Friday, February 13, 2015
Cordileone's continuing controversy in San Francisco revolves around Catholic identity
Brian Cahill
National Catholic Reporter
February 13, 2015
The continuing controversy surrounding San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's attempt to emphasize Catholic teaching on sexuality in the San Francisco high schools under his control is, among other things, about how we understand Catholic identity.
In the context of our secular society, it is good and necessary for a diocesan bishop to focus on Catholic identity.
The question is: How does a Catholic organization -- a school that does not limit its hiring or its services to Catholics -- manage the tension between what our church teaches in the area of sexuality and how it is expected to carry out its mission, serve its students and support its staff in the pluralistic society in which we live and operate?
The answer: very carefully. It's an ongoing challenge, one not conducive to an ideological, thought-police approach.
Some years ago, San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Robert McElroy, who did his dissertation on the writings of Jesuit priest and theologian John Courtney Murray, wrote: "It is the responsibility of the Church to proclaim the whole Gospel, but it is not the responsibility of each part of the Church to proclaim it the same way."
McElroy is an assistant bishop in San Francisco, but Cordileone appears tone deaf to this kind of nuanced thinking.
Cordileone could also learn from former San Francisco Archbishop John Quinn, who has written about the public duty of bishops. In 2009, Quinn wrote expressing concern that some bishops are exacerbating the existing culture war mentality, "which corrodes debate both in American politics and in the internal life of the Church." He then quoted Christus Dominus: "The Church has to be on speaking terms with the human society in which it lives."
If Cordileone can't listen to two bishops in his own backyard, why should we be surprised that he won't listen to anyone else?
The archdiocese has declared that Catholic schools "exist to affirm and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus." Cordileone and his fellow culture warriors seem to have forgotten that the "Gospel of Jesus" can best be found in the Beatitudes and in Matthew 25: "What you did for the least of my brothers and sisters." The Gospel of Jesus is a message of love and inclusiveness -- a calling to charity and justice.
The conduct, maturity, integrity, loyalty and compassion of members of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School and other demonstrators in front of the St. Mary's Cathedral last week tell me and should tell Cordileone that Catholic identity is alive and well in our Catholic high schools. In their compassion and support for their teachers, they were giving witness to charity and justice -- the essence of Catholic identity.
Cordileone and his representatives keep insisting there is nothing new here, but there is: in the specificity of the handbook, in the implied threat to non-Catholic teachers and to dissenting Catholic teachers. There is a cloud of uncertainty, confusion and demoralization over these schools -- teachers, students and parents -- even if the "minister" issue is taken off the table and this situation is dialed back to some form of "don't ask, don't tell."
The archbishop constantly refers to confusion about church teaching about sexuality, not just in his announcement of his handbook changes, but also in many of his public pronouncements, implying that if we just understood the teaching, everything would be fine. But there is no confusion about contraception and, increasingly, same-sex civil marriage. There is strong, thoughtful, conscience-driven opposition. He also uses the words "timeless church teachings" and conveniently forgets how the church was wrong on Galileo and slavery and ignores that the "timeless church teaching" on same-sex adoptive parents was written in 2003.
Cordileone suggests that he is in line with Pope Francis. In one way, he may be correct: It doesn't appear that Francis is going to be changing any doctrine in the near future. But the whole world knows we have a pope who is focusing on Jesus' message of love and inclusiveness and who has told Cordileone and his fellow culture warrior bishops to quit being obsessed with the sexuality issues. Our archbishop doesn't even appear to be listening to his boss.
Cordileone turns out not to be a very good culture warrior. He's been the point man for the American bishops trying to stop civil same-sex marriage, and he won one battle with California's Proposition 8. Since then, 37 states have approved gay marriage. He is 1-37. If he were a football coach, he would have been fired a long time ago. But no other bishop probably wants the job.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
St. Teresa of Avila's survival guide for Catholic women
Nicole Sotelo
National Catholic Reporter
February 12, 2015
When I was a young girl falling madly in love with God, a nun gave me two books about St. Teresa of Avila. Later, I discovered that Teresa and I had another thing in common besides love of God: concern for women's equality. Teresa witnessed women suffering in a church that did not value their gifts, so she set out to make changes. As part of her reforms, she wrote a prayer manual, or, as I like to think of it, a 16th-century feminist survival guide.
