{"id":484,"date":"2019-07-04T13:59:44","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T05:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jesus4lesbians.com\/?p=484"},"modified":"2019-07-04T14:38:23","modified_gmt":"2019-07-04T06:38:23","slug":"the-case-of-mike-moroski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/Jesus4lesbians.com\/?p=484","title":{"rendered":"The Case of Mike Moroski"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/span><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>The case of Mike Moroski[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

\"\" Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati dismissed Mike Moroski, the\u00a0assistant principal of Purcell Marian High School (Dayton, OH) after he refused to remove a private blog expressing support for same-sex marriages.\u00a0 Here are the words of Mike Moroski describing the situation that has been imposed upon him:<\/p>\n

On Monday, February 4th<\/sup> [2014] I was given an ultimatum by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.\u00a0 Namely, to take down my post on this site entitled, \u201cChoose Your Battles,\u201d sign a number of documents assuring my silence and keep my job \u2014 or, resign.<\/p>\n

After much deliberation with my wife, family, trusted clergy, professionals from all walks of life and my own meditative silence, I decided not to\u00a0take the post down, nor to recant my position that \u201cI unabashedly believe gay people SHOULD be allowed to marry. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

If I take that post down I would not be able to look at the thousands of former students and families with whom I have worked for twelve years in the eye. . . . \u00a0\u00a0What would I say to all of them if I were to go against my OWN conscience[2]<\/strong><\/a> so that I could keep my job for four months?<\/p>\n

I refused to agree to the Archdiocese\u2019s terms BECAUSE OF my faith formation at Catholic schools and relationship with Catholic family members & clergy \u2014 not in spite of it [. . .]<\/p>\n

If any of you Cavaliers\u00a0[students at Purcell Marian High School] are reading this, please know that I love you and I am in your corner.\u00a0 I hope that someday you may come to understand why I am not in my office to share a laugh, a cry or a story. . . . \u00a0\u00a0As I always tried to teach you \u2014 NEVER compromise who you are for someone else \u2014 and NEVER let anyone make you someone THEY want you to be.\u00a0 Be strong and take care of one another [. . .]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cMorality Clause\u201d in Teacher Contracts<\/h2>\n

\"\"After the dismissal of Mike Moroski and after the Archdiocese was successfully sued in court by a fired teacher for $171,000,[3]<\/a> it appears that Archbishop Schnurr met with his lawyers and was advised to include a \u201cmorality clause\u201d[4]<\/a> in all teacher contracts so as to better protect the interests of the Archdiocese in future court cases.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 This \u201cmorality clause,\u201d would make it perfectly clear that teachers acknowledged certain ways of acting as incompatible with their employment in the Archdiocese.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u201cmorality clause\u201d of the new teachers contract for the 2014-2015 school year permits not only for the firing of gay and lesbian school employees, but also for anyone supporting of the \u201chomosexual lifestyle\u201d [which presumably includes same-sex marriage] as grounds for dismissal.<\/p>\n

In response to Archbishop Schnurr\u2019s \u201cmorality clause,\u201d Dr. Sharon Groves, director of the Human Rights Campaign published the following analysis:<\/p>\n

At a time when Pope Francis is talking about support of civil unions, the Cincinnati Archdiocese, in a throwback to past times, is talking about firing gay and lesbian teachers and silencing their straight supporters.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t in keeping with the olive branch Pope Francis has extended to LGBTQ people around the world, but even more importantly, it\u2019s not in keeping with the living message of God\u2019s love of all people.<\/p>\n

The majority of Catholics and people of faith believe LGBTQ people deserve dignity, respect, and equal protections under the law,[7]<\/strong><\/a> and at the same time leaders of the Cincinnati Archdiocese are determined to weed out supporters of LGBTQ equality.\u00a0 This must stop.<\/p>\n

