Cardinal Burke Urges Genuine Catholic Education to Renew Culture

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Cardinal Raymond Burke last week gave us yet another trove of wisdom to contemplate, just as the Synod on the Family came to a close. This time, it was about Catholic education, and it came with a stern warning.

In prepared remarks last week given to representatives of Voice of the Family, Cardinal Raymond Burke, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, warned parents about the threats to their children from wayward Catholic schools while arguing that faithful Catholic education at home and in schools is needed to transform the culture. 

“Today, parents must be especially vigilant, for sadly, in some places, schools have become the tools of a secular agenda inimical to the Christian life,” he said. Corrupted Catholic institutions can lead young people “to their slavery to sin … profound unhappiness, and to the destruction of culture.” 

Cardinal Burke has received a lot of attention for his courageous opposition to those who sought to hijack the Synod in support of Communion for remarried, divorced Catholics. So it may seem odd that he chose to focus on Catholic education during the Synod’s last week. The topic of education got surprisingly little attention at the Synod, even after scholars Theresa Farnan and Mary Hasson publicly urged the Synod fathers to devote more time to it. 

But education and the good of the Catholic family are essentially linked, and Catholic education is a key solution to the challenge of secularism. In a lecture last week at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio — which is a model of faithful education — I expressed my concern that we not limit the New Evangelization to strategies that excite young people about the Faith, but also focus more attention to the renewal of Catholic education. It is in Catholic education that young people experience the deeper formation that prepares them for sainthood in a difficult and often hostile culture. 

The timing of Cardinal Burke’s comments also are relevant to today’s 50th anniversary of the Vatican II declaration on Christian education, Gravissimum Educationis. Next month, the Vatican will celebrate the documents while addressing the “crisis of education” in the modern world, meaning the modern failures to truly bring young people to know, love and serve Jesus Christ. The result is a deep despair and aimlessness in today’s societies — what Cardinal Burke calls a “profound unhappiness.” 

And ultimately, happiness in God is the promise of a genuine Catholic formation. 

It is important that “children know happiness both during the days of their earthly pilgrimage and eternally at the goal of their pilgrimage which is Heaven,” said Cardinal Burke. And it is no contradiction that such happiness means preparing for the Cross. 

“Education, if it is to be sound, that is, for the good of the individual and society, must be especially attentive to arm itself against the errors of secularism and relativism,” Cardinal Burke stated, “lest it fail to communicate to the succeeding generations the truth, beauty and goodness of our life and of our world, as they are expressed in the unchanging teaching of the faith.” 

He addressed particularly the modern confusion in sexuality, including the “so-called ‘gender education’ in some schools, which is a direct attack on marriage at its foundation and, therefore, on the family.” 

“Good parents and good citizens,” said Cardinal Burke, “must be attentive to the curriculum which schools are following and to the life in the schools, in order to assure that our children are being formed in the human and Christian virtues and are not being deformed by indoctrination …Today, for example, we sadly find the need to speak about ‘traditional marriage,’ as if there were another kind of marriage.” 

He referred to Gravissimum Educationis in support of parent-directed education: “As it is the parents who have given life to their children, on them lies the gravest obligation of educating their family.They must therefore be recognized as being primarily and principally responsible for their education.” 

And most profoundly, he reminded his audience of the encyclical by Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri, and the task of Catholic education to form “the supernatural man who thinks, judges and acts constantly and consistently in accordance with right reason illumined by the supernatual light of the example and teaching of Christ; in other words, to use the current term, the true and finished man of character.”

In light of the confusion surrounding the Synod and the greater confusion in the world about marriage, family and even the value of human life, we are in great need of Catholics with this sort of formation. Renewing Catholic education should be among our highest priorities. 

This article was originally published by National Catholic Register and is reprinted with permission.

Teach, Witness and Advocate: Catholic Education’s Response to Secularism

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This report was adapted from a lecture delivered as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series at Franciscan University of Steubenville on October 15, 2015

Introduction

The Catholic Church in the United States today faces serious challenges arising from secularism and an increasingly secular society, including growing threats to religious freedom.  But while Catholic education is a victim of these threats and can even—when done poorly—make matters worse, faithful Catholic education must be embraced as a key solution to the challenges that secularism poses to Christianity and as a primary means of the New Evangelization.

While the entire Church should renew its appreciation for the essential role of faithful Catholic education, it is most urgently the Catholic educator’s role to proclaim, defend, and witness to the value of Catholic education.  The Catholic educator’s response to secularism should be characterized by resistance to violations of religious freedom and public witness to the Faith and to the integrity of Catholic education—and not by compliance and silence.

Catholic educators cannot rely simply on legal and public policy efforts to preserve their institutions.  Even if the Church and her allies successfully fend off current threats to religious organizations in the courts or legislatures, the underlying crises of truth and faith are likely to persist, laying the groundwork for new violations of natural and constitutional freedoms.

Moreover, Catholic educators must not be tempted into silent compliance, even if they are able to identify moral and legal options for operating under government coercion.  Any action or commitment of the Catholic educator must avoid the risk of scandal and—even more—should have the intention and effect of teaching truth by explanation and example.  Catholic educators should vigorously assert their rights in a free society and use every available means within their competency and mission to defend the integrity of Catholic education.

Above all, Catholic educators can most effectively respond to secularism by better fulfilling their authentic, divinely inspired mission to evangelize by forming the human person.  They do so in their teaching to students and others, research and writing about key moral and social concerns, public witness to the Faith, advocacy for Catholic education, defense of the rightful autonomy of Catholic education from the state, and solidarity with others in each of these tasks.

It may seem an odd position that Catholic education is proposed as a solution to actual and threatened violations of religious freedom, when it is most certainly a victim of those same violations.  In an increasingly secular society, actors in all levels of government are attempting or threatening to abuse their powers and violate religious freedom in a manner that could damage, cripple, and ultimately bar Catholic education—including Catholic homeschools, schools, colleges, and universities.  Especially with regard to sexuality and gender, marriage, the sacredness of human life, and human dignity, a growing divide between Catholic teaching and social mores has motivated public policymakers and courts to show increasing insensitivity and even hostility to the demands of the Catholic faith upon believers and the fidelity that is necessary to Catholic apostolates and ministries.

Not only do these violations conflict with a school or college’s institutional commitment to a Catholic identity, but they also interfere with the ability of Catholic educators to teach and witness to the Faith.  In this sense, the impact of religious freedom violations is especially damaging to Catholic education.

Moreover, not only is Catholic education a victim of the growing threats to religious freedom, but where our Catholic institutions are marked by infidelity and indifference to their mission, Catholic education is also a contributing cause of this crisis.  The abuses of religious freedom—and secularism generally—are rooted in ignorance, misunderstanding, and often hostility to the truth about man and God.  This secular confusion both feeds and is fed by the scandal of Christian infidelity and poor catechesis and theology; many Catholics, together with many other Americans, are experiencing what Pope Benedict described as a “contemporary ‘crisis of truth’ [that] is rooted in a ‘crisis of faith’”.1

Weakened Catholic identity and dissent within our very own Catholic institutions—particularly many colleges and universities—sow greater confusion within the Church and society.  They also invite further encroachment upon the freedoms of religious institutions, because non-Catholics are understandably suspicious of the Church’s sincerity when she seeks legal exemption from government policies and regulations in order to uphold certain Catholic teachings and practices, but Catholic institutions and educators openly dissent from those same teachings and practices.

Nevertheless—or perhaps precisely because of the confusion that has crept into many Catholic educational institutions—faithful Catholic education is a necessary and primary solution for the Church in facing the challenges of secularism.  Catholic education, when done rightly, is that apostolate of the Church that seeks and communicates truth in the light of faith, forming the human person to know, love, and serve God.  That mission is urgently needed today.

According to Ex corde Ecclesiae, the 1990 apostolic constitution on Catholic universities, Catholic educators serve both the Church and society and fulfill their mission to teach “the whole truth about nature, man and God”.2  Especially in higher education, they engage in writing and research “so that the united endeavor of intelligence and faith will enable people to come to the full measure of their humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, renewed even more marvelously, after sin, in Christ, and called to shine forth in the light of the Spirit.”3

The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education has taught that Catholic education is “a privileged means of promoting the formation of the whole man” and an instrument of evangelization, which is the Church’s mission in this world.4  Pope Francis has said that education is “key, key, key” to evangelization.5  Pope Benedict XVI said that Catholic education is “an essential resource for the new evangelization,” while cautioning that Catholic colleges especially “need to reaffirm their distinctive identity in fidelity to their founding ideals and the Church’s mission in service of the Gospel.”  He added, “It is no exaggeration to say that providing young people with a sound education in the faith represents the most urgent internal challenge facing the Catholic community in your country.”6  Saint Pope John Paul II said, “In the overall work of the new evangelization, the educational sector occupies a place of honor.”7

At a time when the New Evangelization has a limited focus on casting its nets wide but shallow, the Church should place increased priority on the deep, integral formation that Catholic education provides.  Catholic education, more than any other means of evangelization, helps ensure a lifelong commitment to the Faith and preparation of our young people for sainthood in an increasingly difficult and often hostile culture.

Catholic education, then, is itself an appropriate and necessary response to the contemporary crises of truth and faith that are the bases for a secularized culture and violations of religious freedom.  Nothing short of a substantially increased effort to educate Catholics in the Faith may be sufficient to protect against the dangers of a culture that is rapidly becoming what Blessed John Henry Newman called “simply irreligious.”8

First Response: Teach

The principal duty of the Catholic educator is to teach, and the Church in American society is in great need of this service.  Too much of education is no longer grounded in truth and “the fount of truth”,9 and young people are lacking in the most human faculties of reasoning and communication.

Catholic education forms students intellectually and in the Faith, and prepares them for service to society and for lifelong witness to the Faith.  In each respect, Catholic educators can fulfill their mission in ways that respond to secularism and its root causes.

A Catholic educator’s objective is to educate the student—to form the student intellectually and in relationship to God.  According to the 1977 Vatican document, The Catholic School, Catholic education’s “task is fundamentally a synthesis of culture and faith, and also of faith and life: the first is reached by integrating all the different aspects of human knowledge through the subjects taught, in the light of the Gospel; the second in the growth of the virtues characteristic of the Christian.”10

Saint Pope John Paul II said the vision of Catholic education has “its origin in the person of Christ and its roots in the teachings of the Gospel.  Catholic schools must seek not only to impart a quality education from the technical and professional standpoint, but also and above all provide for the integral formation of the human person.”11

The endeavor to interweave reason and faith, which has become the heart of individual subjects, makes for unity, articulation, and coordination, bringing forth within what is learnt in school a Christian vision of the world, of life, of culture, and of history.  In the Catholic school’s educational project there is no separation between time for learning and time for formation, between acquiring notions and growing in wisdom.  The various school subjects do not present only knowledge to be attained, but also values to be acquired and truths to be discovered.12

The Catholic college or university continues this formation.  Ex corde Ecclesiae says that students participate in “a continuing reflection in the light of the Catholic faith upon the growing treasury of human knowledge”.13  Their education combines “academic and professional development with formation in moral and religious principles and the social teachings of the Church”.14

Catholic education has not only an inward concern for the student’s own development, but also an outward concern for society and its evangelization.  According to the Vatican II declaration Gravissimum Educationis, Catholic education aspires that students “learn not only how to bear witness to the hope that is in them (cf. Peter 3:15) but also how to help in the Christian formation of the world that takes place when natural powers viewed in the full consideration of man redeemed by Christ contribute to the good of the whole society”.15 And Ex corde Ecclesiae demands that graduates should be prepared to “devote themselves to the service of society and of the Church, but at the same time prepared to give the witness of their faith to the world.”16

Catholic education responds to secularism by better ensuring that future generations of Americans know God, know the Catholic faith, and are capable of defending the Faith and religious freedom.  This simply fulfills the teaching mission of Catholic education, already embraced by faithfully Catholic schools, colleges, and universities.

But where is the evidence that students in Catholic schools, colleges, and universities today are graduating with adequate knowledge of the Faith and are living in fidelity to the Church’s moral and social teachings?  If Christian formation is the heart of Catholic education, it should also be the central focus of student outcomes measurements and periodic assessments to better ensure the results that we promise, followed by intensified efforts to improve those results.  This is a challenge even to the most faithful Catholic institutions, which need better instruments to document their degree of success in the formation to which they are publicly committed.

Do all of our Catholic schools, colleges, and universities put at least as much emphasis on Christian formation as on academic achievement and career preparation?  Is this reflected in our standards, curricula, course plans, choice of textbooks, extracurricular programs, and policies?  In our teachers and our hiring priorities?  In our celebration of the Sacraments, prayer, sacramental preparation, and other activities?  Are opportunities for formation simply made available to students, or are they integral to the student experience, with due respect for freedom of conscience?  Especially on college campuses, is there an implicit relativism that suggests a false equality between Christian formation and the practice of other religions?

With particular relevance to contemporary culture, a Catholic education—in partnership with parents—forms young people in sexual purity and provides understanding of the Church’s teaching with regard to sexuality, marriage, human dignity, and the sanctity of human life.  Today these truths are distorted and often attacked in American society, encouraging sympathy for laws that offend morality and violate the rights of Catholic institutions to uphold Catholic teachings.  Do the graduates of Catholic education embrace sexual morality and the true nature of marriage, counter to contemporary American culture?  Do they embrace the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the human person?  Note that these are more than questions of institutional commitment to the faith; they require commitment to achieving outcomes and the promise of a sure formation of students.

How, then, does Catholic education make the further claim to prepare students for evangelization, to “give witness of their faith to the world”?  This objective requires inspiration and skills preparation that are largely absent from most Catholic school, college, and university programs of study.  This requires our attention, especially at a time when the Church is calling the laity to a New Evangelization.

Beyond teaching students, the extraordinary challenges facing Catholic education today should inspire educators to teach others in the Church and community, thereby confronting the ignorance that feeds violations of religious freedom.  The Church proclaims the benefits of Catholic education for both the student’s formation and “the common good of societies.”  According to Ex corde Ecclesiae, the Catholic college or university is committed to dialogue with culture and to be an “effective instrument of cultural progress for individuals as well as for society.”17  Catholic educators should consider ways of making their teaching available to ever-widening audiences, including non-Catholics, in ways that simultaneously benefit their institutions.

The Church’s efforts to make use of new technologies and methods of communication suggest ways that Catholic educators can share their teaching with society without significant distraction from the priority of teaching students.  Professors and teachers can be held out to news media as experts, providing a Catholic perspective when possible.  They can be publicly visible as bloggers and columnists, television and radio guests, and speakers at public events.  They can share classroom materials and even videos in all subjects to help adult Catholics and others learn what is presented to students, especially with regard to the integration of the Faith.  All of this enhances the reputation of Catholic institutions while increasing appreciation for the formation provided in Catholic education.

The secularization of American society invites Catholic educators to more vigorously seek ways of using their expertise for catechesis and evangelization in the community.  New apostolates or associations of educators joined together for this purpose would be an effective and valuable service to the Church and society.

Second Response: Research and Writing on Key Moral and Social Concerns?

In addition to teaching, Catholic college educators often make important contributions by their research and writing.  Focusing this work on the falsehoods that lie at the root of secularism and on the tragic consequences of secularism is a much-needed service of Catholic education today.

In elementary and secondary education, this begins with the “critical, systematic transmission of culture in the light of faith” in Catholic schools.18  Educators and students are called to examine culture and to consider how it should be transformed in the light of the Gospels.  This can be carried outside the classroom through social activities, events, lectures, debates, the arts, and other means of interacting with the surrounding culture.

But it is especially in Catholic higher education that educators are called to writing and research that serves the needs of the Church.  Despite observations that the West has already entered a “post-Christian” age, we are reminded of the hope expressed by Saint John Paul II in Ex corde Ecclesiae, that Catholic universities around the world:

…are for me a lively and promising sign of the fecundity of the Christian mind in the heart of every culture.  They give me a well-founded hope for a new flowering of Christian culture in the rich and varied context of our changing times, which certainly face serious challenges but which also bear so much promise under the action of the Spirit of truth and love.19

Ex corde Ecclesiae places special emphasis on the role of research in the Catholic university to help “discern and evaluate both the aspirations and the contradictions of modern culture, in order to make it more suited to the total development of individuals and peoples.”20

University research will seek to discover the roots and causes of the serious problems of our time, paying special attention to their ethical and religious dimensions.  If need be, a Catholic University must have the courage to speak uncomfortable truths which do not please public opinion, but which are necessary to safeguard the authentic good of society.

A specific priority is the need to examine the predominant values and norms of modern society and culture in a Christian perspective, and the responsibility to try to communicate to society those ethical and religious principles which give full meaning to human life.21

Catholic educators, especially in higher education, could support the Church’s response to secularism and its root causes by engaging in a variety of research and writing projects.  Already some of the best arguments for religious freedom and its legal defense have come out of universities, including some Catholic institutions.  Much more can be done to marshal college and university resources—the most precious of which is the expertise of faculty members—to provide intellectual support, gather valuable information, and analyze the strategies and activities of the Church’s many apostolates.

In particular, the violations of religious freedom impel Catholic educators to place priority on research that directly supports efforts to defend the Church’s institutions or addresses the needs of apostolates and ministries that are focused on the issues central to most violations: sexuality and gender, marriage, the sacredness of human life, and human dignity.  While much valuable research has already been provided by professors in Catholic colleges and universities, it cannot be said that their faculties are, as a whole, as committed to this work as the times require.

In his First Things article a few months ago, proposing various preparations for the 2015 Synod on the Family, George Weigel provided an example of the myriad ways scholars could provide valuable support for the Church’s mission.  He wrote:

More data should be brought forward—and [it is] abundantly available—to demonstrate that the Church’s idea of permanent and fruitful marriage, like the Church’s teaching on the appropriate means of regulating fertility, makes for happier marriages, happier families, happier children, and more-benevolent societies than does the deconstruction of marriage and the family that is inundating the West like a tsunami.  In teaching the truth about marriage, about love, and about the complementarity of the sexes, the Catholic Church is proposing the path to happiness and human flourishing, not the road to repression and misery.  It should make a bold, data-driven case in defense of that teaching, which is a defense of the dignity of the human person.22

It is this sort of “bold, data-driven” research and argument that is needed from Catholic scholars to address not only issues concerning marriage, but all the issues that feed a cultural disdain for the Catholic Church and are consequences of secularism.

Third Response: Public Witness to the Faith

Catholic educators are called to be witnesses to the Faith.  That witness is greatly needed today, both inside and outside the classroom.

Catholic education, by definition, assumes fidelity to the magisterium of the Church.  According to Canon Law, “The instruction and education in a Catholic school must be grounded in the principles of Catholic doctrine. …”23  Ex corde Ecclesiae requires that a Catholic college or university “informs and carries out its research, teaching, and all other activities with Catholic ideals, principles, and attitudes. …Catholic teaching and discipline are to influence all university activities, while the freedom of conscience of each person is to be fully respected.  Any official action of commitment of the university is to be in accord with its Catholic identity.”24

Such fidelity depends most heavily on the witness of the educators themselves.  In schools, says Canon Law, “teachers are to be outstanding in correct doctrine and integrity of life”.25  In colleges and universities, requires Ex corde Ecclesiae, “all Catholic teachers are to be faithful to, and all other teachers are to respect, Catholic doctrine and morals in their research and teaching”.26

There is great value to the Church and society in the very example of Catholic educators who remain steadfastly committed to Christian formation in complete fidelity to the magisterium of the Church—especially when such formation is contrary to the norms of secular culture and defies government threats and laws violating religious freedom.  Such educators provide an important public witness to the authentic purpose and value of Catholic schools, colleges, and universities.  Such witness creates opportunities to explain and demonstrate to policymakers and the American public why many Catholic institutions are unwilling to compromise their fidelity to Catholic teaching when faced with government coercion.

This witness is all the more important amid the current crisis of Catholic identity within Catholic education.  Many institutions today fail in significant and public ways to uphold their mission, thereby promoting confusion and doubt regarding the necessity of freedoms that protect religious education.  By contrast, faithfully Catholic schools, colleges, and universities can be effective and much-needed models of Catholic education within the Church and society, demonstrating why religious freedom remains valuable and necessary to preserving their integrity.

There have been substantial efforts in recent decades to strengthen the Catholic identity of schools, colleges, and universities—and also to establish new, lay-directed schools and colleges that are often extraordinary in the formation provided to students—but the present threats increase the urgency for such efforts.  The Church is in great need of their witness and their courage to stand against violations of religious freedom and protect the integrity of Catholic education.  Those institutions that do so may be weakened financially and in their ability to compete for students and employees; the Church should not abandon them to that fate, but should substantially increase support for such institutions in recognition of their great importance and with gratitude for their example.

Fourth Response: Defense of the Rightful Autonomy of Catholic Education from the State

Inherently connected to the mission of the Catholic educator is the obligation to explain and, when necessary, to defend that mission.  This is greatly needed today, amid increasing government threats to religious freedom.

Catholic educators provide a vital service not only to the Church, but as Pope Benedict said to American educators in 2008, they “truly serve society”.27  The benefits to both Church and society need to be proclaimed loudly in defense against the threats to educators’ ability to provide authentic Catholic teaching and formation.  Catholic educators should appeal to the Church for her public witness to the value of Catholic education, but primary responsibility rests upon Catholic educators themselves to more convincingly argue their place in the Church and society and to celebrate their contributions.

Within the Church, not only does Catholic education suffer from declining enrollment and financial hardship in elementary and secondary schools, but there appears to be declining appreciation for the unique benefits of Catholic education at all levels.  This is greatly exacerbated by the crisis of Catholic identity in Catholic education, with many Catholics no longer aware of the significant impact that an authentic Catholic education can have for a young person.  A vigorous defense of traditional Catholic education and proposals for its renewal are urgently needed.  Catholic educators can also do much to help Catholics better understand and appreciate what they do and why it has such great importance for the Christian formation of young Catholics.

In addition, the case must be made more convincingly for the rights of Catholic educators amid the pluralism of American society.  Again citing the Vatican document, The Catholic School:

The Church upholds the principle of a plurality of school systems in order to safeguard her objectives in the face of cultural pluralism.  In other words, she encourages the co-existence and, if possible, the cooperation of diverse educational institutions which will allow young people to be formed by value judgments based on a specific view of the world and to be trained to take an active part in the construction of a community through which the building of society itself is promoted.

Thus, while policies and opportunities differ from place to place, the Catholic school has its place in any national school system.  By offering such an alternative, the Church wishes to respond to the obvious need for cooperation in a society characterized by cultural pluralism.  Moreover, in this way she helps to promote that freedom of teaching which champions and guarantees freedom of conscience and the parental right to choose the school best suited to parents’ educational purpose.

…In fact, as the State increasingly takes control of education and establishes its own so-called neutral and monolithic system, the survival of those natural communities, based on a shared concept of life, is threatened.  Faced with this situation, the Catholic school offers an alternative which is in conformity with the wishes of the members of the community of the Church.28

Included in this is a defense of the rights of parents in a free society to direct the education of their children and to choose authentic Catholic education that is not compromised by government mandate.  Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in Ecclesia in America:

To carry out [her] tasks, the Church in America requires a degree of freedom in the field of education; this is not to be seen as a privilege but as a right, in virtue of the evangelizing mission entrusted to the Church by the Lord.  Furthermore, parents have a fundamental and primary right to make decisions about the education of their children; consequently, Catholic parents must be able to choose an education in harmony with their religious convictions.  The function of the State in this area is subsidiarity; the State has the duty “to ensure that education is available to all and to respect and defend freedom of instruction.  A State monopoly in this area must be condemned as a form of totalitarianism which violates the fundamental rights which it ought to defend, especially the right of parents to provide religious education for their children.  The family is the place where the education of the person primarily takes place.29

The place of Catholic colleges and universities in American society must also be vigorously promoted and defended.  According to Ex corde Ecclesiae:

Catholic Universities join other private and public Institutions in serving the public interest through higher education and research; they are one among the variety of different types of institution that are necessary for the free expression of cultural diversity, and they are committed to the promotion of solidarity and its meaning in society and in the world.  Therefore they have the full right to expect that civil society and public authorities will recognize and defend their institutional autonomy and academic freedom…30

Fifth Response: Solidarity with Others in Responding to Secularism

My final suggestion is for increased collaboration both within and without the Catholic Church in pursuing these tasks.  In all of this, the Catholic educator is united with the Church and others who seek the common good.  Collaboration should be desired and invited to increase the effect of the educator’s efforts and to promote Christian unity and charity.

The Code of Canon Law states that the Church’s bishops have “the duty of arranging everything so that all the faithful have a Catholic education,”31 “to establish and direct schools,”32 to consent to use of the label Catholic,33 and to “watch over” and regulate Catholic education.34  In higher education, according to Ex corde Ecclesiae:

Bishops have a particular responsibility to promote Catholic Universities, and especially to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening of their Catholic identity, including the protection of their Catholic identity in relation to civil authorities.  This will be achieved more effectively if close personal and pastoral relationships exist between University and Church authorities, characterized by mutual trust, close and consistent cooperation, and continuing dialogue.35

Collaboration to promote and defend Catholic education is an important expression of the close relationship between Catholic educators and their bishops.  Catholic educators should communicate frequently with their bishops to ensure the Church’s guidance and to encourage support for their protection and mission.  The Church should expect educators’ vigorous defense of that mission, and educators who courageously engage in self-defense should expect the full support and assistance of their bishops.

Canon law also calls on “the Christian faithful” to “foster Catholic schools, assisting in their establishment and maintenance according to their means,”36 and to “strive so that in civil society the laws which regulate the formation of youth also provide for their religious and moral education in the schools themselves, according to the conscience of the parents.”37  Also, “the entire ecclesial Community is invited to give its support to Catholic Institutions of higher education and… in a special way to guard the rights and freedoms of these Institutions in civil society.”38

Partnerships with Catholic laity and Catholic apostolates, then, are to be encouraged when confronting violations of religious freedom.  Those apostolates that are independently engaged in such efforts should be encouraged to recognize the high priority of preserving faithful Catholic education and supporting its mission as itself necessary to the protection of the rights of the Church.

In fulfilling their mission, Catholic educators should look especially to other Catholic educators and schools, colleges, and universities for mutual support.  There is a great need for unity and a shared response to government aggression.  Ex corde Ecclesiae prescribes collaboration among Catholic scholars as “imperative” in university research, emphasizing “various national and international associations.”39  If existing structures for scholars and institutions do not sufficiently provide the mission-centered support and assistance that is needed for research and communication with the government, American bishops, and Vatican, then the times may call for new associations to meet urgent needs.

Finally, Catholic educators should look to the shared experience and collaboration of scholars and leaders from other religions.  In particular, Catholic and other Christian educators share many common concerns, and the latter’s commitment to Christian formation is often very similar to that of the most faithful Catholic schools, colleges, and universities.  The Cardinal Newman Society has had much fruitful collaboration especially with Evangelical Christian educators who share most of our concerns about threats to religious freedom.  Cooperation with associations of Christian scholars, schools, colleges, and universities would prove valuable, I am certain.

Conclusion: Resistance and Witness

The value of Catholic education is reason enough for a vigorous defense and efforts to preserve it, when confronted by secularism and government violations of religious freedom.  But to return to an earlier point, survival alone—if it means silent acquiescence to the law—is insufficient and even dangerous, for it would so compromise the mission of Catholic education that it surely would not survive in any authentic form.

That is because the very mission of Catholic education requires assent to the truth and to God, the fount of truth, in all its activities.  That calls for so much more than quiet compliance with laws that conflict with Catholic morality.  Any government coercion that would compromise Catholic education must be resisted according to the methods and competencies of Catholic educators, in collaboration with each other and with the Church and her allies.

Resistance, however, cannot depend solely or even primarily on legal and public policy responses.  Catholic educators must confront secularism by the most effective means possible—that is, by better fulfilling their authentic, divinely inspired mission to evangelize by forming the human person.  In the ways suggested above and more, Catholic educators should be committed to authentic teaching, research and writing about key moral and social concerns, public witness to the Faith, advocacy for Catholic education, defense of the rightful autonomy of Catholic education from the state, and solidarity with others in each of these tasks.

More than ever, the urgency of the times invites Catholic educators to courageously witness to the Faith and to the great value of Catholic education.  This witness is demonstrated most clearly in their consistent and perhaps courageous presentation of faithful Catholic education despite growing difficulties.  The steadfast support of the Catholic bishops, clergy, religious, and laity to this project will, by God’s grace, bring many blessings to the Church and to American society.

 

A More Scandalous Relationship: Catholic Colleges and Planned Parenthood – A Special Investigative Report

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Updated September 10, 2015

Introduction and Methodology

The mission of Planned Parenthood has nothing in common with the values of the Catholic Church, and no Catholic college should be collaborating with Planned Parenthood or its representatives on any matter—most especially those related to sexuality or the education of young adults.

That has been the message of The Cardinal Newman Society since 2011, when our researchers identified and exposed more than 150 instances of Catholic college ties to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business and purveyor of artificial contraception. The report, A Scandalous Relationship: Catholic Colleges and Planned Parenthood25 exposed associations with Planned Parenthood that were discovered on college websites through April 2011. Many colleges responded by deleting, moving, or hiding the online evidence of scandal, and so the report was updated in May 2011.

Prompted by recent videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s harvesting and selling of aborted baby body parts, The Cardinal Newman Society has again conducted a public search of Catholic college websites. We have identified 63 new or continued relationships with Planned Parenthood and its representatives since May 2011.

This report is limited to evidence found online. We have ample reason to believe that ongoing associations with the abortion giant have been scrubbed from many Catholic college websites since our 2011 report. And as we noted then, “What is publicized on the Internet often indicates more extensive concerns hidden from public view, so while the information contained in this report is shocking and scandalous, it is only based on a rudimentary search of college websites and likely does not capture all ties to Planned Parenthood at Catholic colleges and universities.”

Every one of the relationships that we expose in this report ought to appall any Catholic who values human life and relies on Catholic educators to teach in complete fidelity to the Catholic faith.  The scandal is only greater because of the recent revelations of the abhorrent practices at Planned Parenthood. There is no minor instance of a Catholic college’s cooperation with Planned Parenthood or employment of a past employee or representative of Planned Parenthood, unless the employee has clearly disavowed support for the organization and indicated full agreement with Catholic teaching.

As in 2011, the relationships include referrals to Planned Parenthood for “health” services, internships and fellowships with Planned Parenthood, unapologetic disclosures of employees’ past work with Planned Parenthood, and other ties. The problems are again spread across many institutions, with a high concentration of Jesuit colleges.

We repeat our conclusion four years ago:

If one considers—from a faithfully Catholic perspective—the fact that Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion provider in the United States and a leading contributor to what Pope John Paul II labeled a “culture of death,” any relationship to Planned Parenthood or those who have worked for such an organization is simply unacceptable.  In no way can the work of Planned Parenthood be considered compatible with the mission of Catholic higher education or the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

Furthermore, any relationship to Planned Parenthood endangers students who may develop a sense of comfort with an organization that destroys innocent lives, ruins souls, and plays a leading role in the demise of American culture. A Catholic educator who cares for the wellbeing of students would do everything possible to dissuade a student from entering the doors of a Planned Parenthood clinic. Nothing good can come of it.

Finally, the brazen manner in which Catholic colleges and universities are publicly disclosing—even proudly touting—their ties or the ties of their employees, students and alumni to Planned Parenthood is shocking. There appears to be a pervasive attitude toward Planned Parenthood that regards the abortion and contraceptive agency as benign. This attitude is simply inconsistent with a genuine Catholic sensibility.

We urge Catholic colleges and universities to embrace a no-tolerance position for any relationship with Planned Parenthood—including disqualifying candidates for teaching positions with previous experience working with or for pro-abortion organizations.

There are matters of Catholic identity which require discernment and which may not point to simple solutions. There is no such nuance here—Planned Parenthood is a serious danger to the health, lives and souls of innocent students. There is no place for Planned Parenthood on a Catholic campus.

Counseling and Medical Referrals

On its website, Alverno College (WI) offers a City of Milwaukee Health Department brochure29 on domestic violence that recommends Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin for medical assistance. The web link indicates that the brochure may have been posted by the College’s human resources department.

The Boston College Law School (MA) website includes the booklet, Consent to Medical Treatment by Minors in Massachusetts: A Guide for Practitioners,40 a publication of the School’s Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project, which advises doctors on minors’ legal rights to obtain family planning services and abortions and offers a list of family planning providers in Massachusetts, including Planned Parenthood/Preterm Health Services of Greater Boston and Planned Parenthood of Central Massachusetts in Worcester, Mass. Both the Boston41 and the Worcester42 centers advertise “Abortion Services,” “Morning-After Pill (Emergency Contraception)” and “Birth Control.”  Although the booklet was published in 2006 and exposed in The Cardinal Newman Society’s 2011 report on Catholic college associations with Planned Parenthood, it has not been removed from the School’s website and instead has been moved to a new URL.

The library at the College of Saint Rose (NY) recommends and links43 to Planned Parenthood as a “Health and Wellness” resource for “Sexual health and family planning services for both men and women.” The same page points to the pro-abortion group Our Bodies, Ourselves44 as a resource. No Catholic or pro-life options are included.

The Health Services at the College of Saint Rose (NY) provides online advice at “Ask the Nurse Practitioner: Questions & Answers from Campus,”45 including the recommendation that students with questions about sexually transmitted infections contact the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood Albany Health Center in Albany, N.Y. It also recommends www.itsyoursexlife.com,46 a website that details condom and birth control use, tips for “safe sex” and methods of preventing pregnancy.  Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood advertises47 services including “In-clinic abortion (up to 14 weeks),” “Abortion pill (up to 9 weeks),” “Emergency contraception (EC) or the morning after pill,” and other artificial contraception.

Through its student support services regarding sexual assault, Gonzaga University (WA) provides students a “community resource map”48 from the Spokane Crime Victim Service Center. It refers students to Planned Parenthood for “health care” services.

Update September 10, 2015: Links removed from site.
Mount Carmel College of Nursing (OH) health sciences library lists Planned Parenthood under its “patient education”  resources49 for “Women’s Health.”  The site links to a form50 for scheduling injections of the contraceptive Depo-Provera at six clinics affiliated with Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio. Now titled Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio (according to its website), the clinics advertise51 services including “Abortion services –abortion pill or in-clinic abortion,” “Birth control” and “Emergency contraception – also known as EC or Plan B.”