At the time, church officials did not think women capable of accessing God through prayer on their own. "Mental prayer," or contemplative prayer, was considered dangerous without guidance. The Inquisition had recently banned a number of prayer books, and women's prayer was particularly suspect.
After Teresa's confessor forbade her to share her autobiography with her fellow nuns, she turned around and wrote another book, The Way of Perfection. Today, it is considered a spiritual classic on prayer. I also consider it a spiritual classic on Catholic women's liberation.
Teresa was a church reformer par excellence. She knew it wasn't enough to reform external structures. One also had to reform internal ones, the beliefs we carry around inside us.
So as she went about reforming her Carmelite order, she also sought to transform women's understanding of themselves.
Teresa wrote the prayer book for her fellow brave reformers, the sisters of her new communities. She seemed to know that it is in deepest prayer that we discover the truth about ourselves; that in prayer, her fellow sisters could discover that they, too, were equally beloved of God.
In the book, Teresa roots her thoughts in Scripture, proclaiming, "Nor did you, Lord, when you walked in the world, despise women; rather, you always, with great compassion, helped them. And you found as much love and more faith in them than you did in men."
And she reminds her fellow sisters that the officials of her day who pronounced judgments against women were not in accord with the Great Judge, "since the world's judges are sons of Adam and all of them men, there is no virtue in women that they do not hold suspect."
Teresa exhorts her fellow sisters to believe in their own ability to pray and access God. "Should anyone tell you that prayer is dangerous, consider him the real danger and run from him."
Most of all, she encouraged her fellow sisters to continue their prayer, despite injunctions against it by church officials: "Hold fast, daughters, for they cannot take from you the Our Father and the Hail Mary."
This line was later retracted from future manuscripts after one of her censors wrote in the margin, "It seems here that she is reprimanding the Inquisitors who prohibited books on prayer." Indeed.
Teresa certainly suffered for her bold beliefs. From church officials who said her "experience was from the devil" to house arrest, she faced myriad trials. In her earlier writing, The Book of Her Life, she concedes, "There were enough things to drive me insane."
But Teresa knew that things would eventually change. "Yes, indeed, the day will come, my King, when all will be known for what they are. ... I see that these are times in which it would be wrong to undervalue virtuous and strong souls, even though they are women," she wrote in The Way of Perfection.
She tells her fellow sisters that God will give them the courage they need. She suggests that if "one or two ... fearlessly do what is best," that things will begin to change.
Most of all, she assured them to continue confidently: "It is harmful to walk on this road with fear. It is very important for you to know that you are on the right road."
That "right road" led to the transformation of Teresa's religious order so many years ago. It is just one reason Carmelites around the globe will celebrate the 500th anniversary of her birth next month.
The transformation of the church to one that truly values women, however, clearly isn't finished. When the pope considers women "the strawberry on the cake" and Catholic women still lack full equality, it is helpful to turn again to Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century saint who knew women's worth and wrote a powerful guide for their prayer. Teresa's writing spoke to the heart of women nearly five centuries ago. It still speaks volumes today.
When I was a young girl falling madly in love with God, a nun gave me two books about St. Teresa of Avila. Later, I discovered that Teresa and I had another thing in common besides love of God: concern for women's equality. Teresa witnessed women suffering in a church that did not value their gifts, so she set out to make changes. As part of her reforms, she wrote a prayer manual, or, as I like to think of it, a 16th-century feminist survival guide.
At the time, church officials did not think women capable of accessing God through prayer on their own. "Mental prayer," or contemplative prayer, was considered dangerous without guidance. The Inquisition had recently banned a number of prayer books, and women's prayer was particularly suspect.
After Teresa's confessor forbade her to share her autobiography with her fellow nuns, she turned around and wrote another book, The Way of Perfection. Today, it is considered a spiritual classic on prayer. I also consider it a spiritual classic on Catholic women's liberation.
Teresa was a church reformer par excellence. She knew it wasn't enough to reform external structures. One also had to reform internal ones, the beliefs we carry around inside us.
