An American bishop has pulled back from implementing a morals pledge for teachers in Catholic schools, requiring them to affirm Church teachings on matters such as abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage.
Bishop Robert Vasa of Santa Rosa in California had intended to require all teachers and administrators — Catholic and non-Catholic — to “agree that it is my duty, to the best of my ability, to believe, teach/administer and live in accord with what the Catholic Church holds and professes”.
This pledge — including the requirement to reject “modern errors” that “gravely offend human dignity,” including contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia — had been written into new contracts for the 2013-14 school year.
The bishop said his policy was designed to ensure that teachers in Catholic schools provided models of Catholic living for their students.
After disquiet spread among parents, teachers, students and pastors, Bishop Vasa had a meeting with 10 school principals and announced he was postponing the policy.
In a letter to school staff and parents, he said he regretted not gathering input from pastors and administrators prior to issuing the requirement for teachers to sign the new contract.
Bishop Vasa acknowledged that his “most serious oversight … was my failure to engage and consult the pastors of the diocese and especially those who are the local shepherds of our Catholic schools”.
He said his “degree of vigilance” in assuring “the greatest hope of finding the truths of Jesus in our Catholic schools” for students could “look like a lack of trust”.
The bishop also acknowledged “that I overlooked proper engagement of the principals” and “erroneously chose a path of informing rather than mutual discernment”.
Bishop Vasa said he planned to implement the policy “in some form” in 2015.
Between then and now, he said, “in conjunction with other theological educators, I will work to prepare presentations on matters of faith and morals” with principals and teachers as the “primary audience”, though “hopefully parents also will find a way to participate.”
Sources:
Image: Les Femmes
Related Posts:
News category: World.