Update September 10, 2015: Links referring to “Sexual Health Resources” removed from site. Redirects to University’s Sexual Assault Information and Counseling Services.
A chart of “Sexual Health Resources”52 on the Mount Mercy University (IA) website identifies and links to Planned Parenthood of the Heartland in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a resource for “Pregnancy/STI Testing,” “HIV/AIDS Resources,” “Health Education,” “Women and Children’s Services,” “Sexual Health Advocacy” and “LGBT Resources.”  The description of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland mentions services including “Birth control supplies and information; Pregnancy testing; Abortion pill; In-clinic abortion; …Emergency contraception (ECP’s/Plan B).”  A similar chart on the University’s website for “Counseling and Therapy Resources”53 identifies and links to Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa (which has now merged with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland) for “General Counseling,” noting that “Specially trained staff members are available that can talk with individuals about their pregnancy options.” Another similar chart for “Family and Youth Resources”54 identifies Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa as a resource for “Family.” Each of the charts is produced by Linn County Community Services, but the URLs suggest that the first two were posted to the University website as Student Life resources, and the third is labeled “academics.”

The Health and Wellness Center at Trinity Washington University (DC)  recommends and links55 to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America as a “Women’s Health” resource. The same page links to the Emergency Contraception Website56 as a resource for students.

The Xavier University of Louisiana website includes a “counseling” resource57 published by Safe Horizon,58 which encourages victims of sexual assault to contact Planned Parenthood and provides contact information.

Internships and Job Referrals

A Boston College (MA) list59 of past credited internships for sociology students, with the notation “Last Updated September 1, 2014,” includes the Planned Parenthood League of Greater Boston and the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. In the same document are “listings” for available internships “Added August 2013,” including a position at the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. It notes, “The mission of PPLM is to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health and freedom of choice by providing clinical services, education and advocacy.”  The Greater Boston60 center advertises “Abortion Services,” “Morning-After Pill (Emergency Contraception)” and “Birth Control.”

Boston College (MA) highlights61 the successful employment of graduates who majored in linguistics, including a 2011 graduate who is “Advocacy and Communications Coordinator at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.”

Update September 10, 2015: Links removed from site.
The Office of Advising and Student Services62 at the DePaul University (IL) College of Science and Health and the University’s Career Center63 both recommend that pre-health students consider volunteering for Planned Parenthood.

Mount Saint Mary’s University (CA) touts64 the success of its students generally—and also specifically65 its history, political science, and health care policy students—in getting internships with Planned Parenthood.

The Career Services at Seattle University (WA) prepares66 students for potential job interviews by providing a scenario67 in which the student interviews for a position with Planned Parenthood.

Update September 10, 2015: Document removed from site.
Stonehill College (MA) recommends “Planned Parenthood Counselor” as a potential professional career path for gender and sexuality studies majors in the college’s official Book of Majors.68

Update September 10, 2015: Document removed from site.
The University of Dayton (OH) book69 Careers of Sociology Majors celebrates “some of the occupations of UD alums from our department,” including a Planned Parenthood “Agency or Program Director.”

Update September 10, 2015: Page removed from site.
The University of San Diego (CA) recommends potential careers70 at Planned Parenthood for students who have majored in women’s studies.

Faculty, Staff, Leaders

Kate Pew Wolters currently serves as a director71 on the Aquinas College (MI) Foundation Board, a fundraising board. As a major donor of more than $1 million to Aquinas, she also is a former trustee. As chairman of the Steelcase Foundation72 and president of the  Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation,73 she helped direct74 at least $296,000 to Planned Parenthood.

The College of Saint Rose (NY) employs Ellen Cole,75 a visiting psychology professor who is a current board member76 for Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood—a fact that is fully disclosed on her C.V.77 on the College website. The Cardinal Newman Society first exposed78 the scandal in June 2012, citing an August 2011 press release that  announced79 Cole as a board member. Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood advertises80 services including “In-clinic abortion (up to 14 weeks),” “Abortion pill (up to 9 weeks),” “Emergency contraception (EC) or the morning after pill,” and other artificial contraception.  The C.V. also indicates that Cole was on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Alaska from 2003 to 2007.

Creighton University (NE) employs Samantha Senda-Cook,81 an assistant professor of communication studies, despite the fact that she previously volunteered for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America—which is disclosed on her C.V.82 on the University’s website.

Craig Klugman, the incoming chairman of health sciences at DePaul University (IL), has endorsed the services of the Planned Parenthood clinic where his mother once worked.  “I always viewed my mom as doing important community health work for women who could not get services elsewhere because of finances, lack of education, or living in fearful relationships,” he wrote.  He publicly defended Planned Parenthood’s disbursement of aborted fetal parts as “a legal and (debatably) ethical enterprise” with “the intent of saving lives and improving the quality of life.”  Klugman’s blog was reposted by Georgetown University, with the caveat that the views on the website “do not necessarily represent” those of the Jesuit institution.

Fairfield University (CT) employs Michael Pagano,83 an associate professor of communication, despite the fact that he acted as a physician’s assistant at Planned Parenthood of Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas in the early 1990s—a fact revealed in his  C.V.84 on the University website. Pagano’s employment at Fairfield continues despite a Cardinal Newman Society article exposing85 the scandal in March 2014.

Georgetown University (DC) employs John May,86 adjunct assistant professor of demography in the University’s Department of International Health. May is a visiting scholar at the Population Reference Bureau, a relationship that is highlighted on his faculty page despite the Bureau’s advocacy for contraception.  According to his  C.V.87 on the University website, May has worked for projects funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Georgetown University (DC) employs Sameh El-Saharty,88 adjunct assistant professor in Georgetown’s Department of International Health, and notes on his faculty page that he has worked for the International Planned Parenthood Federation as well as the United Nations Fund for Population.

Georgetown University (DC) employs Jennifer Demma,89 clinical faculty director and adjunct instructor in the nurse-midwifery program, even though she states openly in her C.V.90 that she was a certified nurse-midwife from 2007 to 2012 for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.  The Planned Parenthood affiliate advertises91 services including “Abortion Services,” “Pregnancy Testing and Options Counseling,” “Birth Control” and “Morning-After Pill.”  Her C.V. also reveals that Demma was a Registered Nurse at the Philadelphia Women’s Center,92 an abortion clinic that performs surgical abortions before 22 weeks of pregnancy.

Georgetown University (DC) employs Debora Dole,93 assistant professor and assistant program director in the nurse-midwifery program, whose  C.V.94 on the University website clearly identifies her past employment as a certified midwife with Planned Parenthood of Cincinnati. Dole’s C.V. indicates that she is also a full-time assistant professor at Xavier University (OH), but the latest reference to Dole on Xavier’s website is in a 2013-2014 student handbook95 for the School of Nursing.

Georgetown University Law Center (DC) employs Zoe Segal-Reichlin96 as adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center (DC)—but her full-time job is Associate General Counsel of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a fact that is brazenly highlighted in her Georgetown profile.   The scandal was exposed in the Newman Society’s 2011 report on Planned Parenthood ties to Catholic colleges, but Georgetown’s website indicates that Segal-Reichlin continues to teach.

Georgetown University Law Center (DC) employs Rebecca Reingold97 as an associate of the Center’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Her faculty profile highlights her past work as an advocacy coordinator at International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, as well as her past work for the pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights and her past membership on the board of directors of the pro-abortion Law Students for Reproductive Justice.

In 2014, Loyola Marymount University (CA) came under fire when it was revealed that the final two candidates98 for dean of its Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts had both previously worked with Planned Parenthood.  Dr. Robbin Crabtree99 was hired by LMU from her position as dean of arts and sciences at Fairfield University (CT), despite her past service on the Advisory Board and Media Relations Committee for Planned Parenthood of Putnam County, Ind., according to her online  C.V.100 (see page 64). The other finalist for the dean position was Ramón A. Gutiérrez from the University of Chicago. On his C.V.,101 under the banner of consultant, Gutiérrez listed “Planned Parenthood Federation of America, New York, New York (Hispanic attitudes toward sexuality).”

Loyola University Chicago (IL) employs Christine George102 as associate research professor in the Center for Urban Research and Learning, despite her past employment as an organizational consultant103 for Planned Parenthood Midwest Region.

Santa Clara University (CA) lists Carol Mayer Marshall104 on the advisory board of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, noting that she has served on “numerous Boards” including “local and State Planned Parenthood” and the pro-abortion “NARAL (Chair of Leadership Committee).”  The University also notes that Marshall has been “Active in pro- choice Republican politics.”

Seattle University (WA) employs Debbi Lewang,105 an adjunct faculty member in fine arts, whose C.V. on the University website shows that she worked as an accountant for Planned Parenthood in Seattle, Wash., for three years.

Seattle University School of Law (WA) employs Sara Ainsworth,106 visiting assistant professor, who co-authored a report107 on The Deceptive Practices of Limited Service Pregnancy Centers for Planned Parenthood and Legal Voice. According to her faculty profile, Ainsworth has served more than a decade as senior counsel of Legal Voice,108 which advocates for abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Siena College (NY) employs  Diane Strock-Lynskey,109 a professor of social work, whose faculty profile notes that she worked as a project director of a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Training Program for Planned Parenthood.

The University of Notre Dame (IN) employs Dianne Pinderhughes,110 presidential faculty fellow and professor of Africana studies, even though her  C.V.111 on the University website touts her past service on the “Local Advisory Council” of Planned Parenthood of Champaign.

The University of Portland (OR) employs  Marie Napolitano,112 associate professor of nursing, whose  C.V.113 on the University’s website reveals that she had been a nurse practitioner with the Virginia League of Planned Parenthood in Richmond, Va., for three years.

The University of San Diego (CA) employs Bob Beatty,114 an instructor in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences whose faculty profile touts his past work for Planned Parenthood San Diego.

The University of San Diego (CA) employs  Kathy James,115 associate professor of nursing, and notes in her “biographical sketch”116 that she studied under Planned Parenthood and UCSF for a certificate in “Obstetric/Gynecological Nursing.

Honors and Platforms

In spring 2014, Kate Pew Wolters was honored117 by Aquinas College (MI) as commencement speaker, identifying her as chairman of the Steelcase Foundation.118  In that role and as president of the Kate and Richard Wolters Foundation,119 she helped direct at least $296,000 to Planned Parenthood.

In October 2013, Fairfield University (CT) hosted actress America Ferrera120 for its “signature lecture series,” despite the fact that Ferrera was a well-known activist for Planned Parenthood, having headlined events for the abortion giant including its “Playing Politics  With  Women’s Health: The 2012 Election and Why It Matters ”121 luncheon put on by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She also hosted the event at which Planned Parenthood bestowed its highest honor, the Margaret Sanger award,122 to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ferrera appeared in a commercial123 urging voters to vote against Proposition 8, which legally codified marriage as between a man and a woman.

In November 2014, the Politics Department at Fairfield University (CT) funded “Let’s Talk Sex,” a student event124 which featured Planned Parenthood representatives and a discussion of “all the types of sex that can be had.”

In February 2015, Georgetown University (DC) hosted a sexual health panel,125 during which adjunct nursing professor  Carol Day126 told students that they had a “right” to contraception. The panel featured representatives from Planned Parenthood Metropolitan Washington.

In October 2014, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University (DC) collaborated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation to host an  event127 featuring Planned Parenthood award winner Janet Benshoof, who also founded the Center for Reproductive Choice. The event celebrated a publication128 partly sponsored by the Georgetown Institute, Conscientious Objection and Abortion: A Global Perspective on the Colombian Experience, which examines doctors’ rights to refuse to carry out abortions, beginning with an argument by the regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation for Latin America and the Caribbean.

In May 2014, the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University (CA) invited President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles Sue Dunlap129 to speak on campus regarding “Education’s New Role in Women’s Health.”  The 20 centers of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles130 provide a “comprehensive range” of services including abortion and birth control.

Update September 10, 2015: Planned Parenthood mention removed from alumna profile.
In March 2012, Mount Mercy University (IA) honored alumna Maureen Osako131 as a “Woman of Influence,” noting her service on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa (which has now merged with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland). The University itself lists132 services at the clinic including “Birth control supplies and information; Pregnancy testing; Abortion pill; In-clinic abortion; …Emergency contraception (ECP’s/Plan B).”

In October 2012, the Seattle University School of Law (WA) hosted “reproductive justice roundtables,”133 with speakers including a Planned Parenthood representative to “discuss the Affordable Care Act and what it means for students and their reproductive health.” The event was organized by the University’s Law Students for Reproductive Justice.

In November 2014, the University of San Diego School of Law (CA) hosted a reproductive rights discussion,134 “Burwell v. Hobby Lobby: The Decision and its Impact on Reproductive Rights,” including panelist Tracy Skaddan, whom the University identifies as general counsel of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest. According to the clinic’s LinkedIn page,135 its services include “contraception, STD testing and treatment, sterilization, and safe and legal abortion.”

Academic Activities and Referrals

The Capital Breast Care Center at Georgetown University (DC) provides a link to and lists Planned Parenthood as a partner136 without which its work “would not be possible.”

The library at Georgetown University (DC) provides a research guide137 on “Health Inequities/Political Economy of Health: Activism” that describes Planned Parenthood as “a commonsense approach to women’s health and well-being,” while also providing a direct link to the organization’s website.  While pointing students to Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, the guide does not include links to pro-life resources.

In an  official note138 dated April 2015, Antoinette Hays, president of Regis College (MA), touted nursing students’ service as nurse-midwives for Planned Parenthood in Grenada. Although abortion is not legal in Grenada, Planned Parenthood promotes and distributes birth control.139

Update September 10, 2015: Public access to document now denied.
Regis University (CO) offers a course140 for its Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, in which students are required to complete a “creative project” to “get personally involved in an area of gender or sexuality that you have not experienced.” An option is to “Volunteer for or involve yourself in an organization or event that addresses gender or sexuality issues,” and suggested organizations include Planned Parenthood and homosexual groups (but no pro-life organizations).

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University (CA) provides a biology lesson plan141 that encourages the teacher to teach students about birth control “and then enlist the assistance of qualified speakers.” The Center advises, “Planned Parenthood continues to be a good reference/resource in this area” and provides a link.

In the “Human  Sexuality” course 142 at the College of Saint Rose (NY), “Planned Parenthood will visit class and talk about safety and equipment for protection. Explicit pictures will be used and scientific terms will be used to refer to sexual parts and acts.”

The Women’s and Gender Studies program at the University of Detroit Mercy (MI) recommends “external sites of interest”143 including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Organization for Women.

Student and Alumni Recognition

In May 2014, the Interdisciplinary Ed.D. Program in Leadership at Creighton University (NE) praised an alumnus144 for accepting a position as director of outreach and education for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

A spring 2012 newsletter145 from the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Duquesne University (PA) celebrated alumna Lay Cunningham for her work in Planned Parenthood’s Boulder Health Center.

The Public Interest Law Scholars Program at Georgetown University (DC) provides financial assistance for law students dedicated to public service. The profiles of 2014 awardees146 include one who “spent her summers interning at Planned Parenthood.”  One of the 2017 awardees147 previously worked in the Office of the President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

For a series of student profiles, the Georgetown University (DC) School of Foreign Service chose a graduate student148 who previously worked as a team leader with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

Update September 10, 2015: References to Planned Parenthood removed from Bedient and Reidelberger Scholarship descriptions.
The Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at Saint Mary’s College of California touts the fact that two scholarships149 are named for women who worked with Planned Parenthood. The Bedient Scholarship for Excellence in Poetry is named for Vanessa Bedient, whom the College says was director of Planned Parenthood in Santa Barbara and San Francisco. The Reidelberger Scholarship for Excellence in Poetry is named for Molly Reidelberger, who volunteered at Planned Parenthood for 15 years, according to the College.

The Sullivan Leadership Award at Seattle University (WA) is a full-tuition scholarship for students “with diverse leadership styles and personal backgrounds.”  The University’s profiles celebrating the awardees include a Class of 2019150 recipient who volunteered for the Planned Parenthood Teen Council, a Class of 2016 recipient151 who was a Planned Parenthood Teen Council Member, and a  Class of 2011 recipient152 who was a member of Planned Parenthood’s PEER (Peer Education Encourages Responsibility) group.

In 2012, the Seattle University (WA) College of Arts and Sciences gave the Fr. Eugene Buechel, S.J., Award,153 for an undergraduate anthropology student who has achieved “the highest standards in both scholastic achievement and service to others,” to a student with the following description: “[Name deleted] declared her major in cultural anthropology after taking a class called Culture and Reproduction, which dealt with many issues of sexual and reproductive health around the world.  Sexual and reproductive health has been a passion of hers for many years. Annelie has spent time living in Denmark and Costa Rica as well as the United States and was fascinated by the drastically different ideas these places have about issues such as family planning and sex education. Throughout her time at Seattle University, she has been a very active volunteer with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest as well as completing an internship with their education department.

Next year, Annelie is planning on serving with AmeriCorps in the Seattle area.  Annelie eventually hopes to go to graduate school for a Masters in Public Health or Nurse-Midwifery and work for an organization such as Planned Parenthood.”

In 2012, the Seattle University (WA) College of Arts and Sciences gave the  Public Affairs Program Wilson Award154 to a student who is described as a political activist who worked for Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest.

Update September 10, 2015: Planned Parenthood mention removed from alumna profile.
The University of San Diego (CA) Department of Political Science and International Relations155 praises a recent graduate for her contributions in the sexual health field and work with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

Conclusion

The new video evidence of Planned Parenthood’s abhorrent practices only strengthens The Cardinal Newman Society’s argument that Catholic colleges should avoid all cooperation with Planned Parenthood and its employees and volunteers. Such an association—which undermines the Church’s pro-life efforts, endangers the health and purity of students and employees, and risks leading both Catholics and non-Catholics astray from the Church’s teaching on the dignity and sanctity of human life—is a scandal and violates the mission of Catholic higher education.

Entrusted with the health and well-being of their students, Catholic colleges should be accountable to Catholic teaching in all areas of institutional life. We urge Catholic educators to end any association with Planned Parenthood and to teach respect for all human life.

 

 

 

Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: A Compilation from Diocesan Statements, Handbooks and Contracts

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This compilation is a companion to the Cardinal Newman Society’s analysis, Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: Best Practices Brief. It provides additional source material for the reader to consider when researching and reviewing faith and morals clauses in diocesan employment documents for Catholic school teachers.

Diocesan policies and statements regarding teachers were collected in the second quarter of 2015 primarily from documents publicly available on the Internet, and in some cases by direct contact with a diocese.  This compilation reflects materials from more than 125 dioceses.  If a diocese is not included in this sample, it does not necessarily mean that the diocese does not address faith and moral issues in its employment documents, but only reflects our inability to obtain such documents.  An additional thirty-four dioceses, not represented in this compilation, have faith and morals statements referenced in their “Safe Environment” policies.  As these are relatively generic statements clarifying that employees and volunteers must reflect Catholic teaching and morality in their work and in their interactions with others, only a few examples of this type are presented.  Those dioceses that are not fully represented in this compilation, have revised the cited documents, or have created new documents are invited to share their corrections, updates, or additions by contacting ddonohue@newmansociety.org.

The following excerpts have been taken from longer documents and formatted for consistency.  Because referenced documents are likely to change over time, direct contact with a diocese is the only way to ensure up-to-date accuracy.

The Cardinal Newman Society’s researchers are currently using this collection in forthcoming research on this topic.  The hope is that by making this raw, compiled data readily available to Church officials, it might prove helpful for them as they evaluate their own practices.  This document is not presented as legal advice.  Catholic school leaders are encouraged to speak with each other and with their attorneys about their approaches to critical employment issues.  As a corollary to this piece, the Newman Society has published a comprehensive overview of the Magisterium’s expectations of its Catholic teachers, The Call to Teach: Expectations for Catholic Educators in Magisterial Teaching.

The sections herein mirror the section dividers for the companion piece, Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: Best Practices Brief, as follows:

  1. Pre-Application and Application Statements
  2. Stand-Alone Faith and Morality Documents
    1. Bishops’ Statements Incorporated into Employment Agreements
    2. Morality Statements
    3. Witness Statements
    4. Belief Statements/Oaths
  3. Contract and Handbook Language
    1. Generic Morals Clause Language: Positive and Negative
    2. Specific Language within Employment Documents
    3. Addendums
  4. Handbook-based policies
  5. Description of Teachers as “Ministers” and Ministry Clauses
  6. Safe Environment Documents

Pre-Application and Application Statements

Diocese of Arlington60 Application Attestation The Catholic Diocese of Arlington, an equal opportunity employer, does not—because of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, age, sex, martial status, national origin, physical or mental disability or handicap, or veteran status—fail or refuse to hire qualified applicants. The Diocese reserves the right, however, to determine whether and under what circumstances priority should be given to Catholics for certain employment positions. In addition, for Catholic employees, conformance with religious tenets of the Catholic faith is a condition of employment, and all employees are prohibited from performing, teaching, or advocating any practices or doctrines which are inconsistent with religious tenets of the Catholic faith.

Diocese of Evansville80 Teacher Application

Please read carefully: The Catholic Diocese of Evansville is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate or deny services on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. Because of their participation in teaching the religious precepts of the Catholic Church and duty to serve as role models for their students, teachers in the schools of the Catholic Diocese of Evansville are required to maintain a lifestyle, including marital status, in harmony with the teachings of the faith of the Catholic Church. For example, if an applicant for a teaching position is living in a marriage that is not recognized as valid according to the law of the Church, that applicant will not be hired before the prior marriage has been declare null or dissolved so that the present marriage can be validated in accord with Church law. These provisions also apply to one’s present spouse. If a teacher already employed by the Diocese attempts a marriage or enters a lifestyle that cannot be recognized as valid according to Church law, he or she will be terminated. Teachers are expected by their actions to be a Catholic example to students including demonstrating their faith as practicing Catholic (which includes regular Catholic Church attendance). Catholic teachers, who renounce by their word or acts the teachings of the Catholic Church (including, for example, becoming a member of another church) will be subject to termination for cause or non-renewal of contract for the next school year. The requirement that a teacher’s marital status be in harmony with the teaching and faith of the Church applies to non-Catholic as well as Catholic. The Church recognizes a first marriage of two persons who are not Catholic and the presumption of validity applies to the first marriage until the contrary is proven. The prior valid bond is a natural law impediment and would render a subsequent marriage invalid according to the law of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Ogdensburg100 Application Attestation

I recognize that this position involves ministry in the Roman Catholic Church and requires me to proclaim the Gospel and the authentic teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.  This ministry and proclamation requires my own faithful witness to the Gospel and teachings of the Church.  In particular, I understand and accept that by my own example and lifestyle I must be faithful to the Church’s teachings.  Accordingly, I promise to fulfill the functions of the position faithfully according to the manner determined by law, Diocesan policy or by the Bishop and to model my own life according to the Gospel and teachings of the Church.  Specifically, I uphold and will continue to affirm the Church’s teaching that God’s gift of sexuality is sacred and finds its proper context within the Sacrament of Marriage, as defined by Gospel and the Roman Catholic Church as being a union between one man and one woman.

Diocese of Orange117 Teacher Application

Every Catholic School teacher or principal is expected to be a strong faith witness and a teacher of the Catholic tradition. It is expected that they conduct themselves in a manner that reflects a strong commitment to the mission of Jesus Christ and to the Diocese of Orange. It is required that every teacher or principal obtains and maintains certification as a catechist through the Institute for Pastoral Ministry sponsored by the Diocese. If certification is not been obtained prior to employment, it must be completed within three years.

Diocese of Sacramento118

Employment/Ministry in the Church Pre-Application Statement

“Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.”

(Mark 16:15)

Mission Statement of the Diocese of Sacramento

We, the People of God of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, guided by the Holy Spirit, are called by Christ to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God through prayer, praise and sacraments and to witness the Gospel values of love, justice, forgiveness and service to all.

All Christ’s faithful, by virtue of their baptism, are called by God to contribute to the sanctification and transformation of the world.  They do this by fulfilling their own particular duties in the spirit of the Gospel and Christian discipleship.  Working in the Church is a path of Christian discipleship to be encouraged.  Those who work for the Church continue the mission and ministry of Christ.  Their service is unique and necessary for the life and growth of the Church.  This has been our tradition from the beginning, as echoed in the words of St. Paul who worked with and relied on other men and women in the work of spreading the Gospel.  St. Paul was known to acknowledge and thank them, at times calling them, “my co-workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3-16).

The Church needs the services of dedicated lay persons who have a clear knowledge and proper understanding of the teachings of the Church and a firm adherence to those teachings, and whose words and deeds are in conformity with the Gospel.  All who seek employment or ministry in the Church are expected to continue their formation and their willingness to learn and grow and to deepen their desire to serve the Lord with excellence and generosity.  Those employed by the Church in our Catholic schools, parishes and institutions, as coworkers in the vineyard of the Lord, are rightly expected to be practicing Catholics whose faith is an essential part of their daily lives and who participate fully in the communal worship and life of the Church.

We recognize that persons who are non-Catholic Christians are also called by the Lord to stand before the world as a witness to his life and resurrection.  We, therefore, welcome collaboration with such persons of good faith who share our Catholic vision on important social, moral and ethical issues.  It is important for anyone interested in collaborating with us in our work and ministry to have an understanding of the Catholic Church and her teachings.

Our Catholic religious beliefs provide the basic framework for our moral, ethical and social teachings.  It is important for anyone interested in collaborating with us in our work and ministry to have an understanding of these teachings.

The Catholic Church has a special commitment to the poor, the oppressed, and the immigrant.  We are committed to promoting a “Culture of Life” from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.  We believe in the inherent dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and possessing basic rights endowed by God, including the right to life, the right to religious liberty, and the right to be treated justly with dignity and respect.  We believe human sexuality and human procreation are gifts from God to be shared through the risen Christ only by those joined in marriage, an institution that is itself instituted by Almighty God.  We believe that all persons are called by God to live chaste lives by virtue of their own dignity and according to their state of life.  We believe in the rights of workers to just working conditions, just wages and benefits, as well as the right to organize and join unions or other associations.  We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation, including racism, sexism, pornography, sexual abuse and harassment, and unlawful discrimination.

As a community of believers, we embrace as a matter of faith, the teachings, policies and beliefs of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, as defined in the Deposit of Faith.  We, therefore, reject anything which is contrary to that teaching, including:

    • Abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, artificial contraception, voluntary sterilization, and the unnecessary use of capital punishment;
    • Pornography and obscenity, adultery, cohabiting in sexual relationships of any nature outside of marriage, homosexual activity, the notion of “gay marriage,” and the adoption or placement of children in anything other than a traditional family setting;
    • Secularism, the paring back of religious freedom rights, or the restriction of religious liberty and liberty of conscience, anti-Catholicism, or anti-Catholic biases;
    • The abuse of alcohol or the use of illegal narcotics or other controlled substances; and
    • Violence or the use of force to resolve social, political or religious problems.

Must the Church’s employees share the Church’s vision and witness the Catholic faith in their life and work?

Yes.  Every member of the Church must stand before the world as a witness to the life and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  This is particularly important for those person who work and minister in the name of the Church.  In our daily affairs and our work, we, as faithful disciples of the risen Christ, must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity that can be withdrawn from God’s dominion.

The Diocese, in its role as an employer, expects all employees to be persons, who by word and deed, support and advocate the positions of the Catholic Church.  We understand that employment by the Roman Catholic Church is not for everyone, because there are people of good faith who disagree with our teachings and views.

Those unable to authentically witness the Catholic faith by their lives may wish to reflect and seek pastoral guidance before applying for employment or ministry in the Church.

Does the obligation to share the Church’s vision also pertain to employees who are not Catholic?

Yes. As Catholics, we believe that our Faith is universal — that’s what the word “Catholic” means.  Thus, even if a person is not Catholic he or she remains called by the Lord to stand before the world as a witness to Christ’s life and resurrection.  Persons whose lives do not witness the teachings of the Catholic faith by virtue of their own objections or disbelief, or are unable to witness the Catholic faith by virtue of their lifestyle choices or public conduct, do not meet the basic criteria to work or minister in the name of the Church.

After you have carefully reflected on what is contained in this Pre-Application Statement, we invite you to complete the Acknowledgement and Applicant Questionnaire, if you are interested in seeking employment with the Diocese of Sacramento.

Acknowledgment

By signing below, I hereby acknowledge that I have received and read the foregoing Pre-Application Statement of the Diocese of Sacramento.  After reading and reflecting upon the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic Church, and the manner in which those matters impact lay employees of the Diocese, I wish to apply for employment with the Diocese, with a full understanding of the religious nature of the Diocese as an employer.  I understand the Diocese’s expectations that if my application for lay employment results in my being hired, I will be subject to standards of conduct that incorporate the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic Church as set forth in the Pre-Application Statement, and that these performance expectations will be a material condition of my employment.

Diocese of San Diego119

Pre-Application Statement Toward Employment in the Church

The Church needs the service of dedicated lay persons who have a clear knowledge and proper understanding of the teachings of the Church with a firm adherence to those teachings, and whose words and deeds are in conformity with the Gospel.  Those employed by the Church in our parishes, Catholic schools and other institutions, as co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord, are rightly expected to be practicing Catholics whose faith is an essential part of their daily lives, and who participate fully in the communal worship and life of the Church.

To be employed by the Church, persons of good faith who are not Catholic must have an understanding of the Catholic Church and her teachings and respect the Catholic vision on important social, moral and ethical issues.

The Catholic Church has a special commitment to the poor, the oppressed and the immigrant.  It is committed to promoting a “Culture of Life” from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.  It believes in the inherent dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and possessing basic rights endowed by God, including the right to life, the right to religious liberty, and the right to be treated justly with dignity and respect.  It believes that conjugal love and human procreation are gifts from God to be shared only by those joined in marriage as established by God himself.  It believes that all persons are called by God to live chaste lives by virtue of their own dignity and according to their state of life.  It believes in the rights of workers to just working conditions, to just wages and benefits as well as the right to organize to their benefit.  It opposes all forms of oppression and exploitation, including racism, sexism, pornography, sexual abuse and harassment, and unlawful discrimination.

The Catholic Church embraces everything contained in God’s word, written or handed down in Sacred Tradition and proposed as divinely revealed and calling for faith and, as well, all authoritative teaching on faith and morals.  It rejects anything to the contrary, including:

    • Abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the unnecessary use of capital punishment;
    • Pornography and obscenity, adultery, cohabiting in sexual relationships of any nature outside of marriage and homosexual activity;
    • Any restriction of religious liberty;
    • Violence or the use of force to resolve social, political or religious problems.

Persons who do not respect the teachings of the Church, either by virtue of their own objections or disbelief, or by virtue of their lifestyle choices or public conduct, do not meet the basic criteria to work in the Church.

After you have carefully reflected on what is contained in this Pre-Application Statement, if you are interested in seeking employment in the Diocese of San Diego, please complete the Pre-Application Acknowledgment.

Stand-Alone Faith and Morality Documents

Bishops’ Statements Incorporated into Employment Agreements

Diocese of Cleveland132

Statement on the Purpose of Catholic Schools and the Role of Teachers and Administrators in Catholic Schools

By the Most Reverend Richard G. Lennon

Dear Administrators and Teachers,

The Catholic Church teaches that Catholic schools are more than just places of learning, but in fact serve the primary purpose of developing each student as a whole person based on the model of Christ, who is God made flesh and humanity perfected.  The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Christian Education, Gravissimum Educationis, said as much when it stated:

“The Church is bound as a mother to give to these children of hers an education by which their whole life can be imbued with the spirit of Christ and at the same time do all she can to promote for all peoples the complete perfection of the human person, the good of earthly society and the building of a world that is more human.”  Gravissimum Educationis, Section 3.

This teaching is reflected in numerous Church documents as well as the Code of Canon Law, which states in Canon 794 Sec. 1 that, “The Church has in a special way the duty and the right of educating, for it has a divine mission of helping all to arrive at the fullness of Christian life.”  Saint John Paul II gave witness to this core belief regarding the nature and purpose of Catholic schools in his 1979 message to the National Catholic Education Association of the United States, wherein he wrote: “Catholic education is above all a question of communicating Christ, of helping to form Christ in the lives of others.”

As such, it is clear that the effectiveness of a Catholic school in fulfilling its mission is not simply dependent upon the quality of the religious curriculum utilized or the religious instruction or catechesis that occurs there.  Instead, a Catholic school succeeds in its mission only if every aspect of the school is inspired and guided by the Gospel and only if instruction across the entire spectrum of studies is authentically Catholic.  As Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B., then Secretary for the Holy See’s Congregation for Catholic Education, rightly observed in his 2005 keynote address on the subject of the Holy See’s teachings on Catholic schools at a conference at the Catholic University of America:

“The Gospel of Christ and his very person are, therefore, to inspire and guide the Catholic school in its every dimension: its philosophy of education, its curriculum, community of life, its selection of teachers, and even its physical environment.”

Likewise, the Church has long recognized the uniquely important and true ministry of teachers and administrators in fulfilling this mission.  Gravissimum Educationis addressed this notion specifically when it stated:

“But let teachers recognize that the Catholic school depends upon them almost entirely for the accomplishment of its goals and programs.  They should therefore be very carefully prepared so that both in secular and religious knowledge they are equipped with suitable qualification and also with a pedagogical skill that is in keeping with the findings of the contemporary world.  Intimately linked in charity to one another and to their students and endowed with an apostolic spirit, may teachers by their life as much as by their instruction bear witness to Christ, the unique Teacher… The work of these teachers, this sacred synod declares, is in the real sense of the word an apostolate most suited to and necessary for our times and at once a true service offered to society.”  Gravissimum Educationis, Section 8 [emphasis added].

Furthermore, the example set by teachers and administrators through their actions and their lives is considered by the Church to be even more important than what they say.  As stated by the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education:

“The more completely an educator can give concrete witness to the model of the ideal person that is being presented to the students, the more this ideal will be believed and imitated.  For it will then be seen as something reasonable and worthy of being lived, something concrete and realizable.  It is in this context that the faith witness of the lay teacher becomes especially important.  Students should see in their teachers the Christian attitude and behavior that is often so conspicuously absent from the secular atmosphere in which they live.”  Lay Catholics in Schools, Witnesses to Faith, Section 32.