So as she went about reforming her Carmelite order, she also sought to transform women's understanding of themselves.
Teresa wrote the prayer book for her fellow brave reformers, the sisters of her new communities. She seemed to know that it is in deepest prayer that we discover the truth about ourselves; that in prayer, her fellow sisters could discover that they, too, were equally beloved of God.
In the book, Teresa roots her thoughts in Scripture, proclaiming, "Nor did you, Lord, when you walked in the world, despise women; rather, you always, with great compassion, helped them. And you found as much love and more faith in them than you did in men."
And she reminds her fellow sisters that the officials of her day who pronounced judgments against women were not in accord with the Great Judge, "since the world's judges are sons of Adam and all of them men, there is no virtue in women that they do not hold suspect."
Teresa exhorts her fellow sisters to believe in their own ability to pray and access God. "Should anyone tell you that prayer is dangerous, consider him the real danger and run from him."
Most of all, she encouraged her fellow sisters to continue their prayer, despite injunctions against it by church officials: "Hold fast, daughters, for they cannot take from you the Our Father and the Hail Mary."
This line was later retracted from future manuscripts after one of her censors wrote in the margin, "It seems here that she is reprimanding the Inquisitors who prohibited books on prayer." Indeed.
Teresa certainly suffered for her bold beliefs. From church officials who said her "experience was from the devil" to house arrest, she faced myriad trials. In her earlier writing, The Book of Her Life, she concedes, "There were enough things to drive me insane."
But Teresa knew that things would eventually change. "Yes, indeed, the day will come, my King, when all will be known for what they are. ... I see that these are times in which it would be wrong to undervalue virtuous and strong souls, even though they are women," she wrote in The Way of Perfection.
She tells her fellow sisters that God will give them the courage they need. She suggests that if "one or two ... fearlessly do what is best," that things will begin to change.
Most of all, she assured them to continue confidently: "It is harmful to walk on this road with fear. It is very important for you to know that you are on the right road."
That "right road" led to the transformation of Teresa's religious order so many years ago. It is just one reason Carmelites around the globe will celebrate the 500th anniversary of her birth next month.
The transformation of the church to one that truly values women, however, clearly isn't finished. When the pope considers women "the strawberry on the cake" and Catholic women still lack full equality, it is helpful to turn again to Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century saint who knew women's worth and wrote a powerful guide for their prayer. Teresa's writing spoke to the heart of women nearly five centuries ago. It still speaks volumes today.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Release of new language for San Francisco teacher handbooks sparks protests
Dan Morris-Young
National Catholic Reporter
February 9, 2015
Students, parents, teachers, gay activists, media commentaries, and others have challenged San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's assurances that new faculty handbook language for the four archdiocesan-administered high schools does not "introduce anything essentially new" or "target ... any teachers, singly or collectively."
However, some have lauded the archbishop for the 2,000-word handbook statement, "Statement of the High Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Regarding the Teachings and Practice of the Catholic Church," and its focus on sexual morality and religious practice as well as its strong warning to "administrators, faculty and staff" to "arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church teaching.
The handbook statement and teacher labor contract language Cordileone seeks at those four schools were made public Feb. 3 during afternoon meetings between school administrators and their faculties.
That same day, Melanie Morey, the director of the archdiocese's new Office of Catholic Identity Assessment, emailed the text of the handbook language, a letter from Cordileone, and the three desired labor clauses to administrators of the 10 other Catholic high schools within the archdiocese in what she said was an informational courtesy.
In her email, Morey told the school officials that the documents "contain information that is critical to Catholic identity" and "lay out some of the beliefs a Catholic school claims when it chooses to operate as Catholic. It also explains the responsibilities of faculty and administrators in relation to those beliefs."
Immediately after the documents were released, opposition surfaced to Cordileone's handbook language and labor contract clauses, including a social media campaign launched by students, #teachacceptance, which also supports a petition promoted by Call to Action, "Discrimination and Fear Do Not Belong in Our Schools." The petition had received more than 5,400 signatures by Monday morning.
On Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a front-page analysis on the issue and an editorial titled "Wrong city, wrong century."