The new contract also prohibits membership in an LGBTQ equality organization, such as the Conference of Catholic Lesbians or DignityUSA.\u00a0 Creating a safe space for LGBTQ young people, by placing a multicolored-rainbow sticker on your car bumper, for example, could [presumably] be grounds for dismissal.[8]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I had the opportunity to interview some Catholic teachers perplexed by this change in policy.\u00a0 All of them were angry at the heavy-handed coercion involved in the imposition of the \u201cmorality clause.\u201d\u00a0 One teacher noted that \u201csigning this new contract effectively meant that we [the teachers] would lose our civil liberties outside the classroom as the price for continuing to teach inside the classroom.\u201d\u00a0 In contrast, Paul Kindt, a high school religion teacher, reported that he proudly signed the contract because he believed that the Catholic Church has \u201cTHE TRUTH\u201d about love and marriage and that is precisely what he presents to his students\u2014\u201dno human opinions,\u201d he emphasized, \u201cjust God\u2019s point of view.\u201d[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

Another teacher I interviewed was much more personally distressed by the \u201cmorality clause\u201d:<\/p>\n

My own brother has just recently come out that he is homosexual.\u00a0 I personally want to listen to him deeply but also to publicly support him in the changes that this will produce in his life.\u00a0 In signing this contract, I feel that I am endorsing a Catholic education that forces young people to suppress or deny any homosexual leanings because they are indoctrinated from their earliest years that such a condition leads to serious sin and the threat of eternal hellfire.\u00a0 This was what my brother was saying to our family.\u00a0 That he was scared out of his mind to even admit the truth to himself while he was in Catholic schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how is this to be resolved?\u201d, I asked.\u00a0 She continued:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m damned if I do and I\u2019m damned if I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I love teaching and I had made the choice of Catholic schools because they give kids a challenging moral code.\u00a0 But on this issue of homosexual unions, I\u2019m completely at a loss.\u00a0 If I sign, I will feel that I am betraying the best interests of my brother.\u00a0 If I don\u2019t sign, there is no way in hell that I could find a full-time opening in a public school this late in the summer.[10]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

My third interview was perhaps the most critical one:<\/p>\n

Our pastor gathered us in the rectory and heard some of the grievances surrounding the \u201cmorality clause\u201d in the new contract.\u00a0 By way of an action step, he proposed the following:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no investment in policing your private lives or in scrutinizing those causes you are supporting in our society.\u00a0 In fact, I detest the Archbishop\u2019s senseless meddling.\u00a0 I\u2019m more concerned with our ability, as a parish, to welcome with dignity all the diverse sorts of families that we have in our midst.\u00a0 When we celebrated the baptism of the twins adopted by Karl and Adam, I was proud of the diversity of our parish and proud of the way that everyone accepted gay parents with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the kind of worshipping community that Jesus would have championed had he been present.\u00a0 So, I don\u2019t see any reason to mount a protest in the face of the Archbishop\u2019s senseless meddling\u2014it would only put us in the limelight and give him a reason to begin disrupting the excellent ministries that we already undertaken.\u00a0 Hence, I trust you and our parents trust you with their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would, accordingly, ask you to sign the contract for this greater good and to let go of your anxieties.\u00a0 Be not afraid.\u00a0 I will stand behind you.\u00a0 How many would be able to live with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone gave a visible sign of relief.\u00a0 Not a single voice opposed the resolution this pastor proposed to his teachers.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

This interview illustrates how a local pastor had compelling reasons to take the side of his teachers and, for grave pastoral reasons, to deliberately subvert the intentionality of Archbishop Schnurr to purge the ranks of the 2,200 teachers employed by the Archdiocese.<\/p>\n

Molly Shumate, a first-grade teacher, was directly touched by one of the newly highlighted restrictions because she has a son who’s gay.\u00a0 She’s ending her career teaching at her childhood school rather than agree to the restrictions spelled out in the \u201cmorality clause\u201d that she says \u201ccould restrict her from publicly supporting her son.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn my heart, I know I need to go.\u00a0 I need to find another avenue because I am going to support my son,\u201d Shumate told CNN.\u00a0 \u201cIf in five or ten years he finds a partner and he wants to be with that person, I’m going to be in the front row with the biggest bouquet.\u201d [13]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cincinnati Chapter of the Voice of the Faithful mounted a campaign in support of teacher rights.\u00a0 They petitioned to be able to discuss this issue with Archbishop Schnurr, but he declined to meet with them or with representatives of the 2,200 teachers.<\/p>\n