Consequently, each and every teacher and administrator in a Catholic school, whether they teach religion as a subject or not, is called by the Church to model Jesus Christ, the perfect teacher, and to bear witness to the Gospel “through their lives as much as by their instructions” (Gravissimum Educationis, Section 8).  It is for this reason that Canon 803 Section 2 of the Code of Canon Law requires that, “Formation and education in a Catholic school must be based on the principles of Catholic doctrine, and the teachers must be outstanding in true doctrine and uprightness of life.”

As a teacher or administrator in a Catholic school, you are engaging a beautiful and uniquely important vocation and ministry of Christ’s Church.  You are instrumental in the development of each and every student as a whole and authentically Catholic person.  Indeed, it is primarily through you that the school is able to cultivate the love of Christ and kindle the light of Christ in the hearts of its students.  As such, it is a great honor and privilege to play such a special and important role in the life of the Church through your ministry.  It is also a significant responsibility.  Please know that you have my blessings, my prayers, and my gratitude for the important work you do in building up the Body of Christ.

Diocese of Santa Rosa154 (Excerpts from 15-page employment document)

Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School

PREAMBLE

“GO TEACH!”  With these words, Christ sent His first disciples on mission.  Since the beginning of Christianity, Catholic education has been one of the most important ways in which the mission of the Church is carried out.  This education manifests a foundational anthropology, a basics sense of the human being, namely (that) all persons are created in the image and likeness of God, are fallen in view of original sin, and are redeemed by Jesus Christ.  To understand, to teach and to model this anthropology are particular requirements of those entrusted with the Church’s educational mission.  Thus, in large part the success of Catholic education depends upon the professional competence, quality, and above all, the commitment of the teacher to Christ.

The Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School is a description of a person who is growing in various dimensions of experience.  The Code specifies the attitude and the practice of the teacher in relation to the Church, the student, the parent, the community, and the profession.  In relationship to the Church in particular, the teacher is not called to an unrealistic perfection but rather to continual growth in understanding and in appreciation for the Church in all Her dimensions.  Here, what is meant by ‘continual growth’ also includes ongoing spiritual conversion (i.e., a more complete turning toward God) in one’s soul.  This kind of conversion can include a humble acceptance of the standing offer of God’s mercy, which acceptance always moves a person deeper into the heart of the Church.  In any case, conversion is like ‘professional development’.  That is, just as every teacher recognizes a responsibility to grow so as to keep abreast of developments in the profession, so too the teacher in a Catholic school recognizes a responsibility to grow in efficacy regarding the Church.  In sum, whether personally or professionally, the Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School represents a guide by which to live, a goal toward which to strive and a promise of lasting success.

The Diocese of Santa Rosa recognizes and claims its Catholic Elementary and High Schools as educational institutes established to promote and foster the teachings and values of the Catholic Church.  The Diocese recognizes that these Institutions have an integral and significant role in the positive presentation of the Catholic faith to the hearts of their students and to our society.  The primary purpose of our Schools, without minimizing others, is evangelization.  Catholic Schools, in the course of their educational efforts, provide an essentially ecclesiastical ministry.  “The duty and right of educating belongs in a unique way to the Church which has been divinely entrusted with the mission to assist men and women so that they can arrive at the fullness of the Christian life” (Canon 794, § 1).

Preamble by +Robert F. Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa

Principle I: Commitment to the Church

Presidents, principals and teachers are employed, either directly or indirectly, by the Catholic Church for the express purpose of assisting “men and women so that they can arrive at the fullness of the Christian life”.  Thus, in addition to specific employee duties, they also share in the mission of the Church and therefore have the responsibility of fostering-through their positions and in the lived reality of their lives—the values, principles, doctrines and teachings of the institutional Catholic Church or, at least, of never publicly contradicting them.  In fulfilling our obligation to the Church, we are called to:

    1. Recognize that we are part of the overall educational ministry of the Catholic Church even when some of the persons instructed are not adherents of the Catholic faith.
    2. Recognize that as human beings, we are called by God to a life of holiness. We recognize that, without diminishing our freedom, this call orients us to heed God in our thoughts, words and deeds. We further recognize that this call is all the more compelling for us since, in our lives and vocations as teacher/administrators in a Catholic school, we have been entrusted with the task of helping students “arrive at the fullness of the Christian life” (Canon 794, § 1).
    3. Recognize that we must be models of “exemplary life both personally and professionally” (cf. employment contract). Thus, whether we are at school or outside of school, our public behavior is to be in conformity with Church teaching as expounded in The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
    4. Recognize our duty, to the best of our ability, to know “Church Teaching” (cf. contract) and, if Catholic, to believe in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes.
    5. Recognize that we have a responsibility to continue to seek a fuller understanding of the Faith that the Catholic Church professes. Accordingly, we are to take advantage of opportunities offered by the Diocese or Parish to foster Faith, to properly form conscience and to deepen understanding of the Church’s teaching.
    6. Recognize that, in its entirety, The Catechism of the Catholic Church constitutes the source and standard according to which all the ethical matters stated or implied in this Commitment and in the contract are understood and adjudicated.

Morality Statements

Dioceses of Billings, Great Falls and Helena156

Catholic Moral Standards
for All Catholic School Employees and Volunteers

A signature is required below to acknowledge that the Catholic school employee (teacher, support staff, coach, etc.), or volunteer has read and understands the Catholic Moral Standards as an essential expectation to his/her position with the Catholic school.

As a Catholic school employee or volunteer, I understand …

_____ that I will not engage in any conduct or lifestyle, whether in my personal or public life, that would be at variance with or contrary to the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

______ that I will not engage in any conduct or lifestyle, whether in my personal or public life, that would be at variance with or contrary to the moral and religious standards as described in Catholic school polices, Diocesan policies, or my employment contract

Please Note: These standards have been and will continue to be printed in the Catholic Schools’ personnel handbooks, as well as on the teacher’s contract.

I understand the terms of the Catholic Moral Standards and recognize that any personal conduct or lifestyle (public or private) that violates the Catholic moral standards may result in personnel discipline up to and including dismissal from employment.

I also understand that if I have any questions regarding the Catholic Moral Standards, I will submit them to the school administration, in writing and the school administration will provide a response in a timely manner.

Diocese of Columbus157

Adherence to Catholic Church Teachings

All school personnel who serve in Catholic schools shall be examples of Catholic moral behavior and professionalism.  As explained by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops:

The integration of religious truth and values with the rest of life is brought about in the Catholic school not only by its unique curriculum but, more important, by the presence of teachers [personnel] who express an integrated approach to learning and living in their private and professional lives.

All school personnel, regardless of their religious affiliation, are therefore required to abide by the moral values advanced by the teachings of Christ, the tenets of the Catholic Church, and the policies and regulations of the Diocesan Department for Education, the Diocese and the employing school.  School personnel may be disciplined or terminated for violations of these standards, or any conduct which is contrary to, or rejects or offends the teachings, doctrines, or principles of the Catholic Church.  While there may be others not mentioned below, examples of conduct that may result in termination of employment include:

Public support of activities or beliefs contrary to Catholic Church teaching;

Public statements disparaging or causing contempt against religion in general or the Catholic Church in particular;

Entry into a marriage which is not recognized by the Catholic Church;

Having an abortion or publically supporting abortion rights;

Sexual relations (same or opposite sex) outside the institution of marriage as recognized by the Catholic Church;

Pursuing or publically supporting in vitro fertilization.

Diocesan Department for Education policies and regulations are available online at www.cdeducation.org/Policies.  The teachings of the Catholic Church can be found in The Catechism of the Catholic Church which is online at www.vatican.va/archive/Eng0015/_INDEX.

Witness Statements

Dioceses of Arlington158, Peoria159, and Providence160 and Archdiocese of St. Louis161

Witness Statement for Those Who Serve in Catholic Education

The mission of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is the mission of the Catholic Church, to reveal God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to all people and to teach them about the fullness of His love.  “Indeed the primordial mission of the Church is to proclaim God and to be His witness before the world” (GDC).  Catholic education shares in a special way in the Church’s mission by proclaiming and witnessing Jesus Christ and His teachings.

Catholic education, which includes education, formation, and transformation, exists in order to evangelize.  Two important elements that make up the process of evangelization are proclamation and witness.  It is essential, therefore, that those who serve in Catholic education proclaim Jesus Christ, His life and ministry, present the Catholic faith in its fullness and be Christ’s witness to the world.

Initially those being evangelized will be attracted to and listen to those who are good witnesses.  “The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life” (Evangelii Nutiandi).  Some in Catholic education—religion teachers, PSR catechists, educational and catechetical leaders—are called to be explicit proclaimers of the Word.  But all who serve in Catholic education are called to be witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.  Therefore, the following Witness Statement applies to all who serve in Catholic education.

All who serve in Catholic education in the parish and school programs of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis will witness by their public behavior, actions, and words a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Only those persons who can support this Witness Statement are to be employed by pastors, principals, and directors/coordinators of religious education.

All who serve in Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis should be made aware that support of this Witness Statement must be reflected in their public behavior.

All who serve in Catholic education should:

    • believe in God
    • support belief in Jesus Christ
    • engage in prayer
    • respect ecclesiastical authority
    • possess a basic knowledge of the Catholic Church
    • not take a public position contrary to the Catholic Church
    • demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church
    • practice respect and reverence for others and prudence with regard to confidential information related to work
    • if Catholic, have not publicly rejected the Catholic Church be active members of the Catholic Church, or of their own Church
    • if not Catholic practice exemplary stewardship and ethical behavior with regard to Church property and funds.

The above is a thorough but not all-inclusive listing of the implications of this Witness Statement.

Implementation of the Witness Statement by Local Parishes and Schools

All who serve in Catholic education should be provided with opportunities to have the basic and essential teachings of the Catholic Church, applicable to the Witness Statement and its implications, explained so that they may be open to an understanding and appreciation of them.

This Witness Statement and its implications should be used in interviewing and hiring applicants who will serve in Catholic education to determine their openness to its message.

The pastor, principal, president, and director/coordinator of religious education should use this Witness Statement and its implications as part of the discussions in the initial offering and renewal of contracts.

This Witness Statement and its implications should be included in the various publications of the parish and/or the educational institution: faculty handbook, student handbook, marketing brochures, policy statements, etc.

Reflection on and discussion of this Witness Statement and its implications should be integrated by the pastor, principal, and director/coordinator of religious education into appropriate gatherings of those who serve in Catholic education: commissioning services, faculty meetings, faculty homilies, prayer days, etc.

Diocese of Trenton162

CHRISTIAN WITNESS STATEMENT

Educational Mission of the Church: ‘Proclaiming the Gospel is a perennial task and joy for the Church of Jesus Christ. Catholic education is an expression of the mission entrusted by Jesus to the Church He Founded.’ (To Teach as Jesus Did, 6.7).

Pre-Eminence of Catholic Schools: ‘The Catholic school strives to relate all human culture to the news of salvation, so that the life of faith will illumine the knowledge which students gain of the world, of life and of humanity. (National Directory for Catechesis, 232).

Educator in the Catholic School: ‘Beautiful indeed and of great importance is the vocation of all those who undertake the task of education in Catholic schools. This vocation demands special qualities of mind and heart, very careful preparations, and continuing readiness to renew and to adapt..’ (Declaration on Christian Education, 4).

The Catholic school fulfills an authentic ministry. Therefore, to work in this apostolate means rendering a unique, challenging and invaluable work for the Church. The nobility of the position to which teachers in the Catholic school…respond requires that they communicate the message of Christ not only in their teaching and their participation in the sacramental life of the Church but also in every expression of their behavior. In truth and in fact, herein lies the difference between a school whose education is penetrated by the Christian spirit and one in which religious in an academic subject like any other. ‘By their witness and their behavior teachers are the first importance to impart a distinctive character to Catholic schools.’ (The Catholic School, 78).

It follows then, that the teacher in Catholic education must be a person of prayer, one who frequently reflects on the scriptures, and whose Christ-like living testifies to deep faith, and who is a practicing Catholic who understands and accepts the teaching of the Catholic Church and the moral demands of the Gospel and who can contribute to the achievement of the school’s Catholic Identity and apostolic goals. (National Catechetical Directory, 207, 231).

Essentially, the Catholic school educator is one:

    • Called to proclaim, to live, to celebrate the message of Christ in His Gospel.
    • Chosen to create, to enter into and to build community that is at the heart of Christian education
    • Committed to the growth, development, and well-being of one’s educational family in the form of serve and love.

This individual truly witnesses to and fully shares in the mission of Christ and His Church in bringing about the Kingdom of God.

    1. Belief Statements/Oaths

Diocese of Phoenix163

Profession of Faith

(For newly hired Catholics in schools, catechetical or youth leadership positions)

I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and every thing that is contained in the symbol of faith, namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.  I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.  God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.  For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.  He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.  I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.  I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

With firm faith I also believe everything contained in God’s word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the Church, whether by way of solemn judgment or through the ordinary and universal magisterium, as divinely revealed and calling for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed definitively by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

Moreover, I shall always teach in the accord with the Official Magisterium of the Church as it is proclaimed by the Pope and the College of Bishops.

Profession of Faith

(For newly hired Non-Catholics in schools)

I accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed definitively by the Catholic Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

I shall always teach in accord with the official teachings of the Church as it is proclaimed by the Pope and the College of Bishops.

III. Contract and Handbook Language 

Generic Morals Clause Language: Positive and Negative

Samples of positive and negative moral clauses from various dioceses:

Negative statements.

Obviously, individual representatives of the Church—clergy as well as laity—have every right to hold opinions on these matters. They are obliged, however, to ensure that their private opinions are never expressed as the official position of the Catholic Church, or the Diocese of Alexandria, or the particular ecclesial parish or organization which they may represent or to which they may belong. (Diocese of Alexandria)164

To take a position directly contrary to the Church’s teaching—whether by lifestyle or speaking publicly against Church teachings—has serious consequences, in view of the impact made on the students by the teacher. (Diocese of Pueblo)165

Involvement in the commission of any serious crime, public scandal, or conduct substantially impairing the Teacher’s professional effectiveness or the Teacher’s portrayal of an example for pupil emulation; promulgation of teachings inconsistent with established Catholic teachings; or adoption of a way of life inconsistent with Catholic moral standards. (Diocese of Salina)166

…whenever, by public example, an employee engages in or espouses conduct which contravenes the doctrine and teaching of the Church, such employee may, at the sole discretion of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. (Diocese of Springfield, IL)167

Does not promulgate teachings inconsistent with established Catholic teachings; openly adopts a way of life or conducts self in a manner inconsistent with Catholic moral standards. (Diocese of Wichita, KS)168

Positive statements.

Church personnel will exhibit the highest Christian ethical standards and personal integrity. Church personnel will conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the discipline and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. (Diocese of Burlington)169

Maintains exemplary adherence to correct doctrine, the teachings of the Church, and integrity of life in accordance with Canon 803 Sec. 2. (Diocese of Colorado Springs)170

All staff shall respect the religious and ethical teachings to which the school is committed as a Catholic school… Will faithfully represent the teachings of the Catholic Church with integrity in word and action. (Diocese of Fresno)171

Administrators, faculty and staff shall be qualified, supportive of the teachings of the Church and imbued with a strong sense of the mission of Catholic schools and act in ways that promote the best interests of the Church and do not violate the principles or tenets of the Catholic faith….All school administrators and all faculty shall adhere to Catholic faith, teaching and moral discipline… (Diocese of Joliet)172

Teachers must share the Gospel message announced by Jesus Christ and lived out in the Catholic church. Teachers, as educational leaders, must give witness to the truths and values of Catholic education. (Diocese of Louisville)173

The teacher in a Catholic school is a moral presence, a representative of the school’s mission to teach the Catholic values found in Scripture and tradition… Each teacher who accepts a position in a Catholic school commits to recognizing the unique character of Catholic education and to supporting its mission. (Diocese of Manchester)174

Exhibit the highest Christian ethical standards and personal integrity, and will accept the responsibility to witness in all relationship the chastity appropriate to their state of life, whether celibate, married, or single; Conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with the discipline and teachings of the Catholic Church. (Archdiocese of Mobile)175

Embracing our varied callings of service and witness requires all to act in humility, in charity, and in justice. We are called to love and serve as Jesus loves and serves, and as such, aspire to the noblest of standards, most especially in service to children, young people, and the vulnerable. (Diocese of Owensboro)176

…it is recognized that there are certain positions within the diocese which require membership and active participation in the Catholic Church and a life style consistent with Church teachings in order to fulfill the responsibilities of the position. (Diocese of Rapid City)177

The principal shall select faculty and staff who live their lives to reflect ‘the fourfold dimensions of Catholic education: message, community, worship and service’. (Diocese of Salina)178

The diocese represents to its people and to the local community an organization based on strong moral and ethical principles. Employees are to be aware of their responsibilities to conduct themselves in harmony with these principles, and at all times reflect the Church’s teachings, integrity, and Christian concern for others. (Diocese of Shreveport)179

We expect teachers to maintain high ethical and professional standards and to accept supervision. (Diocese of Springfield IL)180

To reflect in both personal and professional life a commitment to Gospel values and the Christian tradition… To maintain standards of professional and personal conduct which reflect the values, principles, and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. (Diocese of Stockton)181

He or she gives witness every day to the distinctive character of the Catholic school, not only teaching according to gospel principles and moral values, but modeling the Church’s values and beliefs through word and action. (Diocese of Wichita, KS)182

Specific Language within Employment Documents

Archdiocese of Atlanta183 (Policy Manual)

The Christian dimension and the teacher’s role in promoting it are to be given priority when interviewing and making employment decisions.  “All members of the faculty, at least by their example, are an integral part of the process of religious education. …Teachers’ life style and character are as important as their professional credentials.” (National Directory for Catechesis)… They must be persons whose attitudes and values are consistent with the Catholic philosophy of education.  Each prospective teacher, regardless of religious affiliation, shall accept responsibilities in the educational ministry of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  The professional character of the responsibilities accepted by the teacher includes responsibilities to the Christian community served by the school, and above all, to the students attending the school and their parents.  This responsibility requires the teacher’s personal life to be conducted in accordance with the teachings and principles of the Catholic Church and in such a manner as to set a proper example for students; employees who choose to lead their lives outside of the teachings of the Catholic Church jeopardize continued employment with Archdiocesan schools.

Diocese of Austin184(Statement in Letter of Acknowledgement for Employees)

    1. Employees must agree to adhere to the social, ethical and moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and conform their professional and personal conduct to those teachings.

Diocese of Austin185 (Employment Agreement)

Job Description of Principal: a. Ministerial Character – The principal is the visible principle and foundation of unity in the school which the Bishop has entrusted to the principal.  The principal makes Christ’s mission present and enduring in the school.  In order to fulfill the principal’s mission, the principal employs suitable, chosen collaborates (clerics, religious, or lay people).  The principal shares with them the principal’s mission and entrusts various responsibilities to them.  Positions employed in the school help to extend the ministry of the principal in particular ways as outlined in the job description.  Therefore, the employee in this position is closely connected to and assists the principal in the performance of the principal’s ministry and thereby engages in ministry for the church.

Archdiocese of Baltimore186(Contract 2015-16)

    1. Duties. …

2.3. Teacher acknowledges that TEACHER’s duties under this Agreement are an expression of the educational mission and ministry of the Church.  TEACHER agrees that TEACHER’S primary duties consist of teaching and spreading the Catholic faith.  Accordingly, TEACHER is expected to consistently exhibit a style of living and relating to others that is consistent with the Church’s tradition. …

    1. INCORPORATION OF POLICIES Teacher agrees as a condition of employment to comply in the performance of his or her duties under this Agreement with the following: …

5.2 Teachings, doctrines, ethics, and morals of the Roman Catholic Church as may be promulgated and interpreted from time to time by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore. …

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT 11.2.1 …

    1. d) rejection of official doctrine or laws of the Roman Catholic Church in the performance of duties, …
    2. g) conduct or actions which are offensive to the community or which tend to embarrass the SCHOOL or the Archdiocese;
    3. h) behavior that seriously and publicly violated the official teachings of the Catholic Church as interpreted in the sole judgment of the Roman Catholic Archbishop…

Diocese of Baton Rouge187(Contract 2015-16)

4.a. Immorality: violation of law involving moral turpitude or unprofessional conduct reflecting great discredit on the teacher or the school…

    1. Any personal conduct or lifestyle which would be at variance with, or contrary to diocesan policies and/or the moral or religious doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as stated by the Holy Father and the local Ordinary in collegial union with the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on earth.

This conduct does not have to occur within the course and scope of employment for it to be an offense which will result in termination.

Diocese of Belleville188 (Code of Conduct Policy)

As personnel (as defined in the Child Protection Policy), I certify and voluntarily agree to abide by the following CODE OF CONDUCT:

I will exhibit the highest Christian ethical standards and personal integrity.  I will conduct myself in a manner that is consistent with the discipline and teachings of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Birmingham189 (Contracts)

The Diocese considers each and every Diocesan employee, by association or design, as a representative of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.  Consequently, the Diocese expects its employees to be cognizant of this most important responsibility and conduct their lives, both professional and private, in accordance with the teachings, beliefs and spirit of the Roman Catholic Church. …

TERMINATION. …failure to perform services expected under the contract, conduct or omissions in the personal or professional activities of the Employee which in the opinion of the Superintendent do not reflect credibly on the school, the Diocesan system, the parish or are in violation of regulations of the Diocese or the Diocesan school system or failure to provide complete and accurate information regarding credentials etc.

Diocese of Boise190(Personnel Policies and Procedures and Human Resource Manual)

[The Principal must] be an appropriate role model as a practicing Catholic, be a person of high moral standards with a reputation for integrity, vision and imagination, and a lifestyle in conformity with the philosophy and teachings of the Catholic Church. A strong believer in the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic Church and the ideals and traditions of Catholic education.

Archdiocese of Chicago191 (Handbooks)

It is the responsibility of every member of the staff to act in an honest and forthright manner in all workplace concerns; to treat co-workers, supervisors, volunteers, parishioners and visitors with respect; and to conduct oneself in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles.  Some of the actions which violate this policy on standards of conduct include, but are not limited to: …

    1. immoral or unethical conduct when such conduct has an adverse impact on the Church.

Archdiocese of Cincinnati 192(Contract)

Teacher-Minister agrees to comply with all policies, handbooks, rules and regulations of the School and of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  Teacher-Minister also agrees to exemplify Catholic principles in a manner consistent with Teacher-Minister’s relationship with the Catholic Church and to refrain from any conduct or lifestyle which would reflect discredit on or cause scandal to the school or be in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals.  While not meaning to infer that Teacher-Minister is involved in such conduct or lifestyle, by way of example, such conduct or lifestyle that is in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals includes, but is not limited to: cohabitation outside marriage; sexual activity out of wedlock; same-sex sexual activity; use of abortion; use of a surrogate mother; use of in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination; advocacy (defined as presenting or promoting as acceptable- for conduct, lifestyle, positions, policies, programs, causes or movements in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals; and/or flagrant deceit or dishonesty.  Teacher-Minister further agrees to teach and act consistently in accordance with the mission statement of the School and to strive to aid in the formation of students by personal witness so far as conscience allows to the stated philosophy and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church (these can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM, which is incorporated herein by reference).

Diocese of Cleveland193(Employment Agreement)

(see also Bishops’ Statements)

Role as Minister and Role Model of the Faith.  The Teacher-Minister, in signing this Agreement, represents that he/she has read and understands the Statement on the purpose of Catholic Schools and the Role of Teachers and Administrators in Catholic Schools by the Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, which is attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A and incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.  The Teacher-Minister understands and acknowledges that the Roman Catholic Church views the primary purpose of a Catholic school as a means of building up the Kingdom of God through the holistic and authentically Catholic formation of each student and that such development can only truly be fostered in a wholly Catholic environment.  The Teacher-Minister further understands and acknowledges that it is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that teachers in a Catholic school are truly and in a very real sense engaged in a special ministry, or apostolate, of the Roman Catholic Church and that such teachers should bear witness to Christ in their lives as much as in their classroom instruction.  For this reason, Canon 803 of the Code of Canon Law requires that teachers of a Catholic school must be “outstanding in true doctrine and uprightness of life.”  As such, the Teacher-Minister agrees to act, speak, and live at all times in a manner consistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as expressed by the Magisterium of the Church including, without limitation, as found in the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, which is available online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM and which is incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.  The Teacher-Minister understands that actions and speech that are contrary to Catholic teaching shall be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination.  The following, although in no way an exclusive list, represents by way of example certain speech or actions that are considered to be contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church:

    1. Public support of positions contrary to Roman Catholic Church teaching (including, but not limited to, publically supporting abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, surrogate parenthood, direct sterilization, or so-called homosexual or same-sex marriage or unions).
    2. Procuring or assisting another in procuring an abortion.
    3. Making use of or participating in artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, or surrogate parenthood.
    4. Preparing for or engaging in a same-sex marriage or union.
    5. Engaging in or publicly supporting sexual relations outside or marriage (which shall be understood for purposes of the Agreement as being the marriage between one man and one woman).
    6. Living with another as husband or wife without the benefit of a marriage recognized as valid by the Roman Catholic Church or cohabitating outside of marriage.
    7. Engaging in or supporting transvestitism, transgenderism, or sex reassignment.
    8. Membership in any organization that is anti-Catholic or whose philosophy is in any way contrary to the ethical or moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
    9. Indecent or lewd behavior (including, but not limited to, the unlawful use of drugs, substance abuse, or use of pornography).
    10. Serious dishonesty.
    11. Entering into a marriage with a person when one of the parties to the marriage is validly married to another person in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church (e.g., entering into a marriage if one of the parties has entered into marriage previously and has not received an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church).
    12. Use of social media or electronic means of communication (e.g., email and texting) in an improper, immoral, or scandalous manner (including, but not limited to, use of social media or electronic means to communicate, post, share, or send material that is lewd, indecent, sexually suggestive, or pornographic).
    13. Any other actions or speech that are considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be immoral or evil or which might cause scandal, as such terms is understood by the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., and attitude or behavior which leads or tempts another to do that which the Roman Catholic Church considers evil or immoral).

Diocese of Colorado Springs194 (Policy)

PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR. Teachers in the Diocese of Colorado Springs have been placed in a position of trust and as such are expected to maintain professional relationships at all times with their students, parents and other staff both in and out of school, including vacation periods. By virtue of their position in the community, all teachers, principals and directors have an obligation to maintain Catholic, professional decorum at all times.

Diocese of Columbus195 (Policy)

ADHERENCE TO CHURCH TEACHINGS: All school personnel who serve in Catholic schools shall be examples of Catholic moral behavior and professionalism.  As explained by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops: The integration of religious truth and values with the rest of life is brought about in the Catholic school not only by its unique curriculum but, more important, by the presence of teachers [personnel] who express an integrated approach to learning and living in their private and professional lives.  All school personnel, regardless of their religious affiliation, are therefore required to abide by the moral valued advanced by the teachings of Christ, the tenants of the Catholic Church, and the policies and regulations of the Diocesan Department of Education, the Diocese and the employing school.  School personnel may be disciplined or terminated for violations of these standards, or any conduct which is contrary to, or requests or offends the teachings, doctrines, or principles of the Catholic Church.  While there may be others not mentioned below, examples of conduct that may result in termination of employment include: Public support of activities or beliefs contrary to Catholic Church teaching; Public statements disparaging or causing contempt against religion in general or the Catholic Church in particular; Entry into a marriage which is not recognized by the Catholic Church; Having an abortion or publically supporting abortion rights; Sexual relation (same or opposite sex) outside the institution of marriage as recognized by the Catholic Church; Pursuing or publically supporting in vitro fertilization.

Diocese of Columbus196(Contract)

    1. The Teacher serves as a Catholic role model both inside and outside of the school. Part of the Teacher’s duties is to convey the message and principles of the Catholic Church to students of the School, and thus the Teacher serves the role of a faith minister to youth. As such, Teacher shall refrain from conduct or lifestyle which would be in contradiction to Catholic doctrine or morals.  Teacher shall comply and act in accordance with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and the rules, regulations and policies of the School, the Diocesan Department for Education, and the Diocese of Columbus now in effect or that may be hereinafter adopted governing this employment, including but not limited to the Diocesan School Policy 4116.1 (“Adherence to Catholic Church Teachings”).  (Diocesan Department for Education policies and regulations are available on line at www.cdeducation.org/Policies.)   School has the right to dismiss Teacher for violation of these standards, thereby terminating any and all rights the Teacher may have to continued employment.

Diocese of Columbus197 (Employment Letter of Understanding)

#2. Employee understands that as an employee of a Catholic institution employee is expected to abide by Catholic Church teachings, both within and outside their employment duties, and regardless of her/his religious affiliation.  As such, Employee agrees to refrain from conduct or lifestyle which would be in contradiction to Catholic doctrine or morals.  Employee also agrees to comply with and act consistently in accordance with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and the rules, regulations, and policies of the employing agency and the Diocese of Columbus now in effect, or that may hereinafter be adopted governing this employment, including but not limited to the attached Adherence to Church Teachings policy Employee understands and agrees that the Employer has the right to dismiss Employee for violation of these standards, thereby terminating any and all rights Employee may have to continued employment.

Archdiocese of Denver198(Contract)

Ministering to students in their Catholic formation by infusing the cultural, academic, and liturgical life with Catholic values, tradition, and belief: grounding each Parish School in principles consistent with Catholic doctrine and practice; personally exemplifying the characteristics of Catholic living; and refraining from taking any public position or conducting himself or herself in a manner contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. …

Cause for termination… Moral turpitude or failure to bear witness to Catholic life; Failure to teach and act in accordance with Catholic doctrine and moral teaching.

Diocese of Dubuque199(Policy Manual)

The distinctive Catholic identity and mission of the Catholic school also depend on the efforts and example of the whole faculty. “The integration of culture and faith is mediated by the other integration of faith and life in the person of the teacher. The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of their behavior.” All teachers in Catholic schools share in the catechetical ministry. “All members of the faculty, at least by their example, are an integral part of the process of religious education… Teachers’ life style and character are as important as their professional credentials.” Their daily witness to the meaning of mature faith and Christian living has a profound effect on the education and formation of their students.” While some situations might entail compelling reasons for members of another faith tradition to teach in a Catholic school, as much as possible, all teachers in a Catholic school should be practicing Catholics.

Diocese of Fargo200(2014-15 Handbook)

Teacher Responsibilities

    1. Duties and responsibilities as related to the Mission and Vision of the John Paul II Catholic Schools:
    2. Recognize and support the unique Catholic mission of our school
    3. Speak, act and instruct in a manner that is consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
    4. Integrate Catholic values and attitudes into classroom and all school activities.
    5. Make prayer a living, dynamic part of the school day.
    6. Maintain a classroom which reflects the Catholic identity of the school.
    7. Welcome all members to the community with openness and acceptance.
    8. Model an attitude of service.

Diocese of Fargo201(Contract)

SECTION ONE: The Teacher Agrees:

    1. That teaching, in the JPII Catholic Schools, is both by word and example and is a special calling. The Code of Canon Law reads: “It is necessary that the formation and education given in a Catholic School be based upon the principles of Catholic doctrine; Teachers are to be responsible for their correct doctrine and integrity of life.”  (Revised Code of Canon Law, Can. 803 #2).  Therefore, the Teacher agrees to teach, advocate, encourage, counsel, and witness in keeping with the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith and teachings.

Diocese of Fort Worth202 (Contract)

The PRESIDENT agrees to be a practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church, to act in faithful accordance with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, to provide leadership in building the Catholic Faith Community in the SCHOOL, to show respect for Catholic beliefs, to work for the achievement of the goals of Catholic education, and to aid in the Catholic formation of the students by exemplifying in his/her own actions the characteristics of Catholic living.  The PRESIDENT agrees to become certified as a catechist.  Catholic Educational Ministry.  The PRESIDENT hereby accepts responsibilities in the educational ministry of the Diocese of Fort Worth.  The professional character of the responsibilities accepted by the PRESIDENT includes responsibilities to the Catholic community served by the SCHOOL, and above all, to the students attending the SCHOOL and to their parents.

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston203(Employment Agreement)

Termination for Cause: Conduct is immoral or insubordinate in the sole discretion of the Principal, …

    1. Unprofessional or inappropriate conduct reflecting negatively on TEACHER or SCHOOL, or conduct seriously impairing the continued usefulness or ability of TEACHER to function in his/her capacity as TEACHER, in the sole discretion of the Principal, and within the guidelines of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office.
    2. Any personal conduct or lifestyle that would be inconsistent with or contrary to, the policies, procedures and rules of the ARCHDIOCESE and/or the moral or religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as stated by the Bishop of Rome and/or the Bishop of Galveston-Houston, in the sole discretion of the Principal, and within the guidelines of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office. …
    3. Catholic Educational Ministry: TEACHER hereby acknowledges his/her responsibility in the educational ministry of the ARCHDIOCESE, through his/her interactions with the students attending school and with their parents. TEACHER agrees that an essential function of his/her position is to promote the Catholic-Christian ministry, beliefs, teachings, message and faith within SCHOOL, to exhibit respect at all times, through his/her individual conduct and behavior (whether on or off campus and whether on or off duty) for the Catholic-Christian ministry, beliefs, teachings, message and faith, and to aid in the development of the students attending SCHOOL by exemplifying the Catholic-Christian ministry, beliefs, teachings, message and faith, through all aspects of the performance of his/her duties. Likewise, TEACHER agrees to promote and spread the ministry, beliefs, teachings and message of the ARCHDIOCESE and its Catholic-Christian principles.  TEACHER further agrees to refrain from engaging in any conduct that may reflect discredit on, or tarnish the reputation of SCHOOL, or that is inconsistent with the ministry, beliefs, message, teachings and faith of the Roman Catholic Church.  In addition, TEACHER agrees at all times to abide by all policies, procedures and rules of the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Office.  The foregoing responsibilities and obligations apply whether TEACHER is on or off campus and whether TEACHER is on or off duty.  Any violation of the foregoing responsibilities and obligations is grounds for immediate termination of employment for cause.

