Catholics in the first place?

I don't know. Given the open disagreement of existing faculty, the East Bay diocese is ether going to have to look the other way on insincere pledges, or move toward all-Catholic school faculties. Fully staffing with Catholics is a logical end point but there may be another.

The article failed to mention another relevant obligation that non-Catholic teachers would pledge to, if they signed the contract. If such a teacher were to marry a Catholic, he/she would have to either convert to the RCC, or agree that any children would be raised as Catholics. One of these two choices would be required if the couple chose to have the marriage performed by a priest in the sacrament of matrimony, which choice the RCC would require of the Catholic in order for him/her to be able to partake in other sacraments such as Reconciliation and the Eucharist. So if a Catholic is allowed (under those conditions) to wed a non-Catholic, I would think a Catholic would be allowed to hire a non-Catholic under analogous conditions -- which the East Bay diocese's contract appears designed to satisfy. This contract-signing is equivalent* to the marital agreement to raise the kids Catholic.

Knowing Catholic moral scholars, I wouldn't be surprised if this logic was followed.

*Edit: Equivalent in more ways than one. A non-RC teacher who dated a Catholic teacher would be expected to avoid doing anything that might tempt the Catholic away from being a "good Catholic," even if the Catholic didn't want to be a good Catholic in that same regard (such as pre-marital sex or non-approved forms of birth control.)

Originally posted by divegeester
Why?

What needs explaining?

Originally posted by BigDoggProblem
I see. When the followers of the religion do good things, they are a part of the religion. When they do bad things, they are evil men acting of their own accord.

Convenient.

Practical.

It illustrates the difference between men and religion.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Practical.

It illustrates the difference between men and religion.

So, if any one of the men can possibly become so evil that they need to be kicked out of the religion, then whom do we trust to make the decision to throw them out?

Don't you lose the confidence of the parishioners if you're ready to throw anyone and everyone under the bus when they screw up? A religion that does not tolerate mistakes is filled only with people who hide their mistakes.