The situation in the archdiocese of Cincinnati is not unique.\u00a0 Toughening up teacher contracts and getting rid of persons in same-sex unions or persons visibly supporting same-sex unions is growing.[14]<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Analysis<\/h2>\n

Archbishop Schnurr is in a real bind.\u00a0 He believes that his divine mandate is to be a courageous shepherd and \u201cto protect the faith of his flock\u201d in the face of doubters on the inside and critics on the outside.\u00a0 Archbishop Schnurr argues quite correctly that those parents who send their children to Catholic schools do so in the good faith that their teachers themselves affirm that faith in both their hearts and in their conduct.\u00a0 What is in the heart of a believer cannot be seen or judged.\u00a0 The conduct of their lives, however, is very much open to public observation and public judgment.\u00a0 This is why the \u201cmorality clause\u201d deals with issues of conduct that is to be expected of exemplary Catholic teachers.\u00a0 \u201cBy their fruits, you shall know them\u201d (Matt. 7:16)<\/p>\n

So far, so good.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, Archbishop Schnurr has not called for workshops designed to persuade his teachers that the Vatican has \u201cthe truth and the whole truth\u201d regarding sexual morality.\u00a0 Moreover, notice also that Archbishop Schnurr has not called for open dialog or for further research or for sensitive listening groups with gays and lesbians present precisely because he takes for granted that it is too late for such \u201csoft measures.\u201d\u00a0 In his mind, these issues have already been investigated and authoritatively settled by virtue of the Cardinal Ratzinger decrees (all approved by John Paul II) that were sent out to all bishops by the Vatican.<\/p>\n

This is also the reason why Archbishop Schnurr deliberately avoids meeting with \u201cdistressed teachers\u201d or their supporters.\u00a0 As the Archbishop sees it, these distressed teachers have signed on to be \u201cCatholics,\u201d so let them step up to the plate and deliver the goods.\u00a0 If they cannot, perhaps their gift as teachers needs to be used elsewhere.<\/p>\n

In this instance Archbishop Schnurr has adopted an authoritarian leadership style.\u00a0 He is committed to purging Catholic schools of teachers unwilling to accept his \u201cmorality clause.\u201d\u00a0 But does that go far enough?\u00a0 In the face of any call for open discussions among the parents and maybe even mild protests from among the students, does Archbishop Schnurr expect to play the authoritarian card when dealing with parents and students as well?\u00a0 You can bet he does!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Did Archbishop Schnurr act justly?<\/h2>\n

While it may be the case that Archbishop Schnurr has the right to hire and fire whomever he wishes, this does not mean that he can act arbitrarily.\u00a0 In other words, he must act justly.\u00a0 Here are some reasons to think that he did not.<\/p>\n

Bishops are required to protect homosexuals from unjust discrimination in employment.\u00a0 When Archbishop Schnurr formulated a \u201cmorality clause,\u201d he effectively barred the way for any qualified gay or lesbian faculty member from teaching in Catholic schools.\u00a0 Their only crime would be their sexual orientation.\u00a0 And since \u201csexual orientation\u201d is never a sin; it would be a gross miscarriage of justice to fire someone solely on the grounds of their sexual orientation.\u00a0 Hence, the morality clause is prejudicial and a direct violation of the Vatican ruling that Bishops are required to protect homosexuals from unjust discrimination in employment.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Schnurr went even one step further.\u00a0 He fired a teacher solely because he was unwilling to cover up his advocacy of \u201csame-sex marriages.\u201d Yes, I want to make clear that Archbishop Schnurr never met with Mike Moroski to see whether he could change his mind.\u00a0 And why not?\u00a0 Was he too busy to do so?\u00a0 Was he aware that open dialog on this point had little promise of success?\u00a0 Was he aware that even Pope Francis had argued that \u201ccivil marriages\u201d[15]<\/a> would be of benefit for same-sex couples?<\/p>\n

We will never know the answer to these questions.\u00a0 What we do know, however, is that Archbishop Schnurr was clear that if Mike Moroski removed his online post then the Archbishop would allow him to continue as a teacher in good standing.\u00a0 Sad but true.\u00a0 Archbishop Schnurr goal was to silence Mike Moroski.\u00a0 Then Archbishop Schnurr could go back to that person or those persons who originally objected to Mike Moroski\u2019s post and say, \u201cMike Moroski has withdrawn his statement.\u00a0 I, accordingly, have removed my threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