Diocese of Gary204 (Contract)

(See also Teacher/Minister Contracts and Language)

    1. Ministerial Duties/Morals Clauses
    2. To teach in a Catholic school is to accept a ministry. The teaching ministry must clearly reflect the Catholic Christian spirit of love, understanding and humility. This ministry is witnessed not only in the manner in which the teacher performs his/her task of teaching, but also in the example the teacher sets for the students both in and outside the classroom.  This witness extends beyond the teacher’s individual classroom to include everyone associated with the school, parish, and diocese.
    3. Because the teaching ministry is exercised in the context of the Catholic Church, it is hierarchical in nature. Respect for the authority and earnest cooperation with the principal and administration of the school are essential. Therefore, the teacher understands, accepts, and agrees to maintain at all times, the proper Catholic Christian attitude and spirit of cooperation as an essential element of complying with the terms of this contract.
    4. Furthermore, in carrying out his/her duties under this agreement, the teacher agrees to faithfully reflect the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, in mind and in deed, and at all times, both in and out of school, to abide by the official teachings of the church, as interpreted by the Bishop of the Diocese of Gary. Teacher understands that Catholic theology is part of every subject taught in the school and that part of teacher’s ministry in the school is to apply the theological doctrine and teachings of the Catholic Church. Failure to comply may result in the immediate termination of this contract. …
    5. Termination of Contract.
    6. A) The School may terminate this contract for reasons including, but not limited to, the following: Failure to abide by the terms of Part A “Ministerial Duties/Morals Clauses” above… The determination that the teacher is involved in an offensive behavior or has taken a public position against any of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church… In the case of members of a religious congregation this contract shall be considered terminated if the herein named teacher ceases to function as a member of that religious congregation.

Diocese of Gaylord205(Contract)

(See also Teacher/Minister Contracts and Language)

The Teacher/Minister hereby accepts the terms of this Contract and the accompanying job description and agrees to perform the services required of the School and will assist the School in carrying out its Catholic educational ministry and policies during the entire term of this Contract.  The Teacher/Minister recognizes and accepts the fact that the School is an apostolate of the sponsoring Parish; that every teacher in the School is a minister in that apostolate, and that contracting to teach in a Catholic School implies understanding its special mission and orientation.  Accordingly, the Teacher/Minister agrees to conduct him/herself personally and professionally so as to reflect plainly and consistently the values, ministerial, and operational principles of the Parish/School, the Diocese of Gaylord, and the Universal Church.  The Teacher/Minister also recognizes and acknowledges the fact that there is within the Catholic Church a body of officially taught and commonly accepted beliefs, the communication of which is a fundamental purpose and mission of a Catholic School and that its students have a right to expect such communication implicitly and explicitly from its teachers regardless of the subject areas, grades, or courses being taught, and the Teacher/Minister agrees not to make any communications to students that in any way contradict or reject those teachings or commonly held beliefs.  The Teacher/Minister further understands and agrees that it is her or his duty to teach/administer and live in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes, and agrees to loyally observe the general rules and regulations applicable to those who minister in Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Gaylord as well as such special regulations or decrees as have been fixed and promulgated by the Parish, School or Ordinary of the Diocese of Gaylord.

Diocese of Grand Rapids206 (2012 Employee Policy Handbook)

Personnel 4130 Religious Standard in Employment (revised September 2008):

Teachers and principals hired to serve in our Catholic schools are expected to be Catholics in good standing and endowed with a Catholic philosophy.

The distinctive and unique purpose of the Catholic schools is to create a Christian educational community that is enlivened by a shared faith among administrator(s), students and parents.  The teachers and principals employed in the schools of the Diocese must have knowledge of and a respect for the Catholic faith and a commitment to Christian living.  Further, all teachers and principals are expected to spread the Catholic faith and supervise/participate in religious ritual and worship in propagation of that faith, including the observance and conduct of liturgy.  As such, teachers and principals employed occupy a position and share duties of religious significance that is connected and important to the Diocesan doctrinal mission.

Diocese of Great Falls-Billings207 (School Policy Manual 2014)

(Same as Diocese of Helena)

    1. All employees are expected to respect all the moral and religious teachings and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church and not to engage in any personal conduct or lifestyle that would be at variance with or contrary to the policies of the diocese, its parishes and schools, or the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.…

10-104.1 CATHOLIC MORAL STANDARDS.  Employee will live a lifestyle compatible with Catholic moral values.  They must exercise conduct consistent with Catholic teachings and not engage in any practice, whether in their personal life or their employed capacity that may be in conflict with the Catholic Church teachings on faith and morals. …

10-704 CAUSES FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION.  Personal conduct or lifestyle at variance with or contrary to the policies of the Diocese, its parishes and schools, or the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Green Bay208 (Teacher Contract)

#14. The following Diocesan Board policy is set forth herein as an integral part of the contract.  A teacher may be dismissed for incompetence, cruelty, negligence, immorality, or whenever in the interests of the school such dismissal may be required.  Other justifiable grounds for dismissal include, but are not limited to: frequent absenteeism, unreasonable tardiness, unprofessional attitude, inability to deal cooperatively with administrator, students or parents, conduct not in keeping with Catholic principle and any applicable code of conduct. …

#17. The teacher, in a Catholic educational program, agrees as a condition of employment, he/she will support and exemplify in conduct both Catholic doctrine and morality as determined by the Diocesan Bishop.  He/She must be consistent, in expression and example, with the teaching and practice of the Catholic faith and shall not teach, advocate, encourage or counsel beliefs or practices contrary to the Catholic faith.

Diocese of Harrisburg209(Contract)

The vocation of every Catholic school Professional Employee is to engage in the sacred work of forming the human person through the communication of Truth. The achievement of this specific aim depends upon the person of the teacher. The Professional Employee, in addition to being well-prepared in the subject matter, is called upon to be a good example for the students. By teaching and example, the Professional Employee guides the students to the heart of total Truth.

The Professional employee is expected to conduct himself or herself in accordance with the accepted code of morality and professional ethics for a teacher in a Catholic school and to avoid any embarrassment to the individual school or the diocese.

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS. ‘The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of their behavior.’210 Commitment to the student – ‘Students should be able to recognize authentic human qualities in their teachers. They are teachers of the faith; however, like Christ, they must also be teachers of what it means to be human. This includes culture, but it also includes such things as affection, tact, understanding, serenity of spirit, a balanced judgment, patience in listening to others and prudence in the way they respond and finally, availability for personal meetings and conversations with students. A teacher who has a clear vision of the Christian milieu and lives in accord with it will be able to help young people develop a similar vision, and will give them the inspiration they need to put it into practice.’211

Archdiocese of Hartford212 (Policy Manual 2013)

3.101. All applicants and employees are expected to uphold and to act in accord with the religious, moral, and ethical principles of the Roman Catholic Church.  Publicly advocating positions or engaging in activities that violate the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church are sufficient grounds to decline to hire an applicant, or to terminate or otherwise discipline an employee. …

3.108. RELIGIOUS STANDARDS FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOL EMPLOYEES. It is recognized that administrators and teachers are engaged in a school conducted by the Roman Catholic Church for the express purpose of education in the academic, social, moral and religious values promulgated by that Church.  Administrators and teachers therefore are expected to conduct themselves both in teaching and example in a manner consistent with the academic, social, moral and religious teaching of the Catholic Church.  Public conduct which is contrary to Church teachings and is of sufficient magnitude may be found for disciplinary action, including termination. …

3.110 EMPLOYEE CONDUCT: The following acts are very serious in nature, and therefore, these acts, or acts of a similarly serious nature, shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination: Any willful act or conduct detrimental to the operations of the schools, parishes, administrative offices, or agencies of the Archdiocese of Hartford.  Public violation of the moral and ethical teachings of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Helena213 (School Policy Manual 2014)

(Same as Diocese of Great Falls-Billings)

    1. All employees are expected to respect all the moral and religious teachings and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church and not to engage in any personal conduct or lifestyle that would be at variance with or contrary to the policies of the diocese, its parishes and schools, or the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. …

10-104.1 CATHOLIC MORAL STANDARDS.  Employees will live a lifestyle compatible with Catholic moral values.  They must exercise conduct consistent with Catholic teachings and not engage in any practice, whether in their personal life or their employed capacity that may be in conflict with the Catholic Church teachings on faith and morals. …

10-704 CAUSES FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION.  Personal conduct or lifestyle at variance with or contrary to the policies of the Diocese, its parishes and schools, or the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Honolulu (Article March 28, 2014)214

The Diocese does not release its teacher contract forms per the superintendent (Personal communication, April 17, 2015).  The article states that part of the contract language is, “‘The school expressly reserves the right to terminate the employment of any Teacher, who by word or example, denies the teachings or authority of the Church, or whose personal life or conduct is, based on Catholic teaching, immoral’… The Contract is called the ‘Standard Teacher Employment Agreement’ and the contract states that ‘homosexuality’ and ‘same sex unions’ are not permitted.”

Archdiocese of Indianapolis215 (Contract 2015-16)

Defaults: …

    1. Unprofessional conduct,
    2. Insubordination, …
    3. Cohabitation (living together) without being legally married,
    4. Any conduct in or out of school tending to reflect great discredit on the teacher or the school or tending to seriously impair the teacher’s continued effectiveness as a teacher; and, any personal conduct or lifestyle at variance with the policies of the Archdiocese or the moral or religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Jefferson City216(Series 4000 Manual Revised 2012)

Faith Commitment

All persons within the Catholic school setting share in the basic mission of Catholic education.  For that reason, all shall demonstrate by their attitudes, words, actions, and the integrity of their lives that they support the beliefs and values that underlie Catholic education.  Personnel, as employees in a Catholic educational system, agree that, as a condition of employment, they will support and exemplify in conduct both Catholic doctrine and morality.  Personnel must be consistent, in expression and example, with the teaching and practice of the Catholic faith and shall not teach, advocate, encourage or counsel beliefs or practices contrary to the Catholic faith.

Personnel shall be either Catholics in good standing, who are committed to the Catholic faith and to Christian living, and who are registered members of a Catholic parish, or others who have a positive attitude toward the Catholic faith and a commitment to Christian living as well as having a lifestyle that is consistent with Church teaching and are registered members of their particular non-Catholic parishes.  They shall work with others within and beyond the school setting in a spirit befitting a Christian faith community.

PERSONNEL: Defaults

A teacher shall be deemed to be in default under the contract in the event of any breach of duty hereunder, including, but not limited to the following: …

    1. Cohabitation without being legally married…
    2. Any conduct, in or out of school, tending to reflect discredit or scandal on the teacher or the school or tending seriously to impair the teacher’s continued effectiveness as a teacher, any personal conduct or lifestyle at variance with the policies of the Diocese of Jefferson City or the moral or religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Kalamazoo217 (Policy Manual)

The school administrator shall select the person who is the best qualified (includes being a practicing Catholic in good standing) to fulfill the responsibilities of the position and who will contribute greatly to the development of the Catholic faith community. …

TERMINATION: (same for teacher and administrator) …

    1. The undertaking by teacher of activities, within or outside of the employer/employee relationship, which are detrimental to the fundamental purpose and mission of the employer or constitute a failure to support and exemplify Catholic Faith and Morals as taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. …
    2. The teacher engages in any conduct in or out of the workplace which, in the judgment of the employer, constitutes serious or public immorality, sacrilege, lewd conduct, endangerment of health or safety, abusive conduct, public scandal or rejection of, or the holding up to doubt or question of the official teaching, doctrine, or laws of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Lafayette218 (Addendum to Principal and Teacher Contracts 2013)

This addendum is made part of the Diocese of Lafayette (Principal/Teacher) contract.  The following non-exhaustive and non-exclusive list of acts is deemed to be at variance and inconsistent with the moral and religious doctrines and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Lansing219 (Handbook)

Ministry.  The employer is a religious institution, and its efforts are directed toward the glory of God and the salvation of souls.  Employees of the Diocese of Lansing are commissioned to live and proclaim the Gospel always and everywhere.  While employees are asked to serve in a variety of roles, each employee’s duties and responsibilities are primarily religious.  That is, by word and deed, each employee is involved in spreading the faith and other key works of the Church.  Each employee’s position is vital to the spiritual and pastoral mission of the Church, and is inherently religious… Within the structure of federal and state law, the employer will deem as “ministerial” any employee whose duties are, to any significant degree, liturgical, evangelical, or educational, or pertain to the corporal works of mercy…

    1. Catholic Fidelity. In both personal and professional life, an employee must exemplify the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. The employee must not teach, advocate, model, or in any way encourage beliefs or behaviors that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. …

TERMINATION: …

    1. Behavior or advocacy that is contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Lincoln220 (Contract)

THAT WHEN A JUST CAUSE (*) EXISTS, the Employer may immediately terminate this contract and the Employer shall be released of all obligations and liabilities of this contract…  * A just cause as used herein may include any one or more of the following:  Contradiction or rejection, by word or action, of doctrines, laws or norms of the CATHOLIC CHURCH; incompetence; immorality; cruelty; neglect of duty; general neglect of the business or policies of the SCHOOL; unprofessional conduct; physical or mental incapacity; any violation of law involving moral turpitude; any conduct tending to reflect grave discredit upon the school or the Catholic Church; or any conduct which interferes substantially with the continued performance of duties; or any breach of this AGREEMENT.

Diocese of Little Rock221(2014 Policy Manual)

3.05. …employees in the schools should meet the following criteria: Be willing to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church, have a commitment to Christian living, be willing to mirror the Gospel values.

Archdiocese of Los Angeles222(Employment Agreements)

FACULTY EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

    1. …You understand and accept that the values of Christian charity, temperance and tolerance apply to your interactions with supervisors, colleagues, students, parents, staff and all others with whom you come in contact at or on behalf of the School. Accordingly, you are expected to model, teach, and promote behavior in conformity with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. …
    2. Termination. …
    3. c) Unprofessional or unethical conduct…
    4. d) Any criminal, immoral or unethical conduct that relates to your duties as a teacher or brings discredit upon the school or the Roman Catholic Church.

ADMINISTRATOR EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

    1. …The Administrator understands and accepts that the values of Christian charity, temperance, and tolerance apply to his/her interactions.
    2. While all faculty and staff are expected to model, teach and promote behavior in conformity to Christian living, the Administrator in particular serves as a model of Roman Catholic teaching. The Administrator recognizes that the school is an apostolic ministry of the Roman Catholic Church and that the role of the Administrator in such a ministry is to offer a positive example and support to the students and the community. The Administrator agrees to further his/her professional growth and faith formation by continuing to study and to aid in the Christian formation of the School’s students by exemplifying Christian characteristics in his/her own actions. …
    3. The Administrator agrees to conduct himself/herself with due regard to public conventions and morals, and agrees not to do or commit any act or thing that will tend to degrade the Administrator in society or bring the Administrator into public hatred, contempt, scorn or ridicule, or that will tend to shock, insult or offend the community, or tend to embarrass the School, the Archdiocese or the Roman Catholic Church. …

TERMINATION (ADMINISTRATOR)

16.b. Unprofessional or unethical conduct…

    1. Any criminal, immoral or unethical conduct that relates to the Administrator’s duties or that brings discredit to the School, the Archdiocese or the Roman Catholic Church.

Archdiocese of Los Angeles223(Handbook)

5.11.1…School staff are called to be role models and witnesses to the Gospel of Christ and therefore, they shall adhere to proper conventions and Christian morals.  They shall maintain by words and actions a position that is in conformity with the teaching, standards, doctrines, laws, and norms of the Roman Catholic Church as interpreted by the ordinary/diocesan archbishop of the archdiocese.

5.11.2.  Teachers are called to strive toward the ideals and qualities desired in persons engaged in the ministry of Catholic education.  Those who are members of the Catholic Church are called to live in accordance with the teachings and precepts of the Church.  Those who are not Catholics are called to live according to the Gospel values that apply to all Christians.

Teachers will model qualities and attitudes that strengthen the school as a faith community by:

Living their commitment to Gospel values and Catholic tradition

Integrating faith and prayer in both private and professional life

Understanding that teaching in a Catholic school is a participation in the Church’s ministry of education. …

5.11.5  Recruitment and Hiring of Teachers: In both the teacher’s professional and private life, the teacher is expected to model and promote behavior in conformity to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church in matters of faith and morals.

Diocese of Louisville224(Handbook 2014)

Personnel in Catholic schools must understand their connection to the parish and the Archdiocese. Church and school employees accept the mission of the Catholic Church to witness the message of Gospel values, to serve, to form community and to worship together as a faith community. School employees must understand and believe the basic doctrines of the church and follow a Christian code of ethics. Adults who work in schools must model basic beliefs and values of the Catholic Church. Catholic school employees are role models for children and parents.

Diocese of Madison225 (Teacher Contract 2010)

Teacher Responsibilities and Obligations.  A. Conduct himself or herself as a moral person who upholds the highest standards and ecclesiastical teachings of the Catholic Church and laws of the State of Wisconsin and acts accordingly at all times.

Diocese of Manchester226(Schools Handbook 2015)

    1. Principals and Catholic Identity. All principals or chief administrators shall be practicing Catholics who uphold the teaching of the faith and are committed to Catholic education that is academically excellent and rooted in Gospel values.
    2. Teachers and School Staff. Catholic teachers and Catholic staff shall be hired whenever possible. Administrators, faculty, and staff shall be qualified, supportive of the teachings of the Church, and imbued with a strong sense of the mission of Catholic schools. They shall act in ways that promote the best interests of the Church and do not violate the principles or tenets of the Catholic faith. All staff shall be responsible for integrating Catholic identity and Church teaching across the curriculum and in all school activities. All school administrators and all faculty members shall adhere to Catholic faith, teaching, and moral discipline, and shall not contradict the Catholic faith, teaching, and moral discipline either publicly or privately, and shall not harm communion with the Church.
    3. School Sponsored Guests and Activities. School sponsored guests, public statements, public events, and community activities of all Catholic schools shall not contradict the Catholic faith, teaching, and moral discipline, and shall not harm communion with the local Church.

Diocese of Marquette227(Contract)

The Teacher also recognizes and acknowledges the fact that there is within the Catholic Church a body of officially taught and commonly accepted beliefs, the communication of which is a fundamental purpose and mission of a Catholic School and that its students have a right to expect such communication implicitly and explicitly from its Teacher regardless of the subject areas, grades or courses being taught.  The Teacher agrees that he/she will be consistent in expression and example with the teaching and practice of the Catholic Faith and shall not teach, advocate, encourage or counsel students in beliefs or practices contrary to those teachings or commonly held beliefs of the Catholic Faith.

Archdiocese of Miami228 (Employee Handbook)

Standards of Conduct: The Archdiocese is a community devoted to promoting the mission of the Roman Catholic Church in South Florida.  Employees are seen as members of this community.  They are expected to have an interest in and be personally committed to the Archdiocese’s mission, goals and objectives.  Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles… Employees will witness by their public behavior, actions and words a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.  All employees should note that, because of the Church’s particular function in society, certain conduct, inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, could lead to disciplinary action, including termination, even if it occurs outside the normal working day and outside the strict confines of work performed by the employee for the Archdiocese… Public support or advocacy of positions, or conduct, which conflict with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.  …

Termination of Employment: …Reasons for Termination…

    1. Engaging in conduct contrary to or detrimental to the religious and professional character of the Archdiocese or its policies…

Diocese of Monterey229 (Master Employment Agreement Teachers)

Philosophy.  It is understood that the mission of the school is to develop and promote a Catholic School Faith Community within the philosophy of Catholic education as implemented at the School, and the doctrines, laws and norms of the Catholic Church.  All duties and responsibilities of the Teacher shall be performed within this overriding commitment…. I understand and agree that as an employee of the Diocese of Monterey Education and Welfare Corporation, I am an apostolic worker of the Roman Catholic Faith.

Archdiocese of New Orleans230 (Teacher-School Contract)

    1. The teacher agrees to abide by all rules and regulations of the School and/or applicable policies of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans…

4…the following shall constitute sufficient and just cause for immediate discharge

    1. Immorality, intemperance, insubordination, physical or mental incapacity, violation of law involving moral turpitude, unprofessional conduct reflecting great discredit on the Teacher or the School or seriously impairing the continued usefulness or ability of the Teacher to teach.
    2. Any personal conduct or lifestyle which would be at variance with, or contrary to the applicable policies of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and/or moral or religious doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as stated by the Holy Father and the local Ordinary in collegial union with the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Diocese of Oakland231(Contract 2015)

The teacher agrees to respect Catholic values and to aid students in Christian formation by exemplifying Catholic living, both in and out of the classroom… Bound by love to each other and to their pupils and imbued with the apostolic spirit, administrators and teachers bear witness by their life and teaching to the one teacher Christ. …

    1. The Teacher agrees to serve in a professional manner and to act in accordance with the Catholic doctrine and moral teachings.
    2. The teacher agrees to implement the teachings of the Catholic Church in the Catholic educational community. …

4 (i). Refrain from conduct which is inappropriate, unprofessional, unlawful or otherwise harmful to the Diocese, the School and/or the school’s students, parents/legal guardians, faculty, staff and administration.

4 (j). Demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, and refrain from taking a public position contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Archdiocese of Oklahoma City232(Code of Conduct)

All Archdiocesan Personnel are to uphold the standards of the Catholic Church in their day-to-day work and personal lives. Archdiocesan Personnel and leaders are expected to be persons of integrity and must conduct themselves in an honest and open way, free from deception or corruption and in a manner consistent with the discipline and teachings of the Catholic Church. Archdiocesan personnel are expected to follow rules of conduct that will protect the interests and safety of all, including the standards and policies set forth in this Code of Conduct and other Archdiocesan Policies and Guidelines.

Archdiocese of Omaha233 (Contract)

Personnel shall be either Catholics in good standing, who are committed to the Catholic faith and to Christian living, and who are registered members of a Catholic parish, or others who have a positive attitude toward the Catholic faith and a commitment to Christian living as well as having a lifestyle that is consistent with Church teaching and are registered members of their particular non-Catholic parishes.  They shall work with others within and beyond the school setting in a spirit befitting a Christian faith community.

Diocese of Orlando234(Handbook)

Employees are expected to conduct themselves in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles… All employees should note that, because of the Church’s particular function in society, certain conduct, inconsistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, could lead to disciplinary action, including dismissal, even if it occurs outside the normal working day and outside the strict confines of work performed by the employee for the Diocese.

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee235 (Handbook)

In order for the Diocese to carry out its mission to the people it serves, it is dependent upon the performance and conduct of each of its employees. Therefore, it is your responsibility to conduct your business dealings and personal behavior in a manner consistent with the ethics and moral standards set by the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Diocese of Peoria236 (Witness Statement)

…Catholic education, which includes education, formation and transformation, exists in order to evangelize.  Two important elements that make up the process of evangelization are proclamation and witness… But all who serve in Catholic education are called to be witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.  Therefore, the following Witness Statement applies to all who serve in Catholic education.  “All who serve in Catholic education in the school programs of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria will witness by their public behavior, actions and words, a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church”  Only those persons who can support this Witness Statement are to be employed by pastors and principals in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.  All who serve in Catholic education in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria should be made aware that support of this Witness Statement must be reflected in their public behavior.

All who serve in Catholic education should:

Believe in God;

Support belief in Jesus Christ;

Engage in prayer;

Respect ecclesiastical authority;

Possess a knowledge of the Catholic Church;

Not take a position contrary to the Catholic Church;

Demonstrate a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church;

If Catholic, have not rejected the Catholic Church;

Be active members of the Catholic Church, or of their own church if not Catholic.

Archdiocese of Philadelphia237 (Manual, brief statement in Union Agreement)

Article I, Section 7.  The System retains the sole right and duty to operate its school system in accordance with the philosophy of Christian education, the doctrines, laws, and norms of the Catholic Church.  Notwithstanding grievance and arbitration procedures hereinafter specified, any grievance arising from dismissal of a teacher for serious and public immorality and/or public rejection of official doctrine or laws of the Church shall be first discussed orally with the Principal and/or the System.  The charge shall then be reduced to writing and presented to the teacher.  The teacher or the Association may then file a grievance at the System level.  If the grievance is not resolved at the previous level, the teacher or the Association may request arbitration by the Ordinary of the Archdiocese or his designee whose decision shall be final and binding on all concerned.

Diocese of Phoenix238 (Policy Manual)

3-1.3.01 The Principal must be a practicing Catholic in full communion with the Catholic Church, who evidences knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith, and who is a registered member of a parish or mission within the Diocese.

    1. The Principal shall give active witness to the Catholic Tradition, including the teachings of the Church and the Sacred Scriptures …

3-1.3.03 Elementary and high school teachers and counselors are models for the faith development of the students. As such, they are expected to be people of faith who uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church. …

    1. Professional Behavior. …

2b. Promoting and living according to gospel values and Catholic moral teaching; and

    1. upholding the doctrinal teachings of the Catholic Church. …
    2. All school personnel shall maintain an awareness of their role as a Catholic educator and of the impact that their behavior has on the students and the Catholic community.
    3. No school personnel shall do anything that is illegal or that might cause public scandal to the school.
    4. School personnel act as role models for the faith development of the students… be people of faith who uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church and who live according to those teachings.
    5. All school administrators and teachers must make a profession of Faith, in which they promise, among other things, to firmly accept and hold each and everything that is professed definitively by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals, and to live their lives according to the Catholic faith…
    6. Termination

1a. A serious violation of Church law that violates the Profession of Faith or that results or may result in public scandal.

    1. Unprofessional conduct or conduct that violates the Diocese’s Code of Ethics or the Employee’s contract.

Diocese of Pittsburgh239(“Cardinal’s Clause”)

The employee recognizes the religious nature of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and agrees that the employer has the right to dismiss an employee for serious public immorality, public scandal, or public rejection of the teachings, doctrine or laws of the Roman Catholic Church, thereby terminating any and all rights that the employee may have hereunder, subject, however, to the personal due process promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church.

Examples of the violation of this clause would include, but are not limited to, entry by an employee into a marriage which is not recognized as being valid by the Roman Catholic Church, support of activities which espouse beliefs contrary to Catholic Church teachings an laws such as advocacy of a practice such as abortion, or the holding up to doubt or question the official teachings, doctrine or laws of the Catholic Church.

Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon240(Contract)

By accepting employment in a Catholic School, the employee agrees to respect Catholic values and to aid in Christian formation by exemplifying a lifestyle of Christian principles both in school and out of school. The employee shall exhibit a lifestyle that is compatible with Catholic moral values and professional conduct consistent with Catholic teaching, and shall not do, commit, or permit any act that will tend to demean or degrade him/her in society or bring the employee or the School into public disrepute.

Diocese of Pueblo241

LIFESTYLE POLICY FOR CATHOLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS

All Catholics in the education ministry in the Diocese of Pueblo must be in good standing with the Catholic Church and be aware that support of Church teachings must be reflected in their public behavior. Non-Catholics who teach in Catholic schools, although they do not necessarily have a commitment to Catholicism, must uphold in their teaching and lifestyle basic Catholic teachings and practices, so as not to misdirect their students.

To take a position directly contrary to the Church’s teaching — whether by lifestyle or speaking publicly against Church teachings — has serious consequences, in view of the impact made on the students by the teacher. Should any situation arise that is contrary to or at variance with this diocesan policy, a pastoral approach will be taken to insure the best possible benefit to the children, and to foster the spiritual well-being of the individual in question. However, all educators employed by the school or the parish should be aware that words, conduct or action contrary to or at variance with this policy may result in discipline, including but not limited to termination.

Certain specific acts which violate the spirit of the Gospels and the Church’s teachings and which may lead to discipline and/or termination include:

    1. Contracting a marriage in violation of the rules of the Catholic Church.
    2. Living with another as husband and wife, without benefit of a valid marriage.
    3. Conviction of a felony crime which involves moral turpitude.
    4. Obtaining or assisting another to obtain an abortion.
    5. Actively engaging in homosexual activity.
    6. Immoral or dishonest conduct impairing one’s effectiveness as a teacher.
    7. Becoming pregnant, out of wedlock, while teaching/working in a Catholic school.
    8. Membership in any organization which is anti-Catholic, and whose philosophy is racist and/or any way contrary to the Church’s teaching on social justice.
    9. Engaging in any activity, immoral or illegal, which would show bad example to the students (e.g. illicit use of drugs, alcohol abuse, pornography, indecent behavior or abuse of any kind).
    10. Maintaining by word or action a position contrary to the teaching standard, doctrines, laws and norms of the Catholic Church.

The foregoing is not an exhaustive list. The school or the parish reserves the right to make a determination in each case whether or not an educator’s actions or lifestyle violate the moral or religious doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

Some dioceses have attached this policy to the employment contract, included the policy in the employment contract, or inserted the policy into the teacher’s job description. A sample is included in Appendix F.

Diocese of Raleigh242 (Employee Handbook)

TERMINATION: …

    1. i. Behavior in violation of the Code of Conduct for Church Personnel for the Diocese of Raleigh…
    2. Personal conduct or life style contrary to the moral and religious doctrine or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as interpreted by the Bishop of Raleigh. …

APPENDIX – CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CHURCH PERSONNEL …

1.4 …Church personnel in the Diocese of Raleigh agree to abide by this Code of Conduct and understand that disregarding these principles through personal conduct or life style contrary to the moral and religious doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church may lead to corrective and/or disciplinary action.

CODE OF CONDUCT SECTION 2: Principles

2.1 Church personnel of the Diocese of Raleigh shall: a. Respect the teachings and precepts of the Catholic Church. …

TERMINATION: …

    1. The employee is determined to have engaged in ethical misconduct or committed a serious infraction of Diocesan rules including, but not limited to: …
    2. Behavior in violation of the Code of Conduct for Church Personnel for the Diocese of Raleigh…
    3. Personal conduct or life style contrary to the moral and religious doctrines or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as interpreted by the Bishop of Raleigh.

Diocese of Richmond243 (Handbook)

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

In addition, for Catholic employees, conformance with religious tenets of the Catholic faith is a condition of employment, and all employees may be prohibited from performing, teaching or advocating in the workplace any practices of doctrines which are inconsistent with religious tenets of the Catholic faith.

CATHOLIC SCHOOL DECORUM POLICY

    1. Faculty members are expected to provide sound formation in the Catholic faith and academic excellence in secular subjects.
    2. Faculty members are expected to promote the purpose of Catholic education through their personal lives, professional skills, word and example, both in and outside of school.
    3. Faculty members are expected to uphold and propagate the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Catholic Church; they should be devoted to the implementation of these teachings in their daily lives.

HIRING PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

    1. In the interview process the Principal shall clearly explain and discuss the role and nature of the Catholic school and the Catholic schoolteacher in the Church’s education mission.
    2. Prospective teachers should be asked whether they understand the philosophy, goals and objectives of the school, in particular its Catholic identity and mission, and if they can work in and promote the same.

Diocese of Rockford244 (Contract)

DUTIES: A. Teacher agrees to teach in accordance with the religious faith and moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as determined by the ordinary of the Diocese or his designee: to abide by the philosophy, goals, mission, objectives, rules and regulations of SCHOOL; and to be bound by the written policies of the Diocese of Rockford and SCHOOL…

    1. TEACHER agrees that, both at work and away from work, TEACHER will abide by and live in accordance with the religious faith and moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, as determined by the Ordinary of the Diocese or his designee, and that failure to do so shall entitle SCHOOL to cancel this contract and void any and all obligations under it. …

TERMINATION OF CONTRACT: Notwithstanding the above, any act or conduct at or away from work which is non-remediable, as determined in the sole discretion of SCHOOL; or which is not consistent with TEACHER’s position…or the religious faith and/or moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, as determined by the Ordinary of the Diocese or his designee, warrants immediate discharge and termination of this contract or other disciplinary action…

Diocese of Sacramento245 (Pre-Application Statement)

(See also Pre-Application Statements)

As a community of believers, we embrace as a matter of faith, the teachings, policies and beliefs of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, as defined in the Deposit of Faith. We, therefore, reject anything which is contrary to that teaching, including: abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, artificial contraception, voluntary sterilization, and the unnecessary use of capital punishment, pornography and obscenity, adultery, cohabiting in sexual relationships of any nature outside of marriage, homosexual activity, the notion of ‘gay marriage,’ and the adoption or placement of children in anything other than a traditional family setting; …Those unable to authentically witness the Catholic faith by their lives may wish to reflect and seek pastoral guidance before applying  for employment or ministry in the Church…Persons whose lives do not witness the teachings of the Catholic faith by virtue of their own objections or disbelief, or are unable to witness the Catholic faith by virtue of their lifestyle choices or public conduct, do not meet the basic criteria to work or minister in the name of the Church.

Archdiocese of St. Louis246(Hiring Policies and Procedures)

Qualifications for Catholic School Educators:

Commitment to the educational mission of the Catholic Church.

Public witness of a lifestyle consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church

Religion certified by the Archdiocese (for teachers of religion)…

Ability to support and implement the philosophy of education for the Archdiocese of St. Louis and to contribute to the unique climate of a Catholic school

Commitment to quality education for youth

Archdiocese of St. Louis247(Application)

(See also Witness Statements)

WITNESS STATEMENT …Catholic education, which includes education, formation and transformation, exists in order to evangelize. Two important elements that make up the process of evangelization are proclamation and witness…  But all who serve in Catholic education are called to be witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. Therefore, the following Witness Statement applies to all who serve in Catholic education.

All who serve in Catholic education in the school programs of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria will witness by their public behavior, actions and words, a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Only those persons who can support this Witness Statement are to be employed by pastors and principals in the Catholic Diocese of Peoria. All who serve in Catholic education in the Catholic Diocese of St. Louis should be made aware that support of this Witness Statement must be reflected in their public behavior.

All who serve in Catholic education should: Believe in God; Support belief in Jesus Christ; Engage in prayer; Respect ecclesiastical authority; Possess a knowledge of the Catholic Church; Not take a position contrary to the Catholic Church; Demonstrate a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church; If Catholic, have not rejected the Catholic Church; Be active members of the Catholic Church, or of their own church if not Catholic.

Diocese of Salt Lake City248(Religious Qualifications)

Because the distinct purpose of the Catholic school is “to create a Christian educational community where knowledge is enlightened and enlivened by faith”, teachers employed in the diocesan school system should:

    1. Be practicing Catholics who have knowledge of the Catholic faith adequate to teach its content.
    2. Live and model the principles and moral values which are part of Catholic school curriculum.
    3. Understand and be dedicated to the ministry of Catholic education.

EXCEPTION: If a Catholic teacher is not available, or when deemed otherwise appropriate, a non-Catholic may be employed. Teachers of other faiths can make valuable contributions as members of the teaching staff.