The editorial conceded the archbishop's authority "to ensure that his rigid interpretation of church doctrine is taught," but criticized what it called "this attempt to silence teachers and other school employees."
The editorial called the handbook statement "an affront to the many practicing Catholics -- especially in this region -- who have issues with doctrine that would deny same-sex couples the right to marry or prevent families from employing modern medicine to experience the joy of parenthood or to prevent or terminate pregnancy."
Cordileone was the keynote speaker at a long-planned Friday in-service event under the auspices of the Department of Catholic Schools that was open to teachers from all 14 Catholic high schools. More than 350 people attended the event at San Francisco's Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (SHCP), two blocks from St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, where a 9:30 a.m. Mass was held for the educators prior to the assembly. Cordileone presided and was homilist.
SHCP is one of the four archdiocesan-operated high schools. The others are Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, Junipero Serra in San Mateo, and Marin Catholic in Kentfield.
Archdiocesan security personnel did not permit people without convocation badges or other clearance into the cathedral for the liturgy. Several teachers entering the church declined to comment.
Braving driving rain, nearly 200 protesters, most of them students dressed in black as a statement of solidarity, staged a vigil and prayer service on the cathedral's plaza during the Mass.
Many protesters carried signs: " 'If a person is gay and seeks the Lord out of good will, who am I to judge?' -- Pope Francis"; "Inequality is the root of all evil"; and "Homosexuality is not a sin, intolerance is."
The protesters formed a two-block-long line from the cathedral's exit to the entrance of SHCP as teachers left the liturgy. Clearly moved by the show of support, many teachers thanked the protesters as they walked to the school.
Passing cars on busy Gough Street honked continually, and some people shouted support for the protesters out of their windows.
Elizabeth Purcell, an English teacher who has been at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco for 19 years, told NCR during the vigil that she was not representing her school but was participating "as a teacher in support of other Catholic school teachers."
"The language that the archbishop has laid out is unacceptable," she said. "It's exclusive. It's hateful. It denies everything we teach our students about inclusion. ... The kids at St. Ignatius are very upset. They're afraid it'll lead to indoctrination, not education."
Purcell is also one of the promoters of a statement opposing the archbishop's contractual and handbook initiatives. Backers were seeking signatures for the "open letter" and donations to run it as an advertisement in NCR.
Linda Swan, a mother to two SHCP alumni, said, "My brother is gay, so I know what it's like to feel like you're on the outside. I can't believe we're going back to the Stone Age, especially with this new pope."
Kathy Curran, who has one child at St. Ignatius and another at SHCP, said: "I sent my kids to Catholic school because of the strong academics, but also because I wanted them to have the best church foundation possible in charity, love and justice. This initiative pulls us away from that. I'm deeply saddened and profoundly troubled by the change in the teacher contracts and the handbook. I don't want the teachers to be put in a position of signing a contract they disagree with because they need a paycheck or health care."
SHCP junior Morgan Hood and St. Ignatius senior Jasmine Barnard summarized what many of the student protestors said.
"We have a lot of faculty and students who are part of the LGBQT community, and we don't want them to feel they're not welcome and supported," Hood said.
Barnard agreed. "A bunch of my friends are gay. I have an amazing teacher who changed my life, and she's gay."
Billy Bradford traveled from Castro Valley to join the protest. Holding a sign that says, "Cordileone denies gay families," he said, "I'm a gay father with a kid in college. I'm unhappy about what the archbishop's saying about my moral failings and how my family is not a family."
Nick Andrade, well-known for his board work and support for Catholic Charities CYO in the archdiocese as well as with various schools, also took part in the vigil.
Andrade told NCR he considers Cordileone a friend and has driven the archbishop to help serve at Wednesday evening meals sponsored by San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Parish. The parish website describes it as "a spiritual home to all: senior citizens and youth; single people and families; those who are straight, gay, lesbian, and transgendered; the healthy and the sick, particularly persons with HIV disease."
"We have had some good times talking" during the trips to and from the parish, Andrade said, although he said he has not had an opportunity to visit with Cordileone about the faculty handbook declarations.
What advice would he have given Cordileone?
"I would have asked him to be really cautious and ... most importantly to be concerned how it is going to affect other people especially within the gay and lesbian community," Andrade said.
"I understand and completely honor his beliefs ... and he will also tell me he honors my beliefs. He does not agree with them, and I do not agree with his. But the one thing about the Catholic church that is really nice is that we are allowed to agree and disagree."
"I have never felt him to be unwilling to listen or to consult and talk about issues," Andrade said. "He's really good with small groups, but once he gets with large groups, he can take on a different persona. I think he is terribly shy and as a result of that, he does not come off as being welcoming. But I have found him to be very friendly, and even though we have disagreed on some major issues, he's listened and he's been thoughtful."
"He is surrounding himself with some people who, I think, are like-minded, and that is a difficulty," Andrade said. "I don't think he's getting other points of view."
In conversation following Cordileone's address to the teachers Friday morning, archdiocesan Catholic Identity Assessment director Morey underscored Cordileone's "deep integrity" and desire to help young people develop healthy, integrated spiritual and sexual lives.
Morey said hurting or diminishing gay people "is the last thing" Cordileone would want to do.
SHCP graduate and chaplain Fr. Mark Doherty said he supports Cordileone's move.
Catholic school teachers, he told NCR in an email Saturday, "bear the responsibility -- at a bare minimum -- to conduct their professional and public lives, in both word and deed, in such a way as to not present a contrary witness. The new language to be introduced in the faculty handbook is meant to be an aide to faculty members. By clarifying what exactly the Church teaches on neuralgic points of human sexuality and religious practice, the new language ... can help faculty members direct the course of their professional and public conduct in such a way as to not flagrantly contradict the Church's stated mission."
"This is especially true in an age and region where the prevailing cultural trends promote an often-times harmful vision of spirituality and sexuality that hinders and threatens human flourishing," wrote Doherty, who is also parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish in San Francisco.
Another priest of the archdiocese, who asked not to be named, said he has deep reservations about the handbook language. He and others said Cordileone did not consult the archdiocesan priests' council or his consultors in development of the statement, and he had not provided them a heads-up of its content or pending release.
The priest said many of his clerical colleagues are "outraged."
"If I were asked to do a handbook," he said, "I would write, 'We believe and affirm the 16 documents of Vatican II, which are the supreme teaching authority of the church.' "
"This is a wonderful church in the archdiocese," Fr. David Ghiorso, pastor of St. Charles Parish in San Carlos, told NCR, "[but] I struggle with understanding what is transpiring. At the same time, I take the promise of obedience very seriously and to publicly challenge the decisions and actions of our leaders is not easy for me to do. It goes against so much of my priesthood. We can be so much better than what is happening presently in this local church."
In the wake of extensive news coverage about the handbook changes, Head of School Karen Hanrahan at Mercy High School in Burlingame sent a letter to parents clarifying that the school is "one of 10 high schools that are sponsored by religious orders and, therefore, considered independent."
"We understand that this is a challenging time for our colleagues in the four archdiocesan high schools and we hold them in our thoughts and prayers," the letter also said.
An independent Catholic high school official texted NCR on Saturday to say she was "still processing" the previous day's cathedral events and the issues involved.
"More than anything, I am saddened by Archbishop Cordileone's overall approach," she wrote. "It's Pharisaic to say the least -- and his comments about trying to be with the people are simply empty words."
"If he rented a room in [a poor neighborhood], got rid of his body guard, and started having real conversations with people, then he might build credibility," she said. "Cordileone will do much more damage if he continues in this trajectory. ... Imagine if he had started from the ground up and tried to have an impact on the culture by engaging in conversations with educators, students, and their parents. No -- this was about asserting his power and control, which is absolutely contrary to the message of Jesus."
San Francisco activist and blogger Michael Petrelis announced that a "kiss-in" protest of what he called Cordileone's "bigoted remarks and policies" would be held Feb. 21 outside the cathedral to coincide with the archdiocese's annual liturgy to honor married couples.
Students, parents, teachers, gay activists, media commentaries, and others have challenged San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone's assurances that new faculty handbook language for the four archdiocesan-