But make no mistake here.\u00a0 Archbishop Schnurr was party to creating a public deception. He was effectively saying to Mike Moroski, \u201cI know and you know that your mind is made up in favor of same-sex marriages.\u00a0 When you remove your online post, this will not change.\u00a0 What it will do, however, is to remove you from being in direct violation of the \u2018morality clause\u2019 in your teacher\u2019s contract.\u00a0 Your private views are of no consequence.\u00a0 It is only your public advocacy that is troublesome and punishable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Moroski was correct in understanding that \u201cmarriage\u201d would help to protect the civil rights afforded \u201csame-sex unions.\u201d\u00a0 Dozens of high-ranking bishops and cardinals have already gone on record to advocate the civil protection of \u201csame-sex unions.\u201d\u00a0 Pope Francis himself has favored for a long time the legalization of \u201csame-sex unions\u201d while reserving the term \u201cmarriage\u201d in its traditional meaning.<\/p>\n

All in all, Archbishop Schnurr\u2019s decision to dismiss Mike Moroski on this issue alone is a gross violation of justice.\u00a0 The Catholic Church has made it clear . . .<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. That no one ought to be coerced to act against their conscience;<\/li>\n
  2. That since the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has already made room for a diversity of views[16]<\/a> respecting how the rights of gays and lesbians are to be best protected, it follows that Mike Moroski was entirely justified to express his opinion on this matter;<\/li>\n
  3. That a just punishment must always be measured by the gravity of the crime committed.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Archbishop Schnurr thus acted rashly and unjustly.\u00a0 Instead of honoring Mike Moroski\u2019s rights, he effectively trampled over them.\u00a0 He imposed grave harm on Mike Moroski and on his family.\u00a0 He deprived Purcell Marian High School of a capable, dedicated teacher and administrator. Even beyond this, Archbishop Schnurr betrayed the trust that he has as an administrator\u2014he has given grave scandal by mismanaging the affairs of the Church.<\/p>\n

    Furthermore, Archbishop Schnurr acted against the interests of gays and lesbians within the Catholic Church by lashing out at Mike Moroski.\u00a0 Archbishop Schnurr has the obligation to honor and protect gays and lesbians as loved by God and as deserving the pastoral care of his office. \u00a0He also has the obligation to \u201cact justly\u201d as an employer and not to punish Mike Moroski by imposing a \u201cgag order\u201d designed to hinder his well-intentioned and legitimate support for same-sex civil marriages.<\/p>\n

    In Boston, meanwhile, this very issue was being discussed by Cardinal O\u2019Malley:<\/p>\n

    At the end of the event [a panel discussion on Pope Francis held in Boston on 14 Sept 2014], after the crowd had dissipated, I [Francis DeBernardo<\/a>] had the opportunity to thank\u00a0Cardinal O\u2019Malley one-on-one for his compassionate remarks earlier in the evening about the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n

    As we spoke, the cardinal told me that we must first convince people we love them before talking about the Ten Commandments. I pointed out that it has\u00a0been hard to convince LGBTQ Catholics\u00a0and their allies of this love when so many church workers have had LGBT-related employment disputes with Catholic schools and parishes. Responding to my comment, Cardinal O\u2019Malley said this trend\u00a0was a situation that \u201cneeds to be rectified.\u201d[17]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, in far-flung Australia, another voice sounds that upholds the \u201cdeviance\u201d of Mike Moroski and pushes against the forces of oppression in the Church represented by the Archbishop:<\/p>\n

    Australian Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen has said that it is\u00a0not good enough for the Church to treat gay people with compassion and then define their lifestyle as \u201cintrinsically disordered,\u201d \u201cWe cannot talk about the \u00adintegrity of creation, the universal and inclusive love of God, while at the same time colluding with the forces of oppression in the ill-treatment of racial minorities, women and homosexual persons<\/strong>,\u201d said Bishop Long of Parramatta\u00a0diocese in western Sydney.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt won’t wash with young people, especially when we purport to treat gay people with love and compassion and yet define their sexuality as ‘intrinsically disordered.’ This is particularly true when the church has not been a shining beacon and a trailblazer in the fight against inequality and \u00adintolerance.\u201d[18]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