    1. An exception may be made by the superintendent with the advice of the principal.
    2. They may be hired on the condition that they understand and are fully committed to the distinctive purpose, philosophy, and spirit of Catholic school education.
    3. Non-Catholic teachers should live within the Catholic spirit and teachings regarding lifestyle.
    4. A non-Catholic may not teach a Catholic religion class.

Diocese of San Diego249 (Pre-Application Statement)

[A]s coworkers in the vineyard of the Lord, are rightly expected to be practicing Catholics whose faith is an essential part of their daily lives, and who participate fully in the communal worship and life of the Church… It believes that conjugal love and human procreation are gifts from God to be shared only by those joined in marriage as established by God himself… It rejects anything to the contrary, including: Abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the unnecessary use of capital punishment; Pornography and obscenity, adultery, cohabiting in sexual relationships of any nature outside of marriage and homosexual activity; Any restriction of religious liberty; …Persons who do not respect the teachings of the Church, either by virtue of their own objections or disbelief, or by virtue of their lifestyle choices or public conduct, do not meet the basic criteria to work in the Church.

Archdiocese of San Francisco (Press Release Feb. 3, 2015)250

The Archdiocese of San Francisco is proposing three new clauses to the contracts for the teachers in the Archdiocesan high schools.  The purpose is to further clarify that Catholic schools—as the first clause states—“exist to affirm and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as held and taught by his Catholic Church.” The Archdiocese is also adding detailed statements of Catholic teaching on sexual morality and religious practice—taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church—into the faculty and staff handbooks…

Archdiocese of Santa Fe251 (Code of Ethics)

The following fundamental principles from Church teachings and traditions apply to the behavior of all Archdiocesan personnel as they: Strive to exhibit the highest Christian ethical standards and personal integrity in their day-to-day work and personal lives, supporting the teachings, discipline and traditions of the Catholic Church; Strive to conduct themselves in a professional and respectful manner in both Church and work environments avoiding any flagrant or public misconduct.

Diocese of Santa Rosa (Article Feb. 13, 2015)252

Santa Rosa’s Bishop Vasa puts forward new ethics code for diocese teachers

…The ethics code “reminds diocesan school employees they are both educators and ministerial agents of the Catholic Church”… the new contract and code relies on the Catechism of the Catholic Church—a foundational document promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1992—to clarify the church’s moral code, including its objection to contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia. …

The new contract [2015], like previous contracts, contains a reference to an updated ethics code for Catholic school principals and teachers. The diocesan “code of ethics” states that the church’s catechism is the source for all references to Catholic teaching, values, and morals. …

Diocese of Santa Rosa (Article Feb. 19, 2015)253

Bishop revises Catholic school teacher contracts

The ethics code “outlines personal and professional commitments and details acceptable understandings and corresponding behaviors for those entrusted with delivering Catholic education”, said a news release from Vasa.

Diocese of Santa Rosa254 (Code of ethics)

PRINCIPLE I: Commitment to the Church. Presidents, principals and teachers… have the responsibility of fostering—through their positions and in the lived reality of their lives—the values, principles, doctrines and teachings of the institutional Catholic Church or, at least, of never publicly contradicting them. …

2… to heed God in our thoughts, words and deeds…

    1. …must be models of “exemplary life both personally and professionally” (cf. employment contract). Thus, whether we are at school or outside of school, our public behavior is to be in conformity with Church teaching as expounded in The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
    2. …to know “Church Teaching” (cf. contract) and, if Catholic, to believe in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes…
    3. Recognize that, in its entirety, The Catechism of the Catholic Church constitutes the source and standard according to which all the ethical matters stated or implied in this Commitment and in the contract are understood and adjudicated.

Diocese of Santa Rosa255 (Employment agreement)

    1. The Catholic teacher [Principal] in a Catholic school must be a model of Catholic living and adhere to Catholic teachings in both personal and professional life. The non-Catholic teacher in a Catholic school must be a model of exemplary life both personally and professionally. The teacher in a Catholic school must not teach, advocate, model or in any way encourage beliefs or behaviors contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church…
    2. Cause for discharge of a teacher …public conduct-whether in personal or professional life – that violates the teachings of the Catholic Church or that reflects discredit on the school.

Diocese of Savannah256 (Contract)

TERMINATION (P.61) …

(b) The Principal may suspend and/or dismiss the Teacher for good cause, including, but not limited to, misconduct, neglect of duty, failure to comply with the matters contained within this agreement, conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, violation of the terms of this Agreement, or any conduct tending to reflect discredit upon the School or tending to impair the Teacher’s usefulness as a Teacher. The contract will, also, be terminated if the Teacher’s lifestyle is incompatible with Catholic moral values or if professional conduct is at variance with Catholic teaching.

Archdiocese of Seattle257(Covenant)

 (See also Teacher/Minister Contracts and Language)

The teacher agrees to respect Catholic values and to aid students in Christian formation by exemplifying Catholic living, both in and out of the classroom. Catholic schools educate their pupils to promote efficiently the good of the earthly city, and prepare them for the service of spreading the kingdom of God, so that by the exercise of an exemplary and apostolic life they may become, as it were, the saving leaven of human society. Bound by love to each other and to their pupils and imbued with the apostolic spirit, administrators and teachers bear witness by their life and teaching to the one teacher Christ (Gravissimum Educationis 8). This is the spirit that characterizes the covenantal relationship between the employer and the employee in the Catholic School. The following items of agreement are meant to give specific delineation to certain aspects of the relationship.

This covenant may also be terminated if the teacher’s life-style is incompatible with Catholic moral values or if his/her conduct is at variance with Catholic teaching.

Diocese of Spokane258(Policy manual)

    1. 4111. RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION. Great care shall be taken to secure the most highly qualified teachers and other personnel. Principals are the chief administrative personnel officers for the school. Principals shall follow diocesan policies and regulations in regard to personnel matters. 5. Only those teachers who are committed to the philosophy reflected in the document to Teach as Jesus Did shall be hired. Competent practicing Catholics shall be preferred.

4111.7. CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHINGS. All Catholic school employees are expected to respect, support, and publicly model the traditions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.

Diocese of Springfield IL259(Policy)

For catechesis to be effective, the catechist must be fully committed to Jesus Christ. Faith must be shared with conviction, joy, love, enthusiasm and hope. “The summit and center of catechetical formation lies in an aptitude and ability to communicate the Gospel message.”3 This is possible only when the catechist believes in the Gospel and its power to transform lives. To give witness to the Gospel, the catechist must establish a living, ever-deepening relationship with the Lord. He or she must be a person of prayer, one who frequently reflects on the scriptures and whose Christ-like living testifies to deep faith. Only men and women of faith can share faith with others, preparing the setting so that people can respond in faith to God’s grace.

The fulfillment of the unique goals of Catholic education rests largely in the hands of the catechists. The beliefs and values of each person, exemplified through his/her professional and private lives, play an essential part in the educational process. It is important, therefore, that all engaged in the catechetical ministry of the diocese give assurance that they understand what it means to be a catechist in the catechetical mission of the Church. This section sets policy for all individuals ministering within the diocese in any of the programs listed in Policy §1101. (NB: See section 1101: Includes personnel in Catholic schools)

Diocese of Springfield MA260(Employee handbook)

3-19 … employees are, in their actions, expected to share, appreciate and uphold the teachings, principles, policies and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church in the Diocese of Springfield in word and example. Grounds for discipline or discharge include teaching, promoting or living a lifestyle in contradiction to the teachings of the Catholic Church, publicly advocating for a position contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and proven violations of sexual morality standards taught by the Catholic Church, such as cohabitation, adultery, publicly advocating or practicing homosexuality and child molestation.

3-20. Whenever, by public example, an employee engages in or espouses conduct, which contravenes the doctrine and teaching of the Church, such employee may, at the sole discretion of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. We expect our employees to be ethical in their conduct. It affects our reputation and success.

Diocese of Springfield MA261(Faculty agreement)

I know I must possess and demonstrate consistently such important qualities as ethical and moral integrity, cooperation, honesty, and resourcefulness.

Diocese of Tucson262 (2011 Handbook and Contract)

3200 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATION:

    1. Administrators …

(B) Be a person of faith who upholds the teachings of the Catholic Church. A Catholic educator’s first legal duty is to be true to the teachings of the Catholic Church. A Catholic educator is an agent of the Catholic Church and must hold to its teachings. (Shaughnessy).

    1. Teachers As role models for students, Catholic schoolteachers shall meet the following minimum requirements:

(A) Same as Administrators (B) above …

3500 Professional Conduct. Teachers in a Catholic school have been placed in a position of trust and are expected to maintain professional relationships at all times with their students both in and out of school, including vacation periods.

3510 A. Administrators, teachers, and staff shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision, or circumstance which:

    1. Violates the educational tradition, teachings, and mission of the Diocese
    2. Violates Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church. …
    3. Administrators, teachers and all staff shall not cause or allow conditions, activities, or decisions that endanger or adversely affect the school’s public image or credibility, particularly in ways that would hinder the accomplishment of its mission.

Diocese of Tucson263(Contract)

CONTRACT: The Teacher agrees to conduct himself or herself at all times in accordance with Catholic morality and the rules and regulations of the Diocese of Tucson and the Parish so as to avoid any embarrassment or scandal to the Diocese or the Parish.  The Teacher agrees that if he or she should engage in any conduct in or out of the workplace which, in the judgment of the Parish, constitutes serious or public immorality, sacrilege, lewd conduct, endangerment of health or safety, abusive conduct, public scandal, or rejection of, or the holding up to doubt or question of the official teaching, doctrine or laws of the Roman Catholic Church, the Teacher may be dismissed immediately by the Parish without prior notice.  If the Teacher’s employment is terminated pursuant to this Clause, he or she may, within seven (7) days of his or her dismissal, petition the Parish Pastor to, at his discretion, review the termination decision.  Petition to the Parish Pastor shall be the sole and exclusive means of review of dismissals for violation of this Clause.

Diocese of Tulsa264(Contract)

3b. To, as a minister of the Catholic faith, teach and act in strict accordance with the precepts and teachings of the Catholic Church…

Diocese of Tulsa265 (Code of Ethical Standards)

Code of Ethical Standards. …

Section III1. …

    1. Sexual Conduct

3.1 Church leaders who have made a commitment to celibacy or who have made a marital commitment are called to fidelity to their promises, and to witness to this fidelity in all their relationships. Unmarried Church leaders are expected to exercise chastity in keeping with their state in life.

3.2. Any sexual activity with persons who are not the spouse of the Church leader is in violation of this code.

3.3 It is the personal and professional obligation of the Church leader to be knowledgeable about what constitutes sexual exploitation of another and to be familiar with the laws of the State of Oklahoma regarding sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and sexual assault. …

3.5 Any allegation of sexual misconduct will be taken seriously and reported to the Vicar General of the Dioceses.

Diocese of Victoria266 (Policy)

…a condition of employment will include the obligation to support the distinctive character of the Diocese of Victoria by appropriate personal conduct and respect for the Catholic faith.

Diocese of Wichita267(Application)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I understand that active membership in the Catholic Church is a bona fide occupational qualification for employment as a teacher in Catholic schools. For this reason, preference may be given to hiring practicing Catholic who are in good standing with the Catholic Church, or to persons whose moral convictions and behavior support and emulate the teachings of the Catholic Church. 2. The Catholic Church teaches that each marriage is sacred and permanent. Therefore, I understand that persons who are living together as though the conjugal relationship existed, or who have remarried without an annulment dissolution of the first marriage may not be hired or retained in employment. 6. I understand that if it is found that I am, or have been involved in the commission of any serious crime, public scandal, or other conduct substantially impairing my professional effectiveness, or that I have promulgated teachings inconsistent with established Catholic teachings, or that I have openly adopted a way of life inconsistent with Catholic moral standards, or that I have otherwise portrayed myself in a way that is not appropriate for student emulation in a Catholic school, I may not be hired or retained in employment with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.

Diocese of Yakima268  (Policy manual and contracts)

1.8(A). All employees of a Catholic school must act in an honest and forthright manner in all workplace concerns…by conducting themselves in a moral and ethical manner consistent with Catholic principles. …

1.9. The principal must be a practicing Catholic, live a life style consistent with Catholic moral values, and exercise professional conduct consistent with Catholic teaching…

3.1(A) All employees who work in a Catholic school of the Diocese of Yakima agree to live a life style compatible with Catholic moral values, exercise professional conduct consistent with Catholic teaching, and promote the Catholic identity of the schools through personal example…

3.21(B) …2. Conduct, behavior or interpersonal relationships inconsistent with the mission of the Church, as determined by the principal or pastor;

    1. Public support or advocacy of issues/organizations that oppose the teachings of Church. …

Diocese of Yakima269 (Teacher Contract)

#10. The contract may also be terminated if the teacher’s life-style is incompatible with Catholic moral values or if professional conduct is at variance with the policies of the Diocese of Yakima.

Diocese of Yakima 270 (Principal Contract)

#6. Cause for discharge related to Principal conduct shall include, but is not limited to, the following: public rejection of the official teachings, doctrine, or laws of the Roman Catholic Church

Diocese of Youngstown271(Manual)

    1. Policy: All employees who work in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Youngstown must agree to respect Catholic values and help students in their faith formation by exemplifying Catholic living both in and out of the school. This includes Adherence to Catholic Teaching. This is the spirit which guides the relationship between the employer and employee in Catholic schools.

CODE OF CONDUCT: A. Professional Standards

Faculty members will provide their students solid formation in the Catholic religion and academic excellence in secular subjects.

Faculty and staff members must be willing to promote the purpose of Catholic Education through their personal lives, professional skills, word and example, both in and outside of school.

Faculty and staff members must uphold and propagate the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Catholic Church; they must be devoted to the implementation of these teachings in the daily conduct of the students.

Faculty and staff members who are Catholic must be in good standing with the church. All married faculty members must be in marriages recognized as valid by the Catholic Church. Faculty and staff members will not engage in behavior or make statements which are in conflict with the teachings of the Catholic Church. Faculty members will promote and encourage frequent liturgical celebrations as well as prayer before and after class. Faculty and staff members will encourage students to follow standards of behavior that promote academic excellence, the dress code of the school, and Christian respect for all persons, property, and lawful authority, especially the authority of the Catholic Church.

    1. Addendums

Diocese of Lafayette272

Principal/Teacher Contract

Addendum

This addendum is made part of the Diocese of Lafayette Principal (Teacher) Contract.  The following non-exhaustive and non-exclusive list of acts is deemed to be at variance and inconsistent with the moral and religious doctrines and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church:

    1. Contracting a marriage in violation of the rules of the Catholic Church. CCC Nos. 1603; 1614; 1650-51: 2384.
    2. Living with another as husband and wife, without benefit of a valid marriage. CCC Nos. 2350; 2353; 2390; 2391.
    3. Conviction of a felony or a crime which involves moral turpitude. CCC Nos. 2268; 2284-5; 2297ff; 2353-56; 2387-89.
    4. Obtaining or assisting another to obtain an abortion. CCC Nos. 2271; 2272.
    5. Actively engaging in homosexual activity. CCC Nos. 2357-59.
    6. Immoral or dishonest conduct impairing one’s effectiveness as a principal. CCC Nos. 1952; 2039; 2284-85; 2408.
    7. Becoming pregnant out of wedlock while teaching/working in a Catholic school; fathering a child out of wedlock while teaching/working in a Catholic School. CCC Nos. 1935; 1947; 2284-85.
    8. Membership in any organization which is anti-Catholic, and whose philosophy is racist and/or any was contrary to the Church’s teaching on social justice.
    9. Engaging in any activity, immoral or illegal, which sets a bad example for students (e.g. illicit use of drugs, alcohol abuse, pornography, indecent behavior or abuse of any kind). CCC Nos. 2284-85; 2354; 2335.
    10. Maintaining by word or action a position contrary to the teaching standards, doctrines, laws and norms of the Catholic Church. CCC Nos. 2030; 2032; 2044; 2072-3. NOTE: References are to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
    11. Handbook-Based Policies

Archdiocese of Kansas City273 (Handbook)

After a discussion of the qualities of a Catholic school, Archbishop Joseph Naumann inserts a letter to his “Co-Workers in Catholic Education”. Within the letter the Archbishop describes the mission of Catholic education as emanating from Jesus Christ and states that teacher have a “special ministry” a “vocation” in the Catholic school. He states, “You are ‘called’ and ‘sent’ by Jesus, through the Church, as were the apostles. You are, as the apostles, privileged to teach and to lead. You bear witness to the TRUTH; you bring LIFE, as Jesus did.” He concludes, “May you find great joy and peace in being a ‘co-worker’ with Jesus and the Church in your vocation of providing Catholic education for our youth and young people.”

Qualifications and Expectations for Teachers. Teachers have a special calling to personal holiness and apostolic mission. They reveal the message of Christ not only by word but also by every action of their lives. It is important, therefore, that teachers understand that first and foremost they are catechists, regardless of their teaching assignment. To fulfill this religious ministry, the Catholic school teacher must be a person of faith; he/she must be one who believes in God and strives to live a life of virtue, following the example of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church*. A Catholic school teacher cannot personally be a part of a group or organization that advocates for activities that are contrary to the moral teaching of the Catholic Church*. Except under extreme and unusual circumstances, all teachers should be practicing Roman Catholics. As such they should be active in their parishes with respect to time, talent and treasure.

All teachers in Catholic schools must be able to accept and convey both the religious and educational goals of the Catholic school and to give service in accord with the Sacred Scriptures and teachings of the Church*. They must model Christian behaviors and attitudes; display professional attitudes and a dedication to Church teaching; participate in ongoing spiritual and professional formation; use instructional strategies that are most effective in promoting mastery learning; communicate effectively with students, parents/guardians, teachers and administrators; present content using a variety of methods that are sensitive to the individual needs of our students as well as the Archdiocesan curriculum outcomes; and maintain a classroom conducive to learning.

Faith Development. As a component of this faith formation, teachers shall participate in the school-provided review of Catholic Church teachings that are described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and various documents from the Vatican and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, including but not limited to, Church teachings related to the dignity of life from conception to natural death, sanctity of marriage, and the beauty of chastity. Specific Church teachings related to abortion, InVitro Fertilization, sterilization, contraception, homosexual lifestyle, marriage, and chastity, as well as Church teachings regarding social issues such as racism, care for the poor, religious liberty, and sharing of goods shall be included in this review.

Diocese of Syracuse274(Teacher Handbook, 2014)

Qualities of Catholic School Educators. We set forth here the qualities and attitudes which should be a part of the life style of all Catholic School educators. These characteristics should stimulate all who are involved in the educational ministry to integrate religious truths and values as they strive to develop the full intellectual, religious, social, physical and emotional potential of each student. The Catholic school educator is a person of faith: Who reflects the Gospel message and professes that message in action and personal attitudes: Whose own prayer life is ‘living, conscious and active’; Who is truly committed to and enthusiastic about being part of Catholic education and, therefore, constantly strives toward excellence in teaching and in dedication to the Catholic School system; Who makes students aware of the need to be ministers of the faith as they grow into adulthood as lay persons, as priests, or members of the religion; Who accepts and supports the faith community not only as a concept to be taught but a reality to be lived. The Catholic school educator is a person who builds community: Who works to form a strong community with understanding, cooperation and support among faculty, students and parents: Who promotes social justice and peace in the school and the local community; Who is aware of the human worth and dignity of students and so maintains a classroom and school where the environment is conducive to the growth and development of students; and who helps to develop student potential for Christian leadership within the parish, school and the civic community. The Catholic School educator is a person who serves: Who is generous and unselfish in responding to the needs of the administrators, faculty, parents, students and the Church; Who strives to create ways for students to help each other in all school activities; Who fosters apostolic consciousness and commitment in himself/herself and in students, helping them to be aware of the need to be active and concerned about others in their family, in their community and in their parishes; Who helps students develop skills necessary for adjusting in a changing world and society; Who instills in students those human values necessary to community-trust, freedom and fairness.

Philosophy and Principles. Each Catholic School Teacher and Administrator shall treat students, parents, and colleagues in a manner consistent with the Gospel message and the Catholic Church’s teaching. Each Teacher and Administrator is also expected to be familiar with the philosophy and principles set forth in the below-listed documents, which set forth the Church’s philosophy and teachings regarding Catholic education and the essential convictions and commitments of Catholic educators:

    • To Teach as Jesus Did: A Pastoral Message on Catholic Education (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1973).
    • Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2d ed. (Washington, DC: USCCB Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997), available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM (last accessed July 28, 2010.
    • Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith (1982), www.vatican.va/…/rc_con_ ccatheduc_doc_19821015_lay-catholics_en.html (last accessed July 28, 2010). 10/27/14 Page 9
    • Renewing Our Commitment to Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Third Millennium (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2005), available at http://www.usccb.org/bishops/schools.pdf (last accessed July 28, 2010).

Diocese of Boise275(Human Resource Handbook)

Because the parish/school is a church employer, the job description should also recognize that there is not simply a “job” function to the particular position, but also a “mission” to the ministry performed, and this mission should be consistent with the vision of the ministry provided. Even clerical and administrative positions are a ministry contributing to the overall well-being of the parish’s/school/s overall mission. The descriptions should be written with this thought in mind, and, if possible, articulate the position’s relationship to the overall ministry of the parish.

Diocese of Davenport276(Covenantal language, Call, and Commissioning)

    1. CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS AND COMPENSATION
    2. A Covenant Relationship.

The contract/agreement in the educational system of the Diocese of Davenport established a covenant relationship for a definite period between the individual employee and the Catholic educational community. It documents a call and a commissioning to share in the educational mission of proclaiming the Good News to all of creation. The contract is an agreement between the board of education and the employee. It specifies the nature of the services to the Catholic community intended by the board in exchange for a specified compensation. In addition to the terms of employment usually contained in contracts specifying accountabilities and compensation for same, the contract should say in a simple way the expectations with regard to our Catholic beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. It is desirable that the contract affirm that all parties concerned are to endeavor to live ideals of Catholic life including the building of Catholic community and the fostering of social justice. For boards and administrators, social justice includes such things as a just wage, fairness in decision making, the treatment of employees with dignity and respect. For employees it means “a day’s work for a day’s pay.” It means living not only the letter but the spirit of the goals and ideals of the Catholic educational program.

Diocese of Gary277 (Teacher Employment Agreement)

THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT is made and entered into this ____ day of ____________, 2015, in _________________, Indiana by and between ________________________________________________ (hereinafter called “school”), and _______________________________, (hereinafter called “teacher”).  The School and teacher agree as follows:

    1. Ministerial Duties/Morals Clauses
    2. To teach in a Catholic school is to accept a ministry. The teaching ministry must clearly reflect the Catholic Christian spirit of love, understanding and humility. This ministry is witnessed not only in the manner in which the teacher performs his/her task of teaching, but also in the example the teacher sets for the students both in and outside the classroom.  This witness extends beyond the teacher’s individual classroom to include everyone associated with the school, parish, and diocese.
    3. Because the teaching ministry is exercised in the context of the Catholic Church, it is hierarchical in nature. Respect for the authority and earnest cooperation with the principal and administration of the school are essential. Therefore, the teacher understands, accepts, and agrees to maintain at all times, the proper Catholic Christian attitude and spirit of cooperation as an essential element of complying with the terms of this contract.
    4. Furthermore, in carrying out his/her duties under this agreement, the teacher agrees to faithfully reflect the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, in mind and in deed, and at all times, both in and out of school, to abide by the official teachings of the church, as interpreted by the Bishop of the Diocese of Gary. Teacher understands that Catholic theology is part of every subject taught in the school and that part of teacher’s ministry in the school is to apply the theological doctrine and teachings of the Catholic Church. Failure to comply may result in the immediate termination of this contract…
    5. Termination of Contract. This contract is a contract for employment at-will and may be terminated by the teacher, the pastor of the parish, the principal of the school, and/or the Superintendent of Catholic Schools (hereinafter called “Superintendent”), at any time, for any reason.
    6. a) The School may terminate this contract for reasons including, but not limited to, the following:
    • Failure to abide by the terms of Part A “Ministerial Duties/Morals Clauses” above.
    • A shift of enrollment which eliminated the need for employing the teacher.
    • The determination that the teacher has not competently fulfilled his/her teaching duties.
      • The determination that the teacher is involved in an offensive behavior or has taken a public position against any of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
      • The determination that the teacher is unable to perform his/her duties in the classroom.
      • In the case of members of a religious congregation this contract shall be considered terminated if the herein named teacher ceases to function as a member of that religious congregation.
      • For any other justifiable cause.

Diocese of Gaylord278(Parish Ministry Contract-Parochial School Teacher Revised 5/14)

This PARISH MINISTRY CONTRACT made this _____ of, by and between Parish of _______, (hereinafter referred to as “Parish”), and _______, (hereinafter referred to as “Teacher/Minister”).

WITNESSETH:

The Parish hereby agrees to hire the above-named Teacher/Minister to engage in educational ministry in School (hereinafter referred to as “School”) for one (1) school year beginning _____, 20__ and ending _____, 20__. The Teacher/Minister needs to be present in school from _____, 20__ to _____, 20__. This Employment Contract is not automatically renewable. The School will pay the Teacher/Minister an annual salary of $_____________, in equal installments, payable (time of payment – i.e. biweekly), and subject to payroll deductions required by law and other deductions authorized by the Teacher/Minister. Any additional benefits will be set forth in a supplement and attached to this Contract.

The Teacher/Minister hereby accepts the terms of this Contract and the accompanying job description and agrees to perform the services required of the School and will assist the School in carrying out its Catholic educational ministry and policies during the entire term of this Contract. The Teacher/Minister recognizes and accepts the fact that the School is an apostolate of the sponsoring Parish; that every teacher in the School is a minister in that apostolate, and that contracting to teach in a Catholic School implies understanding its special mission and orientation. Accordingly, the Teacher/Minister agrees to conduct him/herself personally and professionally so as to reflect plainly and consistently the values, ministerial, and operational principles of the Parish/School, the Diocese of Gaylord, and the Universal Church. The Teacher/Minister also recognizes and acknowledges the fact that there is within the Catholic Church a body of officially taught and commonly accepted beliefs, the communication of which is a fundamental purpose and mission of a Catholic School and that its students have a right to expect such communication implicitly and explicitly from its teachers regardless of the subject areas, grades, or courses being taught, and the Teacher/Minister agrees not to make any communications to students that in any way contradict or reject those teachings or commonly held beliefs. The Teacher/Minister further understands and agrees that it is her or his duty to teach/administer and live in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes, and agrees to loyally observe the general rules and regulations applicable to those who minister in Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Gaylord as well as such special regulations or decrees as have been fixed and promulgated by the Parish, School or Ordinary of the Diocese of Gaylord. This Contract takes the place of and supersedes any and all prior existing contracts between the parties to this Contract.

The Teacher/Minister represents that all information submitted in any application materials is truthful and accurate and he/she holds all necessary certificates and other qualifications required by law.

It is mutually agreed between the parties hereto that this Contract shall terminate upon expiration of the School year term herein contracted for. Nothing in this Contract may be construed as a promise of employment after the end date. Nothing in this Contract may be construed as a promise of tenure. An offer to renew this Contract with the same or similar terms may be made at the end of the employment period at the sole discretion of the Principal and Pastor.

Within the school year, this Contract may be terminated for any one of the following reasons:

    1. Uncertain financial conditions within the School or Diocese;
    2. Complete or partial closing of a Teacher’s department, office or position;
    3. Unwillingness of a Teacher to abide by the policies, procedures and rules of the School, Parish or Diocese;
    4. Work performance that does not manifest competency or the fulfillment of basic expectations and requirements of the position;
    5. Excessive use of sick leave;
    6. Inability to work within the basic philosophy, goals and purposes of the School, Parish and Diocese of Gaylord;
    7. Chronic tardiness, chronic/problematic substance abuse, professional or criminal violations;
    8. Insubordination, intimidation, or failure to follow instructions of superiors;
    9. Misrepresentations in a Teacher’s application, resume, evaluations, or work records or reports;
    10. Personal practices; malpractice; unethical practice; conflicts with fellow workers or attitudes or behaviors within or without the work place which are contrary to the teachings and doctrinal practices of the Catholic Church, or affect the morale, job performance or rights of other workers or reflect negatively upon the Parish, School or Diocese or colleagues; or lessen respect for lawful authority in the Church at the parish, diocesan or universal levels, or conflict with the mission of the sponsoring parish.
    11. By mutual consent at any time;
    12. The teacher may resign at any time by submitting at least fifteen (15) days written notice to the Principal of the School.

The foregoing items for which the School may determine that a Teacher/Minister’s services shall be terminated are not complete or exclusive of other reasons not articulated here. There may be other conduct or circumstances which would cause the School to determine that a Teacher/Minister’s services are no longer required or desired. The Teacher/Minister agrees that, in the event of termination of this Contract, he/she shall not be entitled to any compensation from and after the date of such termination. The amount of compensation shall be determined on a pro rata basis based on the date of termination.

During the Contract term, the Teacher/Minister has the right to present to principal and/or pastor any matter of personal concern or dissatisfaction regarding their employment or dismissal. After all informal efforts to resolve the issue have proved ineffective the complaint will be handled according to the formal complaint policy as listed in the Diocesan Employee Manual. Non-renewal of the contract is not a matter of formal complaint.

Diocese of Salina279 (Contract)

Teachers understand that they are ministerial employees subject to a morals clause requiring them to live in accordance with Catholic teachings, inside and outside the classroom, regardless of their own personal faith.

Archdiocese of Seattle280(Standardized Teacher Ministerial Covenant)

Be the shepherds of the flock God gave you, and look after it willingly as God would want you to, and not unwillingly. Do not work for mere pay but from a real desire to serve. Do not try to rule over those who have been given into your care, but be examples to the flock (1Peter 5:2-3).

The teacher agrees to respect Catholic values and to aid students in Christian formation by exemplifying Catholic living, both in and out of the classroom. Catholic schools educate their pupils to promote efficiently the good of the earthly city, and prepare them for the service of spreading the kingdom of God, so that by the exercise of an exemplary and apostolic life they may become, as it were, the saving leaven of human society. Bound by love to each other and to their pupils and imbued with the apostolic spirit, administrators and teachers bear witness by their life and teaching to the one teacher Christ (Gravissimum Educationis, 8).

This is the spirit that characterizes the covenantal relationship between the employer and the employee on the Catholic School.

The following items of agreement are meant to give specific delineation to certain aspects of the relationship. This covenant is entered into this day of ___, for the academic year 20____- 20____ beginning September 1, 20___ and concluding August 31, 20___ by and between, hereinafter referred to as “teacher” and , hereinafter referred to as “employer”…

    1. The teacher agrees to comply with all terms of this covenant; demonstrate general competency; perform the duties incumbent upon him/her as a teacher and give professional evidence of effective teaching.

This covenant may also be terminated if the teacher’s life-style is incompatible with Catholic moral values or if his/her conduct is at variance with Catholic teaching.

Safe Environment Documents

Diocese of Amarillo281 (Code of Conduct excerpt)

As leaders in the Church founded by Christ, those who minister within our parishes and institutions must always seek to uphold Christian values and conduct. In addition to following the Gospel and its mandates, they will want to act properly at all times in the light of contemporary society and its needs.

Diocese of Beaumont282 (Ethical and Responsible Conduct Policies)

ETHICAL AND RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT POLICIES: Basic ethical and moral standards. This policy establishes basic standards of ethical and moral conduct for all church personnel associated with the Diocese of Beaumont. Fundamental to our mission is the personal integrity and the highest ethical standards of all those who represent the diocese. The intent of this policy is to insure that all personnel follow the traditional strong moral and ethical standards of the Catholic Church. Church personnel enjoy a public trust and confidence. It is essential that they view their own actions and intentions objectively to assure that no observer would have grounds to believe that any irregularity in conduct exists. All church personnel have a responsibility to uphold the standards of the Catholic Church in their day-to-day work and personal lives. These include, but are not limited to:

Prohibited Conduct: All church personnel are to exhibit the highest ethical standards and personal integrity, therefore church personnel should not engage in the following: Formally rejecting the teachings of the Catholic Church or the Christian way of life; Exhibiting actions that are disruptive to the ministry and public worship; Procuring or participating in abortion, homicide, or euthanasia; Engaging in behavior contrary to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church; Adultery, promiscuity, illicit co-habitation…

Diocese of Wilmington283(Safe Environment Principles)

PRINCIPLES. These Standards are based on three principles of integrity found in all effective ministerial leaders. Principle one is reflective of a basic understanding of self, especially in respect to one’s spiritual vocation. Principle two, reflecting the Lord’s command to love neighbor as self calls for a deep sensitivity and respect for others. Principle three, addresses the responsibility for balanced ministerial relationships. All trust-based relationships depend on each individual’s ability to balance these two principles of self-knowledge and a keen regard for others. In ministerial relationships, this burden always falls on the minister, the individual being sought for service, help and advice. Nearly all breaches of integrity and morality are ruptures of this trust-based relationship.

    1. Church Personnel will exhibit the highest Christian ethical Standards and personal integrity reflective of the teachings of the Gospel. Church Personnel will at all times conduct themselves in a professional manner including developing and maintaining the level of professional competence commensurate with their ministerial duties.
    2. Church Personnel will witness God’s love showing sensitivity to, reverence and respect for each individual with and to whom they minister.
    3. Church Personnel will be conscious of the unique power they have in relationships due to the trust they are given and the visibility of their witness and leadership.
    4. Church Personnel assume the full burden for setting and maintaining clear, appropriate physical and emotional boundaries in all ministerial relationships.
    5. Church Personnel will avoid taking unfair advantage of ministerial relationships for the benefit of themselves or others.
    6. Church Personnel will not physically, sexually or emotionally abuse or neglect any person.
    7. Church Personnel have a duty to report their own ethical and professional misconduct and the misconduct of others.

 

 

 

Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: Best Practices Brief

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In an effort to encourage discussion and to assist educational leaders as they ensure the Catholic identity of their schools, The Cardinal Newman Society has compiled these best practices in Catholic school employment agreements from Catholic dioceses in the United States.  Statements included represent strong examples of different mechanisms dioceses are using to articulate the expectations they have of their teachers in the area of faith and morals.  Best practice in invoking a faith or morals clause involves ensuring the teacher understands and participates in the school’s religious mission and is aware of areas of potential moral concern.

Diocesan policies and statements regarding teachers were collected in the second quarter of 2015 primarily from documents publicly available on the Internet, and in some cases by direct contact with a diocese. This brief presents but a few selected examples from a much larger gathering of employment documents from more than 125 dioceses, which are published in our companion report, Faith and Morals Language in Catholic School Teacher Employment Documents: A Compilation from Diocesan Statements, Handbooks and Contracts.  If a diocese is not included in either report, it does not necessarily mean that the diocese does not address faith and moral issues in its employment documents, but only reflects our inability to obtain such documents.

Excerpts have been taken from longer documents and formatted for consistency.  Because referenced documents are likely to change over time, direct contact with a diocese is the only way to ensure up-to-date accuracy.

The Cardinal Newman Society’s researchers are currently using the more extensive collection in forthcoming research on this topic.  The hope is by making this raw, compiled data readily available to Church officials, it might prove helpful for them as they evaluate their own practices.  This document is not presented as legal advice.  Catholic school leaders are encouraged to speak with each other and with their attorneys about their approaches to critical employment issues. As a corollary to this piece, the Newman Society has published a comprehensive overview of the Magisterium’s expectations of its Catholic teachers, The Call to Teach: Expectations for Catholic Educators in Magisterial Teaching.

Selected exemplar resources in this brief include:

  1. Pre-Application and Application Statements
  2. Stand-Alone Faith and Morality Documents
    1. Bishop’s Statements Incorporated into Employment Agreements
    2. Morality Statements
    3. Witness Statements
    4. Belief Statements/Oaths
  3. Contract and Handbook Clauses
    1. Generic Morals Clause Language: Positive and Negative
    2. Specific Language within Employment Documents
    3. Addendums
  4. Handbook-based policies
    1. Formative Language
    2. Dealing with infractions
  5. Description of Teachers as “Ministers” and Ministry Clauses
  6. Safe Environment Documents

Pre-Application and Application Statements

One tool some dioceses are using to ensure from the onset of employment that prospective Catholic teachers understand the faith-based nature of their responsibilities is referred to as “pre-application statement.”  This no-nonsense approach has the benefit of ensuring that future employees will not be surprised to discover that they are working for the Catholic Church, or that being a Church employee requires remaining a credible witness to the faith.

The Dioceses of Sacramento and San Diego (included in compilation) both have strong examples of “Pre-Application Statements” which prospective employees read and sign prior to completing an application.  The Diocese of Sacramento’s statement is longer by two pages and includes a narrative on the mission of the Church and the expectation of employees to share in that mission and give public witness to the Catholic faith through their life choices. The Diocese of Sacramento specifies that “the notion of ‘gay marriage’, and the adoption or placement of children in anything other than a traditional family setting, secularism, the paring back of religious freedom rights, or the restriction of … liberty of conscience, anti-Catholicism, or anti-Catholic biases, [and] the abuse of alcohol or the use of illegal narcotics or other controlled substances” are contrary to the teaching of the Church.  Both Dioceses clarify that living a life of integrity and personal witness is a requirement for employment.  They give clear notice that “employment by the Roman Catholic Church is not for everyone” and that “Those unable to authentically witness the Catholic faith by their lives may wish to reflect and seek pastoral guidance before applying for employment or ministry in the Church”.

Also included in this section is a “Non-discrimination Clause” from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, which clearly articulates the right of the Church to prefer Catholic candidates and that faithfulness to Catholic faith and morals is a criterion of employment selection and retention.

Sample “Pre-Application Statement” for the Diocese of Sacramento1:

Employment/Ministry in the Church Pre-Application Statement

“Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.”

(Mark 16:15)

Mission Statement of the Diocese of Sacramento

We, the People of God of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, guided by the Holy Spirit, are called by Christ to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God through prayer, praise and sacraments and to witness the Gospel values of love, justice, forgiveness and service to all.

All Christ’s faithful, by virtue of their baptism, are called by God to contribute to the sanctification and transformation of the world.  They do this by fulfilling their own particular duties in the spirit of the Gospel and Christian discipleship.  Working in the Church is a path of Christian discipleship to be encouraged.  Those who work for the Church continue the mission and ministry of Christ.  Their service is unique and necessary for the life and growth of the Church.  This has been our tradition from the beginning, as echoed in the words of St. Paul who worked with and relied on other men and women in the work of spreading the Gospel.  St. Paul was known to acknowledge and thank them, at times calling them, “my co-workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3-16).

The Church needs the services of dedicated lay persons who have a clear knowledge and proper understanding of the teachings of the Church and a firm adherence to those teachings, and whose words and deeds are in conformity with the Gospel.  All who seek employment or ministry in the Church are expected to continue their formation and their willingness to learn and grow and to deepen their desire to serve the Lord with excellence and generosity.  Those employed by the Church in our Catholic schools, parishes and institutions, as coworkers in the vineyard of the Lord, are rightly expected to be practicing Catholics whose faith is an essential part of their daily lives and who participate fully in the communal worship and life of the Church.

We recognize that persons who are non-Catholic Christians are also called by the Lord to stand before the world as a witness to his life and resurrection.  We, therefore, welcome collaboration with such persons of good faith who share our Catholic vision on important social, moral and ethical issues.  It is important for anyone interested in collaborating with us in our work and ministry to have an understanding of the Catholic Church and her teachings.

Our Catholic religious beliefs provide the basic framework for our moral, ethical and social teachings.  It is important for anyone interested in collaborating with us in our work and ministry to have an understanding of these teachings.

The Catholic Church has a special commitment to the poor, the oppressed, and the immigrant.  We are committed to promoting a “Culture of Life” from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.  We believe in the inherent dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and possessing basic rights endowed by God, including the right to life, the right to religious liberty, and the right to be treated justly with dignity and respect.  We believe human sexuality and human procreation are gifts from God to be shared through the risen Christ only by those joined in marriage, an institution that is itself instituted by Almighty God.  We believe that all persons are called by God to live chaste lives by virtue of their own dignity and according to their state of life.  We believe in the rights of workers to just working conditions, just wages and benefits, as well as the right to organize and join unions or other associations.  We oppose all forms of oppression and exploitation, including racism, sexism, pornography, sexual abuse and harassment, and unlawful discrimination.

As a community of believers, we embrace as a matter of faith, the teachings, policies and beliefs of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, as defined in the Deposit of Faith.  We, therefore, reject anything which is contrary to that teaching, including:

  • Abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, artificial contraception, voluntary sterilization, and the unnecessary use of capital punishment;
  • Pornography and obscenity, adultery, cohabiting in sexual relationships of any nature outside of marriage, homosexual activity, the notion of “gay marriage,” and the adoption or placement of children in anything other than a traditional family setting;
  • Secularism, the paring back of religious freedom rights, or the restriction of religious liberty and liberty of conscience, anti-Catholicism, or anti-Catholic biases;
  • The abuse of alcohol or the use of illegal narcotics or other controlled substances; and
  • Violence or the use of force to resolve social, political or religious problems.

Must the Church’s employees share the Church’s vision and witness the Catholic faith in their life and work?

Yes.  Every member of the Church must stand before the world as a witness to the life and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  This is particularly important for those person who work and minister in the name of the Church.  In our daily affairs and our work, we, as faithful disciples of the risen Christ, must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity that can be withdrawn from God’s dominion.

The Diocese, in its role as an employer, expects all employees to be persons, who by word and deed, support and advocate the positions of the Catholic Church.  We understand that employment by the Roman Catholic Church is not for everyone, because there are people of good faith who disagree with our teachings and views.

Those unable to authentically witness the Catholic faith by their lives may wish to reflect and seek pastoral guidance before applying for employment or ministry in the Church.

Does the obligation to share the Church’s vision also pertain to employees who are not Catholic?

Yes. As Catholics, we believe that our Faith is universal — that’s what the word “Catholic” means.  Thus, even if a person is not Catholic he or she remains called by the Lord to stand before the world as a witness to Christ’s life and resurrection.  Persons whose lives do not witness the teachings of the Catholic faith by virtue of their own objections or disbelief, or are unable to witness the Catholic faith by virtue of their lifestyle choices or public conduct, do not meet the basic criteria to work or minister in the name of the Church.

After you have carefully reflected on what is contained in this Pre-Application Statement, we invite you to complete the Acknowledgement and Applicant Questionnaire, if you are interested in seeking employment with the Diocese of Sacramento.

Acknowledgment

By signing below, I hereby acknowledge that I have received and read the foregoing Pre-Application Statement of the Diocese of Sacramento.  After reading and reflecting upon the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic Church, and the manner in which those matters impact lay employees of the Diocese, I wish to apply for employment with the Diocese, with a full understanding of the religious nature of the Diocese as an employer.  I understand the Diocese’s expectations that if my application for lay employment results in my being hired, I will be subject to standards of conduct that incorporate the teachings and beliefs of the Catholic Church as set forth in the Pre-Application Statement, and that these performance expectations will be a material condition of my employment.

Sample Application Statement of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend180

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Inc. maintains a policy of nondiscrimination in its hiring and employment practices.  Hiring and employment practices are based on job-related criteria including, but not limited to, one’s fidelity to the Catholic faith, comporting oneself in a manner that is not detrimental to the Catholic Church or inconsistent with its teachings or principles, individual merit, ability, experience, performance, education, and training.  This policy extends to all aspects of employment including recruitment, selection, compensation, reasonable accommodation, promotion, transfer, training, retention, and termination.  Since the distinctive and unique mission of the Diocese is primarily religious, the Diocese will, whenever possible, hire a Catholic in good standing to perform work for the Diocese.

  1. Stand-Alone Faith and Morality Documents

To address the faith and morals of teachers currently employed in their schools and to make Church teachings more explicit, several dioceses have created specific documents expressly related to this topic.  Some helpfully refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a reference point for non-acceptable behavior.  Direct reference to the entire Catechism is a best practice, because it not only solves the potential legal question of where to find authoritative, clearly articulated, and binding theological and moral norms for use in adjudication, but also has the added benefit of addressing a much broader scope of possible flashpoints in a deeper context than can be addressed in an employment document.  This helps clarify two important legal questions in a termination related to morality clauses: Was the employee aware of what was expected (did they know that their behavior violated expectations), and how is immorality defined or understood in particular instances so as to avoid an arbitrary enactment of the clause by the employer?  These stand-alone documents seek to attend to such issues and take several forms including: formal teachings by the bishop incorporated into employment agreements, moral standards documents, witness statements, and professions of faith.  Examples of each are below.

Bishop’s Teachings Incorporated into Employment Agreements

Because of the highly contentious nature of faith and morals issues, some pastorally minded bishops have issued specific instruction on what is expected from their teachers.  The Bishops of Santa Rosa and Cleveland have both followed this route.

The revised contract (2015) for teachers in the Diocese of Cleveland181 presents a detailed listing of moral norms expected of Catholic school teachers who, whether certified catechists or not, are expected to model, as well as teach, the Catholic faith.  The Cleveland Diocese also includes a Statement on the Purpose of Catholic Schools and the Role of Teachers and Administrators in Catholic Schools182written by Bishop Richard Lennon and incorporated as an attachment to each contract.  The document describes the mission of Catholic education and forcefully emphasizes the elevated-employee/ministerial nature of administrators and teachers within a Catholic school.  The Bishop states it is “primarily through you [the teacher] that the school is able to cultivate the love of Christ and kindle the light of Christ in the hearts of its students” and “[a]s such, it is a great honor and privilege [for teachers] to play such a special and important role in the life of the Church”.  The document emphasizes the importance of personal integrity, calling on numerous magisterial documents such as Gravissimum Educationis (section 8) and Lay Catholics in Schools, Witnesses to Faith (section 32) to address the necessity of modeling Christ, the perfect teacher.

Below are excerpts from Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa, which demonstrate that while much of the employment language must, ipso facto, be legalistic, the greater effort being pursued by the Church is one of pastoral sensitivity, instruction, and clarity. (See also Bishop Vasa’s April 2004 letter titled Giving Testimony to the Truth.)194

Sample comprehensive teaching document for the Diocese of Santa Rosa195 (excerpts from 15-page employment agreement):

Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School

PREAMBLE

“GO TEACH!”  With these words, Christ sent His first disciples on mission.  Since the beginning of Christianity, Catholic education has been one of the most important ways in which the mission of the Church is carried out.  This education manifests a foundational anthropology, a basics sense of the human being, namely (that) all persons are created in the image and likeness of God, are fallen in view of original sin, and are redeemed by Jesus Christ.  To understand, to teach and to model this anthropology are particular requirements of those entrusted with the Church’s educational mission.  Thus, in large part the success of Catholic education depends upon the professional competence, quality, and above all, the commitment of the teacher to Christ.

The Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School is a description of a person who is growing in various dimensions of experience.  The Code specifies the attitude and the practice of the teacher in relation to the Church, the student, the parent, the community, and the profession.  In relationship to the Church in particular, the teacher is not called to an unrealistic perfection but rather to continual growth in understanding and in appreciation for the Church in all Her dimensions.  Here, what is meant by ‘continual growth’ also includes ongoing spiritual conversion (i.e., a more complete turning toward God) in one’s soul.  This kind of conversion can include a humble acceptance of the standing offer of God’s mercy, which acceptance always moves a person deeper into the heart of the Church.  In any case, conversion is like ‘professional development’.  That is, just as every teacher recognizes a responsibility to grow so as to keep abreast of developments in the profession, so too the teacher in a Catholic school recognizes a responsibility to grow in efficacy regarding the Church.  In sum, whether personally or professionally, the Code of Ethics for the Teacher in a Catholic School represents a guide by which to live, a goal toward which to strive and a promise of lasting success.

The Diocese of Santa Rosa recognizes and claims its Catholic Elementary and High Schools as educational institutes established to promote and foster the teachings and values of the Catholic Church.  The Diocese recognizes that these Institutions have an integral and significant role in the positive presentation of the Catholic faith to the hearts of their students and to our society.  The primary purpose of our Schools, without minimizing others, is evangelization.  Catholic Schools, in the course of their educational efforts, provide an essentially ecclesiastical ministry.  “The duty and right of educating belongs in a unique way to the Church which has been divinely entrusted with the mission to assist men and women so that they can arrive at the fullness of the Christian life” (Canon 794, § 1).

Preamble by +Robert F. Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa

Principle I: Commitment to the Church

Presidents, principals and teachers are employed, either directly or indirectly, by the Catholic Church for the express purpose of assisting “men and women so that they can arrive at the fullness of the Christian life”.  Thus, in addition to specific employee duties, they also share in the mission of the Church and therefore have the responsibility of fostering-through their positions and in the lived reality of their lives—the values, principles, doctrines and teachings of the institutional Catholic Church or, at least, of never publicly contradicting them.  In fulfilling our obligation to the Church, we are called to:

  1. Recognize that we are part of the overall educational ministry of the Catholic Church even when some of the persons instructed are not adherents of the Catholic faith.
  2. Recognize that as human beings, we are called by God to a life of holiness. We recognize that, without diminishing our freedom, this call orients us to heed God in our thoughts, words and deeds. We further recognize that this call is all the more compelling for us since, in our lives and vocations as teacher/administrators in a Catholic school, we have been entrusted with the task of helping students “arrive at the fullness of the Christian life” (Canon 794, § 1).
  3. Recognize that we must be models of “exemplary life both personally and professionally” (cf. employment contract). Thus, whether we are at school or outside of school, our public behavior is to be in conformity with Church teaching as expounded in The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
  4. Recognize our duty, to the best of our ability, to know “Church Teaching” (cf. contract) and, if Catholic, to believe in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes.
  5. Recognize that we have a responsibility to continue to seek a fuller understanding of the Faith that the Catholic Church professes. Accordingly, we are to take advantage of opportunities offered by the Diocese or Parish to foster Faith, to properly form conscience and to deepen understanding of the Church’s teaching.
  6. Recognize that, in its entirety, The Catechism of the Catholic Church constitutes the source and standard according to which all the ethical matters stated or implied in this Commitment and in the contract are understood and adjudicated.
  7. Moral Statements

Jointly, the Dioceses of Helena and Great Falls-Billings in Montana have created a stand-alone document called Catholic Moral Standards for all Catholic school employees and volunteers.  After the employee reads, agrees, and signs this acknowledgement form, it is placed in their personnel file.  By requesting a signature on a separate document as opposed to simply signing a handbook or contract, the issues related to moral and theological matters are placed front and center in the employment agreement.  They are therefore less likely to be violated accidentally and preclude the employee from claiming insufficient notice about potential violations.

Sample Catholic Moral Standards Document for Montana Catholic Schools196:

Catholic Moral Standards
for All Catholic School Employees and Volunteers

A signature is required below to acknowledge that the Catholic school employee (teacher, support staff, coach, etc.), or volunteer has read and understands the Catholic Moral Standards as an essential expectation to his/her position with the Catholic school.

As a Catholic school employee or volunteer, I understand …

_____ that I will not engage in any conduct or lifestyle, whether in my personal or public life, that would be at variance with or contrary to the moral and religious teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

______ that I will not engage in any conduct or lifestyle, whether in my personal or public life, that would be at variance with or contrary to the moral and religious standards as described in Catholic school polices, Diocesan policies, or my employment contract

Please Note: These standards have been and will continue to be printed in the Catholic Schools’ personnel handbooks, as well as on the teacher’s contract.

I understand the terms of the Catholic Moral Standards and recognize that any personal conduct or lifestyle (public or private) that violates the Catholic moral standards may result in personnel discipline up to and including dismissal from employment.

I also understand that if I have any questions regarding the Catholic Moral Standards, I will submit them to the school administration, in writing and the school administration will provide a response in a timely manner.

Witness Statements

Similar to a stand-alone faith and morality statement, but perhaps offering greater emphasis on the evangelical nature of teaching in a Catholic school, some dioceses, such as the Dioceses of Peoria197 and Arlington198 and the Archdiocese of St. Louis199 require teachers to sign a witness statement attesting to the fact that they have been “called to be witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.”  Teachers agree that they will “witness by their public behavior, actions and words, a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church” and that they “believe in God, support belief in Jesus Christ, engage in prayer, respect ecclesiastical authority, possess a knowledge of the Catholic Church, [will] not take a position contrary to the Catholic Church, [will] demonstrate a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church, have not rejected the Catholic Church, and [are] active members of the Catholic Church.”

Sample witness statement for the Archdiocese of St. Louis:

Witness Statement for Those Who Serve in Catholic Education

The mission of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is the mission of the Catholic Church, to reveal God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to all people and to teach them about the fullness of His love.  “Indeed the primordial mission of the Church is to proclaim God and to be His witness before the world” (GDC).  Catholic education shares in a special way in the Church’s mission by proclaiming and witnessing Jesus Christ and His teachings.

Catholic education, which includes education, formation, and transformation, exists in order to evangelize.  Two important elements that make up the process of evangelization are proclamation and witness.  It is essential, therefore, that those who serve in Catholic education proclaim Jesus Christ, His life and ministry, present the Catholic faith in its fullness and be Christ’s witness to the world.

Initially those being evangelized will be attracted to and listen to those who are good witnesses.  “The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life” (Evangelii Nutiandi).  Some in Catholic education—religion teachers, PSR catechists, educational and catechetical leaders—are called to be explicit proclaimers of the Word.  But all who serve in Catholic education are called to be witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.  Therefore, the following Witness Statement applies to all who serve in Catholic education.

All who serve in Catholic education in the parish and school programs of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis will witness by their public behavior, actions, and words a life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Only those persons who can support this Witness Statement are to be employed by pastors, principals, and directors/coordinators of religious education.

All who serve in Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis should be made aware that support of this Witness Statement must be reflected in their public behavior.

All who serve in Catholic education should:

  • believe in God
  • support belief in Jesus Christ
  • engage in prayer
  • respect ecclesiastical authority
  • possess a basic knowledge of the Catholic Church
  • not take a public position contrary to the Catholic Church
  • demonstrate a public life consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church
  • practice respect and reverence for others and prudence with regard to confidential information related to work
  • if Catholic, have not publicly rejected the Catholic Church be active members of the Catholic Church, or of their own Church
  • if not Catholic practice exemplary stewardship and ethical behavior with regard to Church property and funds.

The above is a thorough but not all-inclusive listing of the implications of this Witness Statement.

  1. Belief Statements/Oaths

These are highly personal yet publicly made statements attesting to deeply held beliefs. They require the employee not only to acknowledge and work in the context of truths held by the faith but also to affirm that they hold those truths interiorly.  In the Diocese of Phoenix, teachers and administrators must be active witness of the Catholic tradition, knowledgeable about the Catholic faith, and willing to promote, live, and uphold doctrinal teachings and Catholic morals.  All personnel, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, must make and sign a Profession of Faith.  For Catholics, this is the Creed, and for non-Catholics this is a statement attesting to the fact that they will “hold each and every thing that is proposed definitively by the Catholic Church regarding teaching on faith and morals” and that they “shall always teach in accord with the official teachings of the Church as it is proclaimed by the Pope and the College of Bishops.”

Sample profession of faith for the Diocese of Phoenix201:

Profession of Faith

(For newly hired Catholics in schools, catechetical or youth leadership positions)

I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and every thing that is contained in the symbol of faith, namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.  I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.  God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.  For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.  He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.  I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.  I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.  I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

With firm faith I also believe everything contained in God’s word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the Church, whether by way of solemn judgment or through the ordinary and universal magisterium, as divinely revealed and calling for faith.

I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed definitively by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

Moreover, I shall always teach in the accord with the Official Magisterium of the Church as it is proclaimed by the Pope and the College of Bishops.

Profession of Faith

(For newly hired Non-Catholics in schools)

I accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed definitively by the Catholic Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

I shall always teach in accord with the official teachings of the Church as it is proclaimed by the Pope and the College of Bishops.

III. Contract and Handbook Clauses

Some dioceses simply include faith and morals clauses as part of their basic employment handbooks and/or contracts.  As part of the paperwork associated with the HR process, teachers sign off on a package of employment expectations with the morality and faith statements embedded therein.  Another alternative some dioceses are moving toward includes more explicit language in their contracts and handbooks, either with existing documents or as more robust addendums.

Generic Morals Clause Language: Positive and Negative

A significant number of dioceses use basic morals clauses sometimes called “conscience clauses”.  Some of the dioceses include examples of what employees should do and be, such as “uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church” and “personally exemplify the characteristics of Catholic living”.  Others make general statements regarding prohibited behaviors and actions, such as publicly speaking out against the teachings of the Church.  Some dioceses have combined both acceptable and non-acceptable behavior in their morals clauses, and many of them use the disclaimer that the list is not exhaustive of all types of actions that might prompt disciplinary action.

A common statement used by many dioceses is, “the teacher agrees to teach, advocate, encourage, counsel, and witness in keeping with the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith and teachings.”  Some express this in the negative, stating that a teacher “shall not teach, advocate, encourage or counsel beliefs or practices contrary to the Catholic faith.”  Another popular phrase utilizes the word “lifestyle” in either a positive or negative connotation, such as “living a lifestyle in conformity (or not in conformity) to Church teaching”.  The use of the word “lifestyle” takes into consideration behaviors that are exhibited during the workday as well as outside the confines of the school environment.  It also includes vacation time and the overall general comportment of the teacher.  Many dioceses use the term “personal conduct” as well, but this could be interpreted as personal conduct only during normal school hours.

Samples of positive and negative moral clauses from various dioceses:

            Negative statements.

“Any personal conduct or lifestyle which would be at variance with, or contrary to the applicable policies of the Roman Catholic Church…”  (Diocese of Baton Rouge)202

“…refraining from taking any public position or conducting himself or herself in any manner contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”  (Archdiocese of Denver)203

“TERMINATION. The undertaking by teacher of activities, within or outside of the employer/employee relationship, which are detrimental to the fundamental purpose and mission of the employer or constitute a failure to support and exemplify Catholic Faith and Morals as taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church… The teacher engages in any conduct in or out of the workplace which, in the judgment of the employer, constitutes serious or public immorality, sacrilege, lewd conduct, endangerment of health or safety, abusive conduct, public scandal or rejection of, or the holding up to doubt or question of the official teaching, doctrine, or laws of the Catholic Church.”  (Diocese of Kalamazoo)204

“…contradiction or rejection, by word or action, of doctrines, laws or norms of the Catholic Church.”  (Diocese of Lincoln)205

“The contract may also be terminated if the teacher’s life style is incompatible with Catholic moral values or if professional conduct is at variance with the policies of the Diocese of Yakima… public rejection of the official teachings, doctrine, or laws of the Roman Catholic Church”  (Diocese of Yakima)206

            Positive Statements.

“This responsibility requires that the teacher’s personal life to be conducted in accordance with the teachings and principles of the Catholic Church and in such a manner as to set a proper example for students…”  (Archdiocese of Atlanta)208

“…teacher agrees to teach, advocate, encourage, counsel, and witness in keeping with the beliefs and practices of the Catholic faith and teachings.”  (Diocese of Fargo)209

“…uphold and to act in accord with the religious, moral, and ethical principles of the Roman Catholic Church… Administrators and teachers therefore are expected to conduct themselves both in teaching and example in a manner consistent with the academic, social, moral and religious teaching of the Catholic Church”  (Archdiocese of Hartford)210

“Personnel shall be either Catholics in good standing, who are committed to the Catholic faith and to Christian living, and who are registered members of a Catholic parish, or others who have a positive attitude toward the Catholic faith and a commitment to Christian living as well as having a lifestyle that is consistent with Church teaching and are registered members of their particular non-Catholic parishes.  They shall work with others within and beyond the school setting in a spirit befitting a Christian faith community.”  (Archdiocese of Omaha)211

“…respect Catholic values and to aid in Christian formation by exemplifying a lifestyle of Christian principles both in school and out of school.  The employee shall exhibit a lifestyle that is compatible with Catholic moral values and professional conduct consistent with Catholic teaching…”  (Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon)212

Specific Language Within Employment Documents

Instead of adding complete new documents to their teacher contracts and handbooks, some dioceses have elected to bolster their generic morality clauses by explicitly listing a series of faith and moral areas that may come to public attention with negative consequences.

Sample specific language within employment contract from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati213:

Teacher-Minister also agrees to exemplify Catholic principles in a manner consistent with Teacher-Minister’s relationship with the Catholic Church and to refrain from any conduct or lifestyle which would reflect discredit on or cause scandal to the school or be in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals.  While not meaning to infer that Teacher-Minister is involved in such conduct or lifestyle, by way of example, such conduct or lifestyle that is in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals includes, but is not limited to: cohabitation outside marriage; sexual activity out of wedlock; same-sex sexual activity; use of abortion; use of a surrogate mother; use of in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination; advocacy (defined as presenting or promoting as acceptable- for  conduct, lifestyle, positions, policies, programs, causes or movements in contradiction to Catholic social doctrine or morals; and/or flagrant deceit or dishonesty.  Teacher-Minister further agrees to teach and act consistently in accordance with the mission statement of the School and to strive to aid in the formation of students by personal witness so far as conscience allows to the stated philosophy and teachings of the Roman Catholic (these can be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is incorporated herein by reference)

Addendums

The Diocese of Lafayette214 has a full-page addendum containing 10 statements (with Catechism references) that it considers to be violations of moral living and “at variance and inconsistent with the moral and religious doctrines and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church”.  They are:

  1. Contracting a marriage in violation of the rules of the Catholic Church. CCC Nos. 1603; 1614; 1650-51: 2384.
  2. Living with another as husband and wife, without benefit of a valid marriage. CCC Nos. 2350; 2353; 2390; 2391.
  3. Conviction of a felony or a crime which involves moral turpitude. CCC Nos. 2268; 2284-5; 2297ff; 2353-56; 2387-89.
  4. Obtaining or assisting another to obtain an abortion. CCC Nos. 2271; 2272.
  5. Actively engaging in homosexual activity. CCC Nos. 2357-59.
  6. Immoral or dishonest conduct impairing one‘s effectiveness as a principal. CCC Nos. 1952; 2039; 2284-85; 2408.
  7. Becoming pregnant out of wedlock while teaching/working in a Catholic school; fathering a child out of wedlock while teaching/working in a Catholic School. CCC Nos. 1935; 1947; 2284-85.
  8. Membership in any organization which is anti-Catholic, and whose philosophy is racist and/or any was contrary to the Church‘s teaching on social justice.
  9. Engaging in any activity, immoral or illegal, which sets a bad example for students (e.g. illicit use of drugs, alcohol abuse, pornography, indecent behavior or abuse of any kind). CCC Nos. 2284-85; 2354; 2335.
  10. Maintaining by word or action a position contrary to the teaching standards, doctrines, laws and norms of the Catholic Church. CCC Nos. 2030; 2032; 2044; 2072-3.
  11. Handbook-based Policies
  12. Formative Language

A review of diocesan employment documents indicates that many have drafted entire sections of their employee/school handbooks to address expectations for teachers in the areas of faith and morals.  These more extensive efforts allow for a clear articulation of the school’s mission, goals, and objectives and the teacher’s role in achieving them.  They thus play an important formative role for the faculty.  Especially strong are handbooks by the Diocese of Kansas City, Kan.,218 and the Diocese of Syracuse219.  The Diocese of Davenport has also created an exemplary document, sections of which are below.

Sample language from the Diocese of Davenport220

Catholic Identity. A Catholic school consists of a group of people—students, parents, faculty—lay and /or religious, priests, and board members—who explicitly and directly assert together belief in our basic relationship with God—created, redeemed, inspired – as stated in the Scriptures and developed by Catholic tradition.  These people seek together to grow and share in understanding, appreciating, and living Christianity in a technological, complex, urban and world society.  Together, they create the Catholic environment of the school.

Professional Believing Educators.  Catholic schools are unique because a community of believers permeate the curriculum with love of Jesus Christ as they help students grow to full potential as children of God.  These believers who are teachers educate students not for money, power or prestige, but for Catholic responsibility, inner freedom and goal-oriented lives for the Kingdom here and now and for eternity. (Pages 2, 17)

Dismissal on Grounds of Immorality

(a) Rationale: In our society and cultural tradition the profession of teaching has carried with it a special trust by parents, children, the public, and the Church.  An educator is in a position of significant influence and sacred trust. Like other professions (e.g. medicine, law, psychiatry, religion, etc.) there is a privileged relationship of influence between educator and students that demands qualities of character and morality, as well as teaching competencies.  This position of influence places a special moral responsibility not only on the educator but also on those responsible for his/her employment.

For believers, the Bible gives guidance:

He said to his disciples: “Scandals will inevitably arise, but woe to him through whom they come.  He would be better off thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck than giving scandal to one of these little ones.”

Be on your guard. If your brother does wrong, correct him; if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times a day and seven times a day turns back to you saying, “I am sorry,” forgive him. – Luke 17:1-4

Recent Catholic documents state:

The achievement of the specific aim of the Catholic school depends not so much on the subject matter or methodology as on the people who work there.  The extent to which the Christian message is transmitted through education depends to a very great extent on the teacher.  The integration of culture and faith is mediated by the other integration of faith and life in the person of the teacher.  The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only in word but also by every gesture of their behavior.  This is what makes the difference between a school whose education is permeated by the Christian spirit and one in which religion is only regarded an academic subject like any other. The Catholic School, #43

The new awareness that all members of the faculty, at least by their example, are an integral part of the process of religious education has brought with it a more conscientious approach to the selecting of teachers and the professional development of staff. Teachers’ life-style and character are as important as their professional credentials222…(c) Actions Considered Moral Grounds for Dismissal

Actions that are considered moral grounds and may be judged as cause for dismissal include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Violations of criminal law considered as aggravated misdemeanors and felonies.
  • Teaching or publicly advocating principles contrary to the dogmatic and moral teaching of the Church and the judgment of the bishop (i.e. newspaper, TV, radio, public demonstrations). If there is a conflict as to the teaching of the Church, the judgment of the bishop shall be the final arbiter.
  • Violations of the teachings of social justice as taught and commonly viewed by the Catholic Church, with the judgment of the bishop as final arbiter. Such violations include unjust aggression against persons, abortion, unlawful discrimination, breach of contract, theft, perjury, defamation of character and similar violations.
  • The continued abuse of alcohol or other chemical substances when proper treatment has been refused or has been unsuccessful and the functioning of the person is impaired; advocating the use of alcohol or other chemical substances in an abusive manner.
  • Public violations or publicly advocating violations of the standards of sexual morality taught by the Catholic Church, with the judgment of the bishop as final arbiter. Such violations include cohabitation, sexual relations outside a legal marriage, advocating or practicing homosexuality, child molestation and similar violations.

Habitual abuse by Catholic Christians of the precepts of the Church.

(d) Precepts of the Church, such as:

  • To keep holy the Lord’s Day.
  • To observe the sacramental life of the Church.
  • To observe the marriage laws of the Church; to give religious training, by example and word, to one’s children; to use parish schools and catechetical programs.
  • To strengthen and support the Church—one’s own parish community and parish priests, the worldwide Church and the Pope.
  • To do penance, including abstaining from meat and fasting from food on the appointed days.
  • To join in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church, such as being an active member of a parish and participating in parish/inter-parish programs. (Pages 37- 40)
  1. Dealing with Infractions

The enforcement of faith and morals clauses is not a pleasant business.  Such situations are likely to be painful, emotionally and socially charged, and potentially litigious.  Charity, clarity, humility, and justice will all need to come into play in aiming for a peaceful resolution with the employee.  The Diocese of Davenport describes in their Catholic Educators’ Handbook a rationale and process for possible faith or morals-based termination based upon principles of Christian charity.

Sample disciplinary language from the Diocese of Davenport223

(b) Norms of the Diocese of Davenport: Employees in Catholic educational programs hold a unique public position of importance and dignity within the Catholic community.  Indeed, appropriate public ceremonies are encouraged which proclaim and celebrate their special role.  The commitment to forgiveness and reconciliation is essential to the Church.

While we profess that all members of the Catholic community are sinners in need of redemption, it is also true that immoral behavior by educators carries with it additional gravity because of their special position in the community.  Some immoral actions or habits because of their nature or circumstances may disqualify a person, at least for a time, from holding an office, role or function within the Catholic community.  This is true for Catholic educators.

The board and administration do not pass judgment on subjective morality.  In assuming their rightful responsibilities, the board and administration do properly consider behavior which in their judgment is publicly and manifestly inconsistent with the moral standards of the community and the school/educational program.  Teaching or living a life-style in contradiction to the teachings of the Church can disqualify one as an employee of our educational system, at least for a time, particularly when this is done deliberately, publicly, without contrition, and/or without an openness to repair any scandal resulting from his/her actions.  People of good will approach reconciliation with mutual respect, personal integrity and freedom of conscience.  In some cases the parties concerned come to reconciliation with common understanding and mutual acceptance. In such a case reinstatement may follow.  In other cases the parties concerned come to reconciliation without common agreement but with mutual respect.  The parties “agree to disagree” and to go their separate ways with love and good will. In such a case reinstatement does not follow.  For example, an educator may come to disagree in conscience with the teaching of the church as interpreted by responsible authority.  The school/educational program cannot be expected to retain or reinstate an educator who would not have been hired initially had the conflict in conscience existed and been known at that time.  On the other hand, the educator cannot be expected to teach or live contrary to deeply-held conscience convictions (Cf. Vatican II: Declaration on Religious Liberty.)

When there are actions contrary to this moral policy, the board and administration reserve the option to release or retain/reinstate the employee having considered the following:

  • The public action of the employee was, in fact, immoral as outlined in (3) below.
  • The openness of the employee to be responsible for both his/her actions and their effects. (See pages 33-35)
  • The openness of the employee to make a commitment to the ideals of the community. (See page 33-35)
  • The nature and extent of the public scandal according to “Norms” on page 35.
  • The willingness of the employee to repair any scandal, public or private, insofar as possible. (See (3) below)
  • The pastoral circumstances which affect the welfare of the community and the welfare of the individual as judged by the board and administration. (See point (3) (e) below)

Description of Teachers as “Ministers” and Ministry Clauses

The description of Catholic teachers as “ministers” and not as simply “teachers” or “employees” may serve two related ends for dioceses.  First, it provides pastoral guidance to the teachers themselves and clarifies and prioritizes that all teachers are called to participate in the Catholic school’s fundamental mission of evangelization.  Secondly, the use of the term may also provide some access to legal protection under “ministerial exemption” case law.  The ministerial exemption is a First Amendment protection which allows religious organizations to supervise and determine the worthiness and suitability of their ministers with a significant degree of freedom and limited governmental and legal entanglement.  Catholic school leaders should work closely with legal counsel on issues of employment law related to the use of this possible exemption.

Initial research conducted by The Cardinal Newman Society suggests that approximately nine dioceses currently refer to their teachers as ministers in their employment language.  Dioceses, such as Monterey224, refer to a teacher as “an apostolic worker of the Roman Catholic Church.”  The Diocese of Tucson225 calls Catholic educators “agents” of the Catholic Church and states that as such they must uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church.  The Diocese of Oakland uses both “minister and steward of the Catholic faith”. An example of ministerial language is provided below from the Diocese of Cleveland.

Sample of Teacher/Minister Contracts and Language from the Diocese of Cleveland:226

Role as Minister and Role Model of the Faith:  The Teacher-Minister, in signing this Agreement represents that he/she has read and understand the Statement on the Purpose of Catholic Schools and the Role of Teachers and Administrators in Catholic Schools by the Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, which is attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A and incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.  The Teacher-Minister understands and acknowledges that the Roman Catholic Church views the primary purpose of a Catholic school as a means of building up the Kingdom of God through the holistic and authentically Catholic formation of each student and that such development can only truly be fostered in a wholly Catholic environment.  The Teacher-Minister further understands and acknowledges that it is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that teachers in a Catholic school are truly and in a very real sense engaged in a special ministry, or apostolate, of the Roman Catholic Church and that such teachers should bear witness to Christ in their lives as much as in their classroom instruction.  For this reason, Canon 803 of the Code of Canon Law requires that teachers of a Catholic school must be “outstanding in true doctrine and uprightness of life.”  As such, the Teacher-Minister agrees to act, speak, and live at all times in a manner consistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and understands that actions and speech that are contrary to Catholic teaching will not be tolerated by the Parish and shall be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination.  The following, although in no way an exclusive list, represent by way of example certain speech or actions that are considered to be contrary to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church:

  1. Public support of positions contrary to Roman Catholic Church teaching (including, but not limited to, publically supporting abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, surrogate parenthood, direct sterilization, or so-called homosexual or same-sex marriage or unions).
  2. Procuring or assisting another in procuring an abortion.
  3. Making use of or participating in artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, or surrogate parenthood.
  4. Preparing for or engaging in a same-sex marriage or union.
  5. Engaging in or publically supporting sexual relations outside of marriage (which shall be understood for purposed of this Agreement as being the marriage between one man and one woman.)
  6. Living with another as husband or wife without the benefit of a marriage recognized as valid by the Roman Catholic Church or cohabitating outside of marriage.
  7. Engaging in or supporting transvestitism, transgenderism, or sex reassignment.
  8. Membership in any organization that is anti-Catholic or whose philosophy is in any way contrary to the ethical or moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
  9. Indecent or lewd behavior (including, but not limited to, the unlawful use of drugs, substance abuse, or use of pornography).
  10. Serious dishonesty.
  11. Entering into a marriage with a person when one of the parties to the marriage is validly married to another person in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church (e.g., entering into a marriage if one of the parties has entered into marriage previously and has not received an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church).
  12. Use of social media or electronic means of communication (e.g., email and texting) in an improper, immoral, or scandalous manner (including, but not limited to, use of social media or electronic means to communicate, post, share, or send material that is lewd, indecent, sexually suggestive, or pornographic).
  13. Safe Environment Documents

Many dioceses include faith and morals language in their Safe Environment Documents referring to “Codes of Conduct” that focus generically on the need for employees to adhere to Catholic faith and morals in all conduct with others.  Other Safe Environment documents are more expansive, identified by terms such as “Principles of Ethics and Integrity,” and more fully integrate language from traditional faith and morals statements into an “all inclusive” set of statements embedded within the Safe Environment process.  In this case, employees should be made aware that they are signing more than just an affirmation to protect children from child abuse; that they are signing a comprehensive statement about witnessing to the Catholic faith in their professional and private lives.

Sample of a Safe Environment Document with additional morals clause criteria from the Diocese of San Angelo:227

VII. Prevention of Immoral Conduct: Guidelines for Ethical and Moral Behavior
Because Church personnel enjoy a public trust and confidence, it is essential that Church personnel view their own actions and intentions objectively to assure that no observer would have grounds to believe that irregularity in conduct exists. All Church personnel are to uphold the standards of the Catholic Church in their day-to-day work and personal lives.

  1. Definitions
  2. Immoral conduct is defined as behavior that is contrary to the discipline and teachings of the Church and may result in scandal to the faithful or harm to the ministry of the Church. Specific standards of the diocese are defined below.
  3. Scandal is an attitude or behavior, which leads another to do evil. Scandal damages virtue and integrity. It is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2284).
  4. Standards of the Diocese
  5. It is fundamental to the mission of the Diocese of San Angelo for Church personnel to exhibit the highest ethical standards and personal integrity. The purpose of this policy is to insure that all Church personnel follow the traditional strong moral and ethical standards of the Catholic Church. Church personnel should not engage in the following:
  6. Formally rejecting Catholic Church teachings or the Christian way of life.
  7. Exhibiting actions that are disruptive to the ministry and public worship.
  8. Procuring or participating in abortion, homicide or euthanasia.
  9. Possessing or viewing pornographic materials.
  10. Engaging in adultery or flagrant promiscuity
  11. Abusing alcohol or abusing gambling.
  12. Possession or use of illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia.
  13. Stealing or any other form of theft, including misappropriation of Church funds.
  14. Sexual harassment, exploitation or abuse.
  15. Physical assault and fighting.
  16. Disclosing the serious faults or failings of others to persons who have no cause to know them or making false allegations against another

Conclusion

Examples presented in this document are intended to inform discussion and should not be taken as particular legal advice.  Church officials should work with local attorneys for determination of appropriate employment language and any approaches applicable to their local situation.

As these exemplars have shown, there are different options for Catholic leadership to approach the presentation and enforcement of faith and morals clauses for Catholic school teachers.  In seeking to implement faith and morals clauses, it is prudent for the school to ensure that 1) it has properly highlighted the fundamental religious nature of all of its efforts, 2) it has made all teachers aware of their responsibility to advance the religious mission of Catholic education, and 3) it seeks to ensure that the teachers understand the scope of faith and morals transgressions that might result in termination of employment.

The larger companion document presents texts and exemplars from over a hundred and twenty-five dioceses.  Additional published research on this topic will be presented in the fall.  Those dioceses not yet represented in the sample are encouraged to share whatever they think might be helpful to other Catholic dioceses in an effort to further discussion.

Please feel free to send comments, inquires, contacts, corrections and additions to:

Dr. Denise Donohue, Director of the Catholic Education Honor Roll, The Cardinal Newman Society, ddonohue@cardinalnewmansociety.org

Dr. Dan Guernsey, Senior Fellow, The Cardinal Newman Society, dguernsey@cardinalnewmansociety.org

Additional research provided by Dr. Jamie Arthur, formerly Cardinal Newman Society Senior Fellow and Director of the Catholic Education Honor Roll.

 

 

 

Catholic College Closes, but Other Small Colleges Thrive on Faithful Catholic Mission

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A small, Massachusetts-based Catholic college will close this month, citing financial difficulties brought about by declining enrollment.  But while many similarly small colleges around the country are struggling to find their niches in order to sustain enrollment, some faithful Catholic institutions are successfully leveraging their faithful Catholic identities to attract students, inviting emulation both as models of success and as witnesses to the Faith.

Marian Court College in Swampscott, Mass., has undergone many changes since it was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1964 as a women’s secretarial school.  It just recently transitioned from a two-year coeducational college to a four-year program, awarding its first bachelor’s degrees just last month to 41 of the 67 graduates.  But Marian Court closes at the end of June, unable to face what Inside Higher Ed describes as “a challenge that faces many small, private college[s]: the troublesome combination of extreme tuition reliance and declining enrollment.”182  The College served about 250 students this past year, many of them first-generation students who commuted from home.

The challenges facing Marian Court were extraordinary, but could a stronger Catholic identity have helped?  The Cardinal Newman Society was granted an interview with Dr. Denise Hammon, president of Marian Court College in Swampscott, Mass., who acknowledged the minimal role the College’s religious mission played in attracting students.  But the Society also spoke with leaders

from Christendom College in Front Royal, Va., and Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., both of whom attested to the strong pull their faithful Catholic identities have on potential students.  Admissions officers at these small, tuition-dependent colleges work hard, but they are meeting enrollment targets while their institutions earn high marks for academic quality.

Catholic identity has value for colleges and students that transcends practical concerns.  Yet Catholic colleges that embrace a strong Catholic identity may find that it helps distinguish their institutions as providing something unique and attractive.

Marketing a Strong Catholic Identity

Tuition-reliant colleges often depend heavily on marketing in order to keep enrollment numbers up.  While Catholic colleges such as those recommended in The Newman Guide for their strong Catholic identity view their religious mission as a strong asset, many other colleges apparently view their Catholic heritage as a liability.

In a widely-read article last year, the Atlantic reported how some Jesuit Catholic universities are hiding their Catholic identities because they think it will help them attract more students.196  Rockhurst University in Kansas City reportedly “removed the word ‘Jesuit’ from the university tagline”.  And a staff member at Regis Univeresity in Denver boldly attested, “We hide the word ‘Catholic’ from prospective students.”

Instead, colleges feel pressured to compete with extravagant campus facilities, high-profile faculty members and exciting student activities, all adding to the high cost of education.  “These days it’s an arms race to have climbing walls and one-on-one attention, and you just can’t do that with a small college,” said Kent Chabotar, a past president of Guilford College, to Inside Higher Ed.  “It’s worse now because of demographics, and because students and families are smarter about looking for schools with niches.”

For Christendom College, which has 433 students, its niche is clear.  Vice President for Enrollment Tom McFadden explained to the Newman Society, “We are an educational apostolate with the mission of educating our students in a time-tested Catholic liberal arts education, in a vibrant Catholic culture, so that they can go out into the world and restore all things in Christ.”  And Christendom does it in complete fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, with reverent liturgies, traditional devotions, orthodox theology, and an emphasis on the moral and spiritual formation of students.

That clarity of institutional identity helps draw students to the College, according to McFadden.  “There are a lot of colleges out there.  And a lot of Catholic ones too,” he said.  “We do our best to make sure everyone knows what makes us different, and if they are attracted to us, then we are very interested in them.  We build strong relationships with our prospective students to educate them about our mission, our curriculum, our activities, and our goals for our graduates.”

That’s not the sort of Catholic identity that was marketed by Marian Court College.  When asked what the College promoted to prospective students, Hammon mentioned being a commuter college, a relatively low tuition, business and criminal justice programs, financial aid, small class sizes, a teaching-focused faculty, and student academic support.  She added that the College was founded by the Sisters of Mercy and is Catholic, but did not mention the clearly Catholic identifiers that a college like Christendom readily advertises.

To the contrary, it seems that Marian Court did little to promote its Catholic identity.  There is no mention of “Catholic” or even the Sisters of Mercy on the homepage of the College’s website.  Religious imagery is minimal.  But the College prominently features on its homepage its 2015 commencement speaker, abortion and same-sex marriage supporter Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.197

A search on the Marian Court website for distinctly Catholic attributes yields few results. The student life page mentions “Mercy core values of compassion, integrity, justice, and service.”204   Regarding the campus spiritual life, the College declares: “Marian Court College promotes spiritual growth through many community service activities and services.  A chapel is located on campus and serves as a place for reflection.  Students of all faiths are invited to participate.”  No Mass or confession times are found.

Dr. Hammon told The Cardinal Newman Society that there was no relationship between Marian Court’s financial difficulties and the way the College portrayed its religious mission.  At the same time, however, she does not believe the College’s Catholic identity helped attract students, at least not explicitly.

“I don’t think it was the published words of ‘We are a Catholic institution,’ but rather it was how we teach here and how we treat each other that attracted people,” Hammon said.  “And we did it in the good faith of the Catholic religion.”

“So for some people it was very important that we were a Catholic institution, for others not as much,” she said.

The Enrollment Question

Thomas Aquinas College has found that its unique mission helps expand the pool of prospective students, said Anne Forsyth, director of college relations, to the Newman Society.

Ten years ago, the College reached its target enrollment of 350 to 370, which is capped to support its unique mission of student formation and small classes.  Nevertheless, the College has experienced an increasing number of applications in recent years.

Forsyth explained, “Because our Admissions efforts as well as our advertising and publicity activities make our Catholic identity well-known, I think it is fair to say that Thomas Aquinas College has an established reputation for its strong Catholic identity and that this is one of the strongest attractions for prospective students.”

Forsyth described how the College seeks students that understand and will live in harmony with “the thoroughly Catholic nature of our academic program and our community life.”  She continued, “Our Admissions officers work closely with potential students to ensure they do indeed grasp our Catholic identity, and our publicity efforts reinforce their work.”

“Moreover, applicants are asked to complete a series of essays, including responding to the prompts… regarding the Catholic intellectual life and the Catholic moral life,” she said.

Christendom College also sets an enrollment cap but enjoys strong interest from prospective students each year.  “Our commitment to the Faith and orthodoxy is definitely a draw for our students,” said McFadden.

“Christendom’s enrollment has increased by 17 percent over the past four years, which, considering the fact that many other private liberal arts schools are seeing declining enrollment, is a great testament to the value of a Christendom liberal arts educational experience,” he said.

Christendom also finds that its strong Catholic identity attracts students outside its local geographical region.  “Christendom has students from all across America and various foreign countries.  And it is our Catholic identity, coupled with our strong liberal arts program and unparalleled personal attention, that is drawing them here,” McFadden said.

Why the Liberal Arts?

Christendom, Thomas Aquinas College and other Newman Guide colleges find Catholic liberal arts education to be a draw for students, but some liberal arts colleges that lack a strong Catholic component are finding it hard to sustain that educational model.

Earlier this year, Sweet Briar College and Tennessee Temple University announced closures, although this month alumni won the right to attempt a comeback at Sweet Briar.  “Both schools cited declining enrollment numbers over the last several years and an inability to climb out of troubling financial difficulties,” according to U.S. News and World Report.205  Sweet Briar President James Jones, Jr., blamed, in part, “the declining number of students choosing to attend small, rural, private liberal arts colleges,” according to the report.

Marian Court has portrayed itself as having a strong dedication to the liberal arts.  Its mission statement refers to its liberal arts curriculum as of the “highest quality,” and its vision statement says that the College provides a “comprehensive liberal arts foundation, grounded in ethical thinking.”223  However, a look at the College’s academic catalog reveals only one associate’s degree major in the liberal arts, and no bachelor’s degrees.224  The other majors include disciplines such as accounting, entrepreneurship, fashion, paralegal studies and sport management.  The College offered two bachelor’s degrees in business administration and criminal justice.

And despite its Catholic heritage, Marian Court did not offer any core curriculum courses in the Catholic intellectual tradition.  Depending on the major, some of the most common classes required included economics, comparative religion, composition, oral communication, psychology, sociology, world history, and world literature.

Nevertheless, President Hammon believes that the liberal arts branding drew students to the College.  She said the institution focused on training students in critical thinking, writing and communication.  But Marian Court’s approach to the liberal arts was apparently a pragmatic one, oriented toward career preparation.  Hammon said, “the liberal arts was very important for broadening the mindsets of young 18-year-olds, as well as helping them start their careers in their chosen discipline.”

Surprisingly, Marian Court did not offer courses in Catholic theology or philosophy.  Pope St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education Ex corde Ecclesiae stipulates, “Because of its specific importance among the academic disciplines, every Catholic University should have a faculty, or at least a chair, of theology.”225

When asked why Marian Court did not have any offerings in Catholic theology or philosophy, Hammon replied, “We offered a course in comparative religion that was a required course of all students no matter what their major.  Sprinkled throughout the curriculum was always the Mercy mission, and that is of treating others with compassion, integrity, and justice.  We have a big emphasis on serving others.”

“So while we may not have had a formal theology course or program, the Mercy values and mission are throughout the curriculum,” Hammon said.  She mentioned in particular the college’s criminal justice program, which she said “offers substantial coursework in restorative justice.  Certainly there’s a lot about giving back to society.  All the values that you hope to see in people who believe in their faith come from restorative justice.”

Institutional Identity Leads to Stability

Noting that many of the students at Marian Court had come from underprivileged families, Hammon emphasized the role that donors play in helping students.  “I really hope donors realize that when they are giving to a small Catholic college, they are changing families.”

Indeed, for tuition-reliant colleges the importance of a strong donor base is of paramount importance.  “Christendom is very tuition reliant,” said McFadden, “although our advancement office does a great job of making up the difference between what the students pay and what it actually costs to run the college.”

McFadden explained the positive effect that its Catholic identity has on the overall stability of the institution.  “Everyone that works here know why Christendom exists,” he said.  “Having a clear mission and buy-in from our employees is very beneficial and helps us retain our employees, which in turn gives us stability.  Because we are not changing who we are and we are sticking to our original purpose, it also helps show our donors, alumni, and friends that we are stable.”

While many small colleges are tuition dependent, Christendom is one of only a few that reject federal aid.  “This has been, at times, hard for us – financially,” explained McFadden. “But you know, God is never outdone in generosity, so as a result of our decision, we have found many people who are interested in supporting us financially. They like the fact that we are truly independent and totally free to be a faithful Catholic institution.”

Forsyth said that Thomas Aquinas College’s accreditors often remark on the rarity of the universal support its faculty have for the College’s mission.

“This unanimity on the part of the faculty and staff about the College’s Catholic identity and mission gives rise to a similar quality in our friends and benefactors, as well as a real depth in their commitment to the school and our students,” Forsyth said.

“Observing that we stand for our principles, they are confirmed in their decision to stand with us and support us all the more in our efforts to form the minds and hearts of our students for Christ,” she said.

Forsyth agreed that there are strong connections between a Catholic college’s financial health and its Catholic identity.  She spoke about the kind of donors that Thomas Aquinas College attracts:

Some of our benefactors are disillusioned with their own Catholic alma maters whose Catholic identities have been diluted; some are parents of alumni who see the tremendous good the College has been in the spiritual lives of their children; and there are foundations for whom fidelity to the teaching Church is a sine qua non for grant consideration.  All are looking for the best way to help build up the Body of Christ in faithfulness and truth, and they view their giving to Thomas Aquinas College as a great investment toward that end.  As a result, they are deeply committed to the College and our students and provide unfailingly for our financial needs.

She continued, “Many if not most of our generous benefactors are committed to Thomas Aquinas College not simply for its excellent academic program but because that program is carried out under the light of the teaching Church and in an atmosphere that nurtures in students the moral virtues and a vibrant spiritual life.”

Appeal of Catholic Campus Life

Thomas Aquinas College shared how its founding document, A Proposal for the Fulfillment of a Catholic Liberal Education, still serves as the institution’s governing document today.226  This is unique in the world of Catholic higher education, where many Catholic universities have become detached from the founding Catholic principles that guided them in their early years.

Forsyth said that “this statement of our mission as a Catholic college is very much alive and at work here, constantly forming our decisions, the community, and the institution itself.  With this continual return to our roots, the College renews again and again its commitment to its Catholic mission and identity.”

She noted several ways in which Thomas Aquinas College ensures that the residence and student life experiences on campus are informed by its Catholic character.  “Our residence halls are single-sex, with no visitation between them,” she said.  “Mass is offered four times a day and confession eight times (before and after Mass); participation is voluntary, but simply by making these so available, a large majority of students participate regularly.  There is a nightly Rosary offered by students in our chapel, and nightly prayers in each residence hall at curfew—again, both voluntary and well-attended.”

Forsyth agrees that the Catholic residence life program at the College is a big draw for students.  “The best testimony we receive in this regard comes from the high school students who participate in our two-week summer program,” she said.  “It should be noted, too, that our retention rate has been on the rise in recent years, reflecting satisfaction on the part of existing students with our residence life.”

McFadden, too, believes that Christendom College’s residence life program, which stems from its Catholic mission, is an attraction for students.  “Students coming to Christendom are interested in achieving greatness, and not settling for mediocrity,” he said.  “They want to grow in virtue and live in an ordered environment – something hard to do at other schools.  Having a strong formation program and a caring student life staff has helped students grow to love Christendom even more.”

He shared Christendom’s conviction of the importance of Catholic mission actively influencing college policies.  He said, “It is absolutely necessary for us to base all of our activity on our particular mission and on the universal mission of the Church, for without them, we would not have a sure guide and we would be more prone to stray from the Truth.”

McFadden concluded, “The Faith is simply part of everything we do – and this enables our students to leave the college fully formed academically, spiritually, and socially in the teachings of the Faith.”

 

 

 

Cardinal Burke: Reverent Liturgy Essential To Catholic College Education

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Properly and beautifully celebrated liturgy is essential to a Catholic college education, said Raymond Cardinal Burke, who headlined the June 2 Cardinal Newman Society event at Sacra Liturgia USA 2015 in New York City.

“If in Catholic education the ultimate goal is to know Christ as deeply and as profoundly as possible, then it can’t be otherwise,” he said, recalling the wonderful liturgies on Catholic campuses until recent decades.

On many Catholic campuses, traditional and reverent liturgy has given way to misguided innovations and musical variations that are thought to appeal to younger audiences.

Cardinal Burke, patron of the Order of Malta and ecclesiastical adviser to the Newman Society, led off a panel discussion on the need for liturgical renewal in Catholic higher education and ways that Catholic colleges can contribute to renewal of the liturgy in parishes and schools.

The event was held at St. Catherine of Siena Church in uptown Manhattan as a special part of the Sacra Liturgia conference, which brought hundreds of priests, seminarians, and lay people together to celebrate and promote sacred liturgy.

Cardinal Burke encouraged Catholic colleges to expose students to reverent liturgy including the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. “If this is a form of the Roman Rite it should be accessible to the faithful,” he said.

He recalled his experience when archbishop of St. Louis, Mo., where he instructed the seminary to implement courses on the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and begin celebrating it. “And I believe too, at the universities, that there will be a response [to the Extraordinary Form],” he said.

Even at colleges like Georgetown University, which has had its share of Catholic identity problems, student initiatives to encourage the Extraordinary Form are gathering momentum, Cardinal Burke said. “I have seen this in other universities too,” he added.

Cardinal Burke noted that such initiatives, while good for the Church and students alike, are sometimes opposed. “These are things that may involve some suffering,” he said.

“But the thing is, if we are doing something that is beautiful for the glory of God and for the salvation of souls, we’ll have to persevere in it and not let ourselves be discouraged by people who do not understand or who might be difficult,” said the cardinal. “The Christian liturgy remains the essential source of our understanding of the faith and of its practice in a good and holy life,” he said.

Leading the panel discussion, Cardinal Newman Society President Patrick Reilly noted that “truth is both the foundation and the objective of Catholic higher education,” and he related that to the need for reverent liturgy in light of Cardinal Burke’s keynote address to the Sacra Liturgia conference the prior evening.

Cardinal Burke spoke of the unity of God’s truth, goodness, and beauty — with the latter essential to sacred art and sacred liturgy. He lamented that, “precisely because we have lost beauty, we have lost goodness and truth.”

“Since the sacred liturgy is the highest and most perfect expression of our life in Christ, we rightly turn to the sacred rites in order to understand more deeply the holiness of the Christian life in all its aspects,” Cardinal Burke said. Yet, in recent years, the attention to liturgy hasn’t always been what it should have been, he continued.

Cardinal Burke explained:

“The pursuit of truth is a particular challenge in our world, which has in great part lost any sense of truth and of the source of truth in God. The sacred liturgy is the participation on Earth in the heavenly wedding feast of the Lamb who alone conquers evil.

“. . . Beauty is revealed most perfectly in the sacred liturgy. The liturgy is inherently linked to beauty. It is a radiant expression of the Paschal Mystery in which Christ draws us to Himself and calls us to communion. We contemplate beauty and splendor at its source. It enables us to emerge from ourselves and drawing us to our true vocation which is love.

“. . . The time has come to re-propose to all Christians this high standard of ordinary Christian life. Our brothers and sisters will discover the great beauty of their own holy life. That beauty is most evident in our participation in the sacred liturgy.”

Sacra Liturgia USA was organized by Dr. Jennifer Donelson, director of sacred music at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, N.Y., and Fr. Richard Cipolla, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, Conn., together with the international coordinator of Sacra Liturgia conferences, Dom Alcuin Reed.

This June 1-4 event followed upon the high-profile Rome conference in 2013, convened by Bishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, France. The Cardinal Newman Society also cosponsored that conference and funded scholarships for educators and students from the United States.

Many Diocesan and Private Catholic Schools Find Success Outside of Common Core

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This publication is part of a series of reports on the Common Core State Standards Initiative and how those standards potentially impact Catholic education.

At least 33 Catholic dioceses and scores of private and independent Catholic schools across the United States have decided to take a cautious approach to the relatively new and untested “Common Core” and have opted out of using it so far. They have continued to use their own standards and curricula that have kept them at the top of the academic charts for decades. Their courage and conviction in not following the latest educational reform and sticking to what has been field-tested and fully vetted is worthy of review.  Here’s a brief overview of what some of these dioceses and schools have done.

The Archdiocese of Denver was among the first to acknowledge concerns and withhold acceptance of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Denver was soon followed by the Diocese of  Fargo and then the Dioceses of Pittsburgh,  Manchester, Lansing, Madison, and Superior. Each of these confident and high-performing dioceses issued formal statements justifying their decisions not to jump on the Common Core bandwagon. Many published statements by the bishop or superintendent.

In some cases, statements came after thoughtful and heartfelt input from parents and from concerned faithful Catholics who had grave concerns about bringing the Common Core standards into Catholic schools. The parents’ concerns included a worry about a decline of Catholic identity; that the strict college and career focus of the utilitarian standards did not properly focus on the integral development of students; that the standards were in places less rigorous, slowed math progression and reduced exposure to great literature; that the standards were untested; and that the standards were thrust upon the nation without full disclosure about their impact and even their content. One of the earliest and most insightful groups of parents was Pittsburgh Catholics Against Common Core, who appealed to Bishop David Zubik to rely on the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s more complete Catholic standards.  Bishop Zubik, after careful consideration, later issued a statement assuring that only fully Catholic resource materials would be used in the schools and participation in any federal student data sharing would not occur.

Other dioceses have followed with similar policies, since the Common Core standards starting manifesting themselves in Catholic schools in 2012.  The Diocese of Baker, Oregon, is among the most recent to reject the full implementation of the math and English language arts standards, stating earlier this spring, “there are more than a few reasons to be cautious about adopting Common Core.”  These include the lack of endorsement by some English and math professors present on the original validation committee and concerns about potential content issues with history, health education and social studies.

Other dioceses not using the CCSS include Little Rock, Nashville, and Wilmington. They have elected to continue the use of their own diocesan designed standards and curriculum guides. These tested and successful guides not only include specific standards but also resource material, formal and informal assessments, instructional approaches, student accommodations and suggestions for parental involvement.  Many of the standards, while self-selected, take into account some secular and professional standards and incorporate them into the diocesan designed program of study; the dioceses do not operate in a complete vacuum, although they do operate with a distinctly Catholic paradigm.

While it is uncertain from their websites whether other dioceses in Texas use the CCSS, the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and the Diocese of Dallas indicate that they use their own internally designed curriculum guides based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the International Reading Association (IRA).  The Diocese of Austin bases its standards on the TEKS.  These three dioceses educate 39,462 school children or 51 percent of the total Catholic student population taught in Texas (McDonald & Schultz, 2015).

Adjacent to Texas, the Dioceses of Tulsa and Oklahoma City use their own internal, previously generated curriculum guides and make no reference to the use of Common Core standards. Similarly, the dioceses in Nebraska and Virginia, whose state school officers never elected to incorporate the standards, do not use the Common Core. The dioceses in these four cities and states add another 63,953 Catholic school children being educated without Common Core (McDonald & Schultz, 2015).

At least seven of these non-Common Core dioceses have their curricula online:  Charleston, Dallas, Denver, Galveston-Houston, Nashville, Superior and Tulsa. Some dioceses have offices for curriculum and instruction and are able to work on these areas full-time. These dioceses use the existing professional, state and national standards along with the professional expertise of curriculum designers, members of the clergy, religious orders and input from teachers to create guides or standards for their school systems.

One problem faced by these non-adopting dioceses is how to steer clear of both the Common Core standards and the instructional approaches the standards employ, when using textbooks and materials created by publishers whose goods are stamped “Common Core aligned”. This has raised, and continues to raise, concerns among parents who see these books and worksheets coming home after having been told Common Core standards are not utilized in their diocese.

Sandra Leatherwood, director of Catholic education for the Diocese of Charleston, addresses this issue by saying that although it’s awfully hard to get around the use of Common Core- marketed materials, schools don’t have to teach the Common Core Standards when they use these books. They can use their own created curriculum guides. Like most dioceses that work under the concept of subsidiarity, in the Diocese of Charleston, representative teachers from each school gather first to develop the math and English standards and then bring them back to the individual schools for internal review and comment. In her Diocese, Leatherwood said the local teachers have the autonomy to select the textbooks that best align to their own created curriculum.  Leatherwood emphatically stated that the issue is not whether the textbook is aligned to Common Core, but whether the textbook aligns to the diocesan curriculum.

A number of Catholic schools and dioceses have come to see that choosing the best materials and using the best instructional methods means not incorporating all of the instructional “shifts” required by the Common Core standards, such as reducing selections of classical literature or implementing a recreation of the 1990s  “Math Wars”..  These schools and dioceses require instructional approaches that promote rigor and perseverance by forcing students to think for extended periods of time, pushing their developmental capacity.  Reducing classical selections that portray man in all the scenarios of his perpetual struggle to survive and buying literature anthologies that look like commercials are something these dioceses and private independent schools have chosen not to do. Rather they focus on the use of proven pedagogy and proven curricula that facilitate the search for authentic and transparent truth, whether inside or outside the specific text that children encounter.

Most of the dioceses that have not implemented the Common Core emphasize on their websites and official statements the desire to prepare students for more than college and career. These dioceses have taken to heart the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops clarification that the Common Core standards are “insufficient” to guide Catholic education.  These dioceses are upfront that the purpose of their schools is to educate the whole child in a unique Catholic worldview, where educational accomplishments sit alongside other milestones of life. They emphasize that their educational efforts are ordered toward the fulfillment of the whole person, and they do not view knowledge as primarily a commodity to be bought, sold and amassed for worldly success.

A Catholic school’s primary concern is not that students measure up to the standards of the world so that they can compete in the race for economic security and academic stature. Rather, Catholic schools fulfill an evangelizing mission of providing opportunities for their students to encounter Christ in a personal and intimate way.  Instilling virtue, integral formation and development of the soul and pursuing authentic truth in a culture of relativism are all central to a Catholic school’s standards and curriculum.  Catholic schools are much more than the Common Core.

Acknowledging this, and the fact that the vast majority of schools in the nation are singing from one sheet of music and following one “way” of going about the complex human activity that is education, some dioceses have gone a little further and are exploring a liberal arts/ classical curriculum model using original source documents and a structured developmental pedagogy.  And both the Diocese of Marquette and the Kaukauna Catholic School System in the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, have decided to move toward the integration of English Language Arts and Social Studies into a combined Humanities program.

As with the best Catholic schools in the country, faith permeates the curriculum in these schools, but curriculum is framed around the historical development of Christianity and the developmental aptitudes of the child.  These schools are more concerned with process and excellence of content, rather than standards.  They are more concerned with setting a child’s imagination and creativity on fire, rather than unending mind-numbing assessments designed to quantify and measure learning so as to weed out bad schools and teachers.  Their classical, liberal-arts model emphasizes the use of inspired learning and authentic teacher-based assessment of student (not teacher or school) progress. Individualized attention, focus on tried and true stories emphasizing what is noble and normative of human excellence, happiness and flourishing, these schools are places of joy and intense academic growth.

There are many examples of individual schools seeking to break out of the cookie-cutter Common Core curricula and reclaim their rich heritage—and in the process, reclaim their market share.  Families stuck in Common Core schools are looking for something unique, something uncommon, something that will help their child stand out in a crowd, and more importantly help their child love school and love to learn for learning’s sake. Near-failing Catholic schools such as St. Jerome’s in Maryland have seen dramatic turnarounds by boldly proclaiming a Catholic and classical identity. Other schools formerly on the brink of closure such as St. John the Baptist Parish School in Ottsville, Penn., are seeking to follow suit and fight their way to prominence by being boldly Catholic and boldly counter-Common Core.

It’s not only existing Catholic schools that are recovering a sense of education that is beyond college and career; new schools are starting up to meet the need for something more than the Common Core.  The National Association of Private Catholic Independent Schools has seen a dramatic increase in membership since the Common Core started gaining a foothold in 2012. New private schools teaching the Catholic faith have sprung up in Arizona, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina and Wisconsin.  Many of these schools are using a classical pedagogy and courses of study from foundational homeschool programs such as Kolbe Academy, Mother of Divine Grace and the new Chesterton Academies.  It is undetermined how many students these recognized members plus autonomous up-starts are teaching, but theirs is an upward trend (Donohue, 2014).  A newly formed support organization called  The Institute for Catholic Liberal Education has also seen rapid growth in the last two years, as it seeks to expose a hungry market to a comprehensive approach to education which is wholesome, weighty, meaningful, tested and soul-nourishing.

In time, there may be some fruits that come from the Common Core, but there is already plenty of good fruit on the table of classical and faith based-liberal arts schools.  The children are happy and well-fed.  Room for more fruit, once ripe and deemed healthful, can perhaps be made in the future with care.  Until then, there is much to feast upon while we wait—and waiting is something we Catholics do well.

References

Donohue, D. (2014). Private independent Catholic schools: Components of successful start-up schools. Accessible at http://gradworks.umi.com/35/81/3581846.html.

McDonald, D. & Schultz, M. (2015). The annual statistical report on schools, enrollment and staffing: United States Catholic elementary and secondary schools 2014-2015. (Arlington, VA: National Catholic Educational Association).

Disconnect between Common Core’s Literary Approach and Catholic Education’s Pursuit of Truth

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Many of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts are, when taken in isolation and at face value, fairly innocuous.  Who, after all, could be against a fifth grader being  asked to “Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact)”?  Other Standards are more disconcerting; for a detailed review, see the NAPCIS Annotated Common Core Standards.

But a substantial concern is with the guiding educational philosophies behind the Common Core. These philosophies are present in what the Common Core describes as its “instructional shifts” and are the promise behind the standards:

These Standards are not intended to be new names for old ways of doing business. They are a call to take the next step. It is time for states to work together to build on lessons learned from two decades of standards based reforms. It is time to recognize that standards are not just promises to our children, but promises we intend to keep. (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010, Intro.)

The Common Core is about new ways of doing business (i.e., new ways of educating). They are a new promise, the next step, in education.  As has been argued elsewhere, the Common Core was unveiled nationally even though, as a whole, it was untried and untested. However, far from delivering a new way of doing business, what the Common Core has done is privilege one way of educating. The designing consultants have simply taken one side in ongoing, com- plex, pedagogical issues.  The Common Core’s national scope has thereby crowded out other voices and philosophies and hampered intellectual and pedagogical diversity.

In the highly idiosyncratic, dynamic, complex and necessarily personal world of human intellectual formation, there are many paths to excellence.  Catholic schools, with their unique focus on integral human formation and the celebration of truth, beauty and goodness, should protect their voice and their viewpoints. Catholic schools should understand and be aware of the Common Core shifts, reject their narrow and utilitarian philosophies, and seek to counter the Common Core’s effects with a distinctly more holistic and complete Catholic educational experience.

This report focuses primarily on the English Language Arts (ELA) standards, as those tend to have a greater immediate effect on Catholic identity.  (However, math too is affected, as one side in the ongoing  “math wars” has unilaterally claimed power.)  The Common Core has taken one side of a complex debate about different literary and interpretive theories and the nature and purpose of literature.

It is possible, of course, that the authors of the ELA standards are not even fully aware of what they have done.  The standards’ main architect, David Coleman, is neither a professor of literature nor has he ever taught literature in the K-12 environment.  He is an educational consultant who happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right connections with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to take the lead in transforming American literary education. And—like Common Core funder Bill Gates, who never went to college—Coleman seems to have little regard for the transformative or transcendental power of literature.  He once advised educators in a Common Core presentation: “[A]s you grow up in this world, you realize people really don’t give a s–t about what you feel or what you think” and, “It is rare in a working environment that someone says, ‘Johnson, I need a market analysis by Friday but before that I need a compelling account of your childhood.’” For Coleman and Gates, reading seems to be about distilling facts, writing is about reports and education is about college and career readiness.

According to this utilitarian approach to education, we need to fix America’s schools to ensure that we are able to produce workers who can compete in the 21st century global economy.  In order to ensure our success, the logic goes, we need extensive testing to ensure quality control both in student learning and in teacher efficacy. Enter the computer-based, massive, Common Core testing system being rolled out across the country this spring. Two versions of a new test being used to assess both the students and teachers in their mastery of the Common Core have been unleashed on our schools, teachers and students.  Much more, no doubt, will be said on this subject as the scores and uses of the scores become evident.

It is perhaps in the challenge of computerized high-stakes testing that we find one of the reasons for the Common Core’s alignment with one literary theory over all others.  The method advanced by the writers of the standards is what they call Close Analytic Reading or Close Reading and is very similar to a literary approach used in the 1940s and 1950s called New Criticism (Brizee & Tompkins, 2011).  According to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), one of the two testing consortia funded by the federal government to assess the standards:

Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately.  Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details.  It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. (PARCC, 2011, p. 7)

Close Reading/New Criticism allows for easier computer testing. There is the perception that if all we are testing is the text on the page, this will somehow be more objective.  Words are what they are.  The text in isolation can supposedly be tested in isolation with few variables and thus more accuracy. We can get to a simpler, fill-in-the-bubble “objective” response. This method may also be perceived as fairer to those who may not have robust life experiences to think about the meaning or implications of the text, even if the text comports with reality or truth outside of the text.  No opinions need to be considered or evaluated, which computers would have a hard time doing anyway.

So it’s an apparent win/win—the test gets more objective answers, and teaching gets easier since variables are reduced—but in fact the cost is quite high.  It is the eviscerating and over- simplification of the literary and reasoning experience.  Testing is often about limiting variables; education, on the other hand, is often about multiplying variables, about complexity, depth and richness that a student may very well miss if we are striving to get to the one, right bubbled answer.

The Close Reading/New  Criticism approach used by the Common Core not only assists in standardized testing, but it can also be used as a way to make sure that literature serves the pragmatic college and career focus of the Common Core.  From this perspective, the value of literature is not so much what it teaches us about how to live well, but that it teaches us how to read well (e.g. Just tell me what’s in the report, Johnson!).

Elements of New Criticism can be used as a means to this end by focusing simply on a systematic analysis of the text, objectifying the relationship between the text and its form, limiting the text to itself, and negating the reader ’s response and/or  the author’s intentions (Delahoyde, n.d.; Murfin & Ray, 1998).  New Criticism does not invite external socio-political or historical perspectives. As Delahoyde (n.d.) states:

The goal then is not the pursuit of sincerity or authenticity, but subtlety, unity, and integrity—and these are properties of the text, not the author.  The work is not the author ’s; it was detached at birth.  The author ’s intentions are “neither available nor desirable, [and] …meaning exists on the page, the meaning of the text is intrinsic and should not be confused with the author ’s intentions nor the work’s affective dimensions”. (Delahoyde, n.d., para. 3)

Here we see a limiting of the pursuit of truth by the actual formula used to analyze the text. Not only is the pursuit of truth limited in this approach, but the author ’s actual position is disregarded as well.

While the Close Reading approach advocated by the CCSS authors does rely heavily upon the search for the author ’s explicit and implied themes, many aspects of Close Reading are comparable to the New Criticism approach.  For instance, teachers are to give the text to the students with little to no background information and are not to add additional pieces of information to the discussion—something that other reading experts recommend doing (NCTE, 2004; Steven, 1982). The selected text itself sets the parameters of the discussion, and students are to answer questions from evidence within the text.

For example, here’s a Close Reading lesson from the Teaching Channel titled, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat by Michael Pollan.  In the YouTube video (Stabrowski, 2014), the teacher demonstrates how to guide a group of students through a series of questions to see how the author has personified corn as an evil King and how corn has chased poor innocent animals and other crops off of the farm.  If the students do not arrive at the conclusion that corn is evil, then the teacher rewinds (meaning re-teaches) that portion of the lesson so that the students all understand this fact. Students read the text once to get the gist of the text. Then the teacher, or a good reader, reads the text aloud while the students listen and think about the text-dependent (pre-made) questions they are given to answer. When discussing the questions and answers, students are not to go outside of the text to research whether corn has any nutritional benefits or how it is exported to feed other countries.  They are not to bring up any personal thoughts about corn, only evidence from the text.  They are then instructed to correct or add to their answers, so that they are in conformity with the class discussion. Here we have a very concerted effort, and an entire class period, directed to making sure students have an exact understanding of the author ’s intentions, both explicit (with evidence from the text) and implied.  It is pretty hard for an elementary or middle school student to disagree, after this much effort has been put into understanding the author ’s viewpoint.

Pearson (2013), a member of the Common Core Validation Committee and proponent of the standards, has stated that Close Reading seems to squelch the activation of students’ prior knowledge (since all knowledge is remanded to the text), and the freedom to evaluate and compare is based upon this prohibited “outside” knowledge.  While he is concerned about the fact that cognitive learning theory is being neglected by this approach, he raises a more important issue: the suppression of freedom among the students and teachers to include other perspectives and considerations in addition to those advocated by the text and the author. Pearson explains this as the authors’ misunderstanding  about the process of comprehension and the fact that prior knowledge cannot be turned off or on at will. Pearson wonders if once a student learns about the authors’ points, can the student then use that information in the next selected reading of the author—extending the first selected text into the second, into the entire chapter, into the book—or must the reader be remanded to the selected piece in front of them?

In college and university literature departments around the country, discussions about the validity and applicability of various literary approaches in the pursuit of meaning are ongoing.  But for the teachers and students in American schools, the discussion has ended: Close Reading is it.

Our goal in teaching literature to kids is not just to prepare them for possible graduate school in English; our goal, especially in Catholic schools, is to form them and expose them to great, engaging, formative and normative literature and in the process instill in them a love and passion for reading great literature.  (See The Story Killers by Terrance Moore (2013) for an extended discussion of this point.)  Important to K-12 students is reading and engaging in well-crafted stories that will assist them in becoming wiser and better people, leading to more satisfying and richer lives. For our children, stories are not just about texts and techniques, but also about people and relationships.  Stories are not just about literary styles and interpretive complexities, but also about exploration into the imaginative and powerful terms surrounding the nature of reality, morality, faith and virtue. Great literature presents images of nobility and excellence—and their opposites—for our judgment and self-judgment, as we engage in deep and meaningful discussions about what it means to be a fully actualized, good human being. The textual technicalities and techniques, which are more easily tested and discussed using New Criticism and Close Reading, are means rather than ends in the K-12 literary experience—and this is most especially true for Catholic schools.

In Catholic schools, knowledge is attained when the human intellect, informed by the senses, judges things rightly.  Confining students to their own background knowledge or the point of view of the text rewards subjectivity and relativity, instead of Truth.   Concluding a lesson without having the opportunity to discuss other viewpoints that might in fact contain Truth, allows doubt, misinformation and even fallacy to solidify in the student’s mind. In catechesis, this would be like leaving students adrift after speaking about Creation and the Fall, putting off until later the promise of the Resurrection.  If these texts are so important to be analyzed in the light of close reading, then they are important enough to be read in the light of all of the viewpoints and perspectives that surround them.  As Fr. Robert Spitzer (2011) notes in a discussion of the pursuit of truth, there are far more errors of omission than commission, which means that leaving out data is just as harmful to the pursuit of truth as getting the wrong data or making logical errors.

Catholic educators, especially if they are using Common Core-developed texts and questions, need to look carefully at what texts and what questions are being left out. Their focus needs to be on the pursuit of the true, good and beautiful, not on getting the right answer on the Common Core test-inspired questions at the end of any publisher ’s provided worksheets. Catholic educators need to look deliberately and carefully at the real, rich and wonderful world outside the text. For the text, in combination with reality, may prove a mighty formative weapon. The text, in context, may very well brilliantly unveil reality—sometimes with life-changing effect. The purpose of reading is more than downloading text-limited knowledge. In addition, reading can sometimes simply be for pleasure, joy and wonder.  There is life outside of the Common Core and its tests.

Teachers in Catholic schools must move well beyond the Common Core in their much more profound efforts toward the integral formation of their students in mind, body and spirit. They do this through their intellectual and moral example, living the truth with love, and exposing their students to complex reality in all of its glorious manifestations.  In the Vatican’s document The Catholic School (1977), we read:

The school considers human knowledge as a truth to be discovered. In the measure in which subjects are taught by someone who knowingly and without restraint seeks the truth they are to that extent Christian. Discovery and awareness of truth leads man to the discovery of Truth itself.  (para. 41)

It also leads students to a discovery of Truth, Himself.  The purpose of our Catholic educational institutions, according to Pope Benedict (2008), is to first and foremost be a place where students can encounter the living God. Pope Benedict (2010) also reminds us that the purpose of our Catholic schools is to make saints!

Overuse of the methodology of Close Reading and a reconstituted literary approach of New Criticism is insufficient in the much broader and more complex pursuit of truth in which we are called to engage in our Catholic schools. There are other analytical tools and approaches in the field of literature that are also helpful to address the richness and power of literary possi- bility, creativity and passion. Among these are Reader/Response, Moral Criticism, and Struc- turalism (Brizee & Tompkins, 2011). Catholic students need rich exposure to Moral Criticism, which is more open to an analysis of the text’s teachings related to topics of wisdom, grace, beauty and virtue. (See http://www.westga.edu/~jmcclain/Literary%20Theory/moralintellectual_critical_appr.htm for more on Moral Criticism.)  This broader interpretive framework will better enable Catholic schools to avoid unnecessarily or unwittingly narrowing their efforts.

Former Secretary for the Congregation for Catholic Education, Archbishop Michael Miller, C.S.B., describes this dynamic when he warns:

All too many Catholic schools fall into the trap of a secular academic success culture, putting their Christological focus and its accompanying understanding of the human person in second place.  Christ is “fitted in” rather than being the school’s vital principle (2006, p. 26).

He goes on to say, “This conviction about the nature of truth is too important for Catholics to be confused about,” (p. 46) and “Unlike skeptics and relativists, Catholic educators share a specific belief about truth: that, to a limited but real extent, it can be attained and communicated to others.”  He warns that:

Catholic schools (should) take up the daunting task of freeing boys and girls from the insidious consequences of what Pope Benedict XVI has called the “dictatorship of relativism”—a dictatorship that cripples all genuine education. Catholic teachers are to cultivate in themselves and develop in others a passion for truth that defeats moral and cultural relativism.  They are to educate “in the truth.” (p. 46)

Our standards, Catholic school standards, are not synonymous with the Common Core State Standards. As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has pointed out, the Common Core Standards are in and of themselves insufficient to guide Catholic educational efforts (USCCB, 2014). Solomon (2003) states that standards represent a culture’s explicit statements that it “finds worthy of transmission” (p. 3). Our culture, as enshrined in the ubiquitous Common Core and its oppressive testing regimen, values a utilitarian approach to education that only half-prepares our students for life beyond high school graduation.  According to Archbishop Miller, “If a Catholic school is to deliver on its promise to provide students with an integral education, it must foster love for wisdom and truth, and must integrate faith, culture, and life” (p.45) by using instructional approaches that focus on much more than evidence from the text and whose horizon includes more than college and career.

There is much more to say regarding weaknesses in the Common Core ELA standards, especially another of the ELA shifts – graduated percentages of informational text.  The Common Core designers have errantly, without clear data or clear direction, mandated an increase in informational texts in all levels or all schools.  This, by necessity, means a  decrease in great literature.  More on this travesty will be forthcoming from The Cardinal Newman Society.

The Common Core’s dismissive attitude toward the transcendent power of literature is hopefully exposed not just by these articles but in reflecting again on Common Core architect David Coleman’s remarks, “[A]s you grow up in this world you realize people really don’t give a s–t about what you feel or what you think,” and “It is rare in a working environment that someone says, ‘Johnson, I need a market analysis by Friday but before that I need a compelling account of your childhood.’”  We can see how Catholic schools must completely reject these notions and their enshrinement in the Common Core.  We believe we are about authentic human excellence and human flourishing. We will, by happy circumstance, produce better workers and better scholars because we will produce better, more integrally developed, human persons.

Johnson may have a job, but will he have a life? Johnson’s boss may not care about what Johnson feels or thinks: but his wife will, and his children will, and his friends will, and his neighbors will, and if he is a teacher, his students will, and if he is a politician, his constituents will. And even his cynical boss may not care what Johnson thinks or feels, but his boss will care that Johnson thinks or feels. Johnson will not only be a stunted human being having learned under the Common Core, but he will also be a poorer employee.

Even public schools exist to produce thoughtful, productive and independent citizens in a democratic republic, not just workers and college students.   A strong democracy requires strong people, not just strong workers.  We need students to be more humanized in order to address the crisis and challenge of today’s world, not less.  This is not a time to set our sights on the “common” or the cultural status quo.  This is a time requiring vision and excellence.

In Catholic schools, we know we are not just producing workers and scholars, we are producing living, breathing, complex, contradictory, eternally destined, unrepeatable and immensely valuable human beings.  Our bishops and parishes do not support schools and keep them open to provide better “career and college readiness”.  They keep Catholic schools open to provide the liberation that comes from a thoughtful, loving and free encounter with the living God.  Catholic schools exist not for their pragmatic worldly usefulness, but rather to actuate the authentic freedom to which each person is called and to provide skills at apprehending and integrating reality, including that which transcends the text, in all of its fullness and glory.

References

Coleman, D., & Pimentel, S. (2012). Revised publishers’ criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and literacy, Grades 3–12. Retrieved from  http://www. corestandards.org/assets/Publishers_Criteria_for_3-12.pdf.

Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus. (2008). Meeting with Catholic Educators: Address of His Holi- ness Benedict XVI. Retrieved from  http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speech- es/2008/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080417_cath-univ-washington.html.

Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus. (2010). Address of the Holy Father to pupils of St. Mary’s Univer- sity College. Retrieved from http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/ september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100917_mondo-educ.html.

Benedict, Pope Emeritus. (2014). Benedict XVI: Truth is not given up in the name of a desire for peace. Retrieved from  http://www.zenit.org/en/article/benedict-xvi-truth-is-not-given-up- in-the-name-of-a-desire-for-peace.

Brizee, A., & Tompkins, C. (2011). Form follows function: Russian formalism, new criticism, neo- Aristotelianism. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/03/.

Delahoyde, M. (n.d.). Introduction to literature: New criticism. Retrieved from  http://public. wsu.edu/~delahoyd/new.crit.html.

Miller, Michael. (2006). The Holy See’s teaching on Catholic education. Atlanta, GA: Solidarity Association.

Murfin, R., & Ray, S. (1998). The Bedford glossary of critical and literary terms. Retrieved from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/poetry/critical_define/crit_newcrit.html.

National Council of Teachers of English. (2004). On reading, learning to read, and effective reading instruction: An overview of what we know and how we know it. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/read/118620.htm.

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. (2011). PARCC model con- tent frameworks: English language arts/literacy  grades 3-11. Retrieved from  www.parccon- line.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCMCFELALiteracyAugust2012_FINAL.pdf.

Pearson, P. (2013). Research foundations for the Common Core State Standards in English lan- guage arts. In S. Neuman and L. Gambrell (Eds.), Reading instruction in the age of Common Core State Standards. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Retrieved from http:// www.scienceandliteracy.org/research/pdavidpearson.

Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. (1977). The Catholic school. Rome, Italy: Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education.

Solomon, P. (2003). The curriculum bridge: From standards to actual classroom practice. Thou- sand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Spitzer, Robert. (2011). Ten universal principles: A brief philosophy of the life issues. San Fran- cisco, CA: Ignatius Press.

Stabrowski, S. (2014). The omnivore’s dilemma: Close reading of a non-fiction text. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/omnivore-dilemma-close-reading-of-non- fiction-text-core-challenge.

Steven, K. (1982). Can we improve reading by teaching background information? Journal of Reading, 25, 326-329.

USCCB. (2014). Common core state standards FAQs. Retrieved from  http://www.usccb.org/ beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catholic-education/common-core-state-standards-faqs. cfm.

It’s About Navigating Life: The Importance of Philosophy & Theology

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Here is one of the clearest criteria for choosing or judging a college: you can be almost certain that any college that has dropped philosophy and theology from its core curriculum is not serious about a liberal arts education. And in my experience I find that this is true of many of the colleges in America.

This raises two questions: (1) What are philosophy and theology, and why are they crucial to a young person’s education today? (2) Aren’t they outdated, impractical, abstract, irrelevant, elitist, superfluous and even dangerous to faith and sanity?

Some Definitions

“Philosophy” means “the love of wisdom.” Wisdom is the knowledge of ultimate causes, explanations and principles. It includes knowledge of values, not just facts. It gives you a “big picture,” a “world-view” and a “life-view.” It explores such questions as these: What is the essence of a human being? What is the meaning (value, goal, purpose) of human life? What is a good life? What is a good society? Are there higher laws than man’s laws? Are we here by chance or design? Are we fated or free? How do we know what is good or evil? How do we know anything? Is anything certain? Can reason prove (or disprove) the existence of God? Why do we suffer? Why do we die? Is there life after death?

Anyone who is simply not interested in these questions is less than fully human, less than fully reasonable. Reasonable persons, even if skeptical about the possibility of answering them, will not dismiss them as unanswerable without looking (that is not reason but prejudice) but will examine the claims of philosophers to have given reasonable answers to these questions before settling into a comfortable, fashionable skepticism.

Theology comes in two forms, philosophical and religious. Philosophical theology (“natural theology”) is a subdivision of philosophy. It uses natural human reason to explore the greatest of all questions, the questions about God. Religious theology (or “revealed theology”) is a rational exploration of the meaning and consequences of faith in a revealed religion—in our case, the “deposit of faith” or “Sacred Tradition” of the Catholic Church which comes from Christ and His apostles, and the scriptures they wrote.

In most Catholic universities today, Sacred Tradition is no longer sacred. It is treated as something to be “dissented” from (“diss” is the first part of “dissent”), as an enemy to enlightenment, progress, maturity and liberation, or at least as an embarrassment to be “tweaked,” “nuanced” or “massaged” rather than as a gift to be gratefully, faithfully and lovingly explored.

Most Catholic universities today have philosophy departments that are excellent spiritually as well as academically, but have deeply compromised theology departments. Their effect on students is much more often to weaken their faith than to strengthen it, not only in controversial moral issues such as abortion, contraception, cloning, euthanasia and sexual morality, but even in fundamental doctrines such as Christ’s divinity and resurrection and the historical truth of the Gospels.

We badly need good philosophy and theology. But why? To answer this question, look at where they are taught. They are taught in colleges and universities. So to find the “why” of philosophy and theology, we must find the “why” of colleges and universities.

The Goal of Education

Considering the trillions of dollars spent on universities by parents, governments and foundations, it is amazing that most of the people who go there (the students) and most of the people who pay for them (the parents and the government) never even ask, much less answer, this question: What is the purpose of the university? It is the most influential institution in Western civilization, and most of us don’t really know exactly why we entrust our children to them.

The commonest answer is probably to train them for a career. A B.A. looks good on your resume to prospective employers. That is not only a crass, materialistic answer, but also an illogical one. Consider what it means. It means that the reason students should study in universities is so that they can get high grade-point averages and thus get better jobs when they graduate.

What does “better jobs” mean? It means first of all, to most of them, better-paying jobs. But why do they need better paying jobs? For the money, of course. Silly question. But why do they need money? That is an even sillier question. Life has expenses. What life? Most of them hope to marry and raise families, and it takes a lot of money to do that. Why does a family need a lot of money? The two most expensive things a family needs money for are a house and a college education for the kids.

Ah, so a student should study to get high grades to get an impressive resume to get a good job, to finance his family when it sends his kids to college to study, to get high grades, et cetera, et cetera.

This is arguing in a circle. It is like a tiger pacing round and round his cage in a zoo. Is there a better answer? There is if you know some philosophy. Let’s look.

Probably the most commonsensical and influential philosopher of all time was Aristotle. Aristotle says that there are three “whys,” three purposes, ends or reasons for anyone ever to study and learn anything, in school or out of it. Thus there are three kinds of “sciences,” which he called “productive,” “practical” and “theoretical.” (Aristotle used “science” in a much broader way than we do, meaning any ordered body of knowledge through causes and reasons.)

The purpose of the “productive sciences” (which we today call technology) is to produce things, to make, improve or repair material things in the world, and thus to improve our world. Farming, surgery, shipbuilding, carpentry, writing and tailoring were examples in Aristotle’s era as well as ours, while ours also includes many new ones like cybernetics, aviation and electrical engineering.

The purpose of the “practical sciences” (which meant learning how to do or practice anything, how to act) is to improve your own behavior in some area of your own life. The two most important of these areas, Aristotle said, were ethics and politics. (Aristotle saw politics not as a pragmatic, bureaucratic business of running a state’s economy, but as social ethics, the science of the good life for a community.) Other examples of “practical sciences” include economics, athletics, rhetoric and military science.

The third kind of sciences is the “theoretical” or “speculative” (contemplative), i.e., those that seek the truth for its own sake, that seek to know just for the sake of knowing rather than for the sake of action or production (though, of course, they will have important practical application). These sciences include theology, philosophy, physics, astronomy, biology, psychology and math.

Theoretical sciences are more important than practical sciences for the very same reason practical sciences are more important than productive sciences: because their end and goal is more intimate to us. Productive sciences perfect some external thing in the material world that we use; practical sciences perfect our own action, our own lives; and theoretical sciences perfect our very selves, our souls, our minds. They make us bigger persons.

And that is the reason for going to college in the first place: not to make money, or things, or even to live better, but to be better, to be more, to grow your mind as you grow your body.

The Big Picture

What we have been doing for the last several paragraphs is philosophy. We need philosophy because we need to explore such reasons, reasons for studying, reasons for universities’ existence, even (especially) reasons for your own existence. For one of the primary questions all great philosophers ask is: What is the meaning of life, the reason for being, the point and purpose and end of human existence in this world?  If you don’t know that, you don’t know anything because you don’t know the point of everything. If you don’t know that, you may get all A’s in all your subjects, but you flunk Life.

The answer to that question for any intelligent, honest and serious Christian, Jew or Muslim is God. Supreme wisdom is about knowing God. And philosophy is the pursuit of wisdom. So philosophy is ultimately the pursuit of God, using the tools of natural human reason and theology by faith in supernatural divine revelation.

The “wisdom” philosophy pursues is not a factual knowledge like physics or history; but a knowledge, and understanding, and appreciation, of values, of what ought to be rather than merely what is. For instance, we need to know whether career (work) or family is more important, because most of us will invest enormous emotional and physical energy in both, and they will always compete and conflict to some extent.

We want to know the meaning of falling in love and romance and sex. What is its meaning, its purpose? For two generations now we have been asking every conceivable question (and many inconceivable questions, too), but not this one, not the very first and most basic one.

You see? Philosophy and theology raise the mind’s eyes to The Big Picture. If we can’t see that, we miss the forest and see only the trees; we count the syllables in the book of life but don’t know what kind of a story we are in.

Good Philosophy, Good Theology

One philosopher tells this story. (I paraphrase.) I was raised in a New York City slum. There were no books in my house. No one in my high school cared about education. I found an escape in the great 42nd Street library, where I devoured books indiscriminately. One day, I happened to read the famous “allegory of the cave” from Plato’s Republic. It changed my life. I found my identity. My life was that cave, and philosophy was the way out into another, bigger world. My mind was born that day. For the rest of my life I have explored the world outside the cave, the world of ideas, and taught others to do so. The biggest thrill in my life is finding among my students someone like me whom I can show that there is a way out of the cave, and that there is a bigger world outside.

That is why we all need to study philosophy (and, even more obviously, theology): because it is the discovery of another world, another kind of world, another kind of reality than the material world: the discovery that ideas are real, and that (in the words of a great book title) “ideas have consequences.”

The only alternative to good philosophy is bad philosophy. “I hate philosophy” is bad philosophy, but it is a philosophy: egotism. “Philosophy isn’t practical” is a philosophy: pragmatism. “Philosophy doesn’t turn me on” is a philosophy: hedonism.

Everyone has a philosophy, just as everyone has an emotional temperament and a moral character. Your only choice is between “knowing yourself” and thinking about your philosophy, or hiding from it and from yourself. But what you do not think about will still be there, and will still motivate you, and have consequences, and those consequences will affect all the people in your life up to the day of your death and far beyond it.

Your philosophy can quite likely and quite literally make the difference between heaven and hell. Saint Francis of Assisi and Adolf Hitler were not professional philosophers, but both had philosophies, and lived them, and went to heaven or hell according to their philosophies. That is how much of a difference thought can make: “Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Buddha said, “All that we are is determined by our thoughts: it begins where our thoughts begin, it moves where our thoughts move, and it rests where our thoughts rest.”

Philosophy can lead you to God, and theology can lead you further into God (or away from Him). And God is the source of all truth, all goodness and all beauty; that is, of everything we value. (If that is not true, then God is not God.) All truth is God’s truth; when an atheist discovers some scientific truth, he is reading the mind of God, the Logos. All goodness is God’s goodness; when an agnostic secularist loves his neighbor, he is responding to divine grace. All beauty is God’s beauty; when a dissipated, confused and immoral artist creates a thing of beauty, he is using the image of God in his soul, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, however anonymously, and participating in God’s creative power.

Philosophy is a necessity if you want to understand our world. Bad philosophy is the source of most of the great errors in our world today. Errors in philosophy are devastating because they affect everything, as an error of an inch in surveying the angle of a property line will become an error of ten yards a mile down the line.

Most of the controversies in our world today can be understood and solved only by good philosophy and theology; for instance, the relation between world religions, especially Islam and Christianity; human life issues such as abortion, euthanasia and cloning; the justice of wars; the meaning of human sexuality and of the “sexual revolution”; the relation between mind and brain, and between human intelligence and “artificial intelligence”; the relation between creation and evolution; how far we are free and responsible and how far we are determined by biological heredity and social environment; the relation between morality and religion, and between religion and politics; and whether morality is socially relative or universal, unchanging and absolute.

Revealed theology claims to have the answers, or at least the principles that should govern the answers, to many of these questions. So theology is even more important than philosophy, if answers are more important than questions. And of course they are, for the whole point of asking a question, if you are honest, is the hope of finding an answer. It is nonsense to believe that “it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive,” and good philosophy refutes that self-contradiction. If it’s not better to arrive at your goal of truth than to strain after it, then truth is not really your goal at all, and the straining after it is a sham.

That is not, of course, to say that it is easy to arrive at the goal of truth, or that all we need is a set of answers we believe on the Church’s authority but do not understand. The truly respectful attitude toward the authority of the Church—which is an extension of the authority of Christ—is to let revealed truth permeate our minds and our lives like light, not simply to preserve that light by hiding it under a bushel basket. All “ideas have consequences,” especially divinely revealed ideas; and it is our job to lovingly draw out those consequences, like philosophers, and not to fear them, like heresy hunters, or to claim them as our own in a spirit of superiority to our divine teacher, like heretics.

Answering Objections

But there are objections to philosophy and theology out there. If this were not so, the teaching of these subjects would not have declined so precipitously. Let us briefly consider and answer some of them.

What can you do with philosophy and theology anyway? We have already answered that question by noting that it is the wrong question. The right question is what they can do with you.

But they’re so abstract! Yes, and that is their glory. To be incapable of abstraction is to be less than human, or a less than fully developed human. Animals and small children, for instance, are incapable of abstraction. They do not talk about Fate and Freedom, or Good and Evil, or Divinity and Humanity, or Life and Death (all abstractions). They talk only about hamburgers and French fries, boo boos and bandages, malls and cartoons. These things are not “the real world.” They are the shadows on the walls of Plato’s cave. Philosophy and theology are not fantasy. They are the escape from fantasy.

But philosophy is a dinosaur—it isn’t up to date, modern, popular, etc. No. Neither is wisdom, virtue, happiness, piety, fidelity, courage, peace or contentment.

What does philosophy have to do with real life? Everything. It is more important to know the philosophy of a prospective employee or employer, landlord or renter, friend or enemy, husband or wife, than their income, social class or politics.

Philosophy is elitist. It speaks of “Great Books” and “Great Ideas” and “Great Minds.” Yes, it does. At least good philosophy does. If you prefer crummy books, stupid ideas and tiny minds, you should not waste your money on college. If you believe that all ideas are equal, rather than all persons, you are confused and need a philosophy course. (Is the idea that all ideas are equal equal to the idea that they are not?)

“Philosophy bakes no bread.” It does not make you rich.  It is contemplative, like monasticism.  True. But why do we make money and bread? Is money our means (of exchange) to our end? Money is for bread, and bread is for man, and man is for truth. The ultimate end of human life is contemplative: knowing and appreciating the truth. We will not be baking bread or making money in Heaven, but we will be philosophizing.

Religion makes philosophy superfluous. If you have faith, you don’t need reason.  Yes, you do: you need reason to understand your faith. And you need reason to know whether your faith is the true faith. There are many fakes. And how do you know that unless you think about it? And if you don’t want to think about your faith, then either you aren’t really very interested in it, or you are afraid it is so weak that it will not endure the light. In that case you need a faith-lift.

But philosophy can be a danger to faith. Many have lost their faith through philosophy. Yes, and many have gained it, too. Of course, philosophy is dangerous. So is love, and trust, technology and money. Bad things are always misuses of good things. Wherever great harm is done, great help could have been done.

Final Things

This is especially true in theology. I know a chaplain who was ministering at the bedside of an old, dying man who had “lost his faith” and left the Church decades ago. The chaplain asked him what he believed about life after death, and the man replied that he had no idea where he was going and he didn’t think anyone else did either, because no one had any idea where they came from in the first place or why they are here.

The chaplain disagreed. He said, “You know the answers to those questions. You learned them as a little boy. You forgot them. But you can remember them now. It’s not too late. You learned the Baltimore Catechism, didn’t you? Yes, you did. Do you remember how it begins?”

The man wrinkled his brow, retrieving an old memory. “Yeah. It went like this: ‘Who made you? God made me. Why did God make you? God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” The man paused, lifted his eyes, and said, “You’re right. That’s true!” And a smile appeared on his face. And then he died.

You need philosophy and theology now because you will need it on your deathbed later.