    <\/a>The position of Archbishop Schnurr<\/h2>\n

    Archbishop Schnurr will be seen by some to join himself with those parents who rashly disown their own children when they \u201ccome out\u201d as lesbians or gays.\u00a0 These are the children who are forced to live on the streets and who are forced to commit petty thefts and sometimes even to sell their own bodies in order than they might stay alive.\u00a0 These are the children who, despairing of ever being truly understood and loved, are tempted to cut themselves and to bring their misery to an end.<\/p>\n

    Archbishop Schnurr will be seen by some as joining himself with those parents who hate \u201cqueers\u201d and who send their children to a Catholic high school because they mistakenly believe that teachers openly condemning the lifestyle of \u201cqueers\u201d offer their children a measure of immunity from ever being \u201cqueer.\u201d\u00a0 The parents who took notice of Mike Moroski\u2019s website and who reported him to the Archbishop Schnurr might indeed have had this frame of mind.\u00a0 They might even have threatened to withdraw their children if appropriate action was not taken.<\/p>\n

    If Archbishop Schnurr was concerned about protecting the spiritual lives of gays and lesbians enrolled in Purcell Marian High School, do you not think that he might have included in his morality clause a warning against \u201cthose teachers who demonstrate by word or action an irrational fear or unchristian prejudice against gays and lesbians\u201d?\u00a0 And what if a teacher would post a blog that includes this: \u201cI hate gays and should any child of mine admit to being gay, I would immediately disown him\u201d?\u00a0 Would Archbishop Schnurr take quick action here as he did in the case of Mike Moroski?<\/p>\n

    Sad to say, I expect he would not.<\/p>\n

    On the other hand, Catholic teaching distinguishes between the person, the inclination, and the act. Persons with homosexual inclinations are not to be condemned or excluded from the Church. On the contrary, they are children of God who have an equal dignity with every other human being. \u00a0If they yield to the inclination to homosexuality, they might commit a serious sin.\u00a0 But just as in the case of any other Catholic who gives in to the temptation to sin, they are urged to trust in God\u2019s mercy, to confess their failings, and to reform their lives. At no time do they become unlovable or unforgiveable in God\u2019s eyes or in the eyes of the Church.\u00a0 This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church <\/em><\/strong>speaks of the inclination toward homosexual acts as \u201cobjectively disordered\u201d while, at the same time, insisting that persons with such inclinations \u201cmust be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

    This is why administrators must weed out teachers who demonstrate by word or action an irrational fear or unchristian prejudice against gays and lesbians.\u00a0 They are excluded for the very same reason why racists were excluded from the ranks of teachers in the 1970s.\u00a0 The same goes for the teacher who claims that he would disown his own child should they identify themselves as gay or lesbian.\u00a0 This is an unnatural and unchristian impulse that must be challenged rather than championed.\u00a0 And I would fully expect Archbishop Schnurr to remove any teacher who would make such menacing claims in his private blog.<\/p>\n

    What is troubling, however, is that Archbishop Schnurr is so decidedly one-sided when it comes time to disqualifying teachers. \u00a0Anyone who supports same-sex unions or who enters into a same-sex civil marriage has to be excluded.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 One can allow that this issue is important for the Archbishop.\u00a0 But why then does the Archbishop not be consistent by excluding anyone unable or unwilling to accept gays and lesbians with \u201crespect, compassion, and sensitivity\u201d?[19]<\/a>\u00a0 Is this not the greater sin?\u00a0 Is this not the far greater danger to our youth?<\/p>\n

    <\/a>When students at risk have nowhere to turn<\/h2>\n

    It is the lack of compassion and sensitivity that drives young people to acts of desperation.\u00a0 Some feel alienated from their own school chums because they feel left out by their dating games.\u00a0 Some even despair that God cursed them with the abnormality of being \u201cqueer.\u201d Many run away from intolerable situations at home and live, vulnerable and exposed, in the dark alleyways and flop houses of our urban jungles.\u00a0 Many resort to cutting themselves or overdosing on drugs.\u00a0 Here are the essential facts to guide us on our way:<\/p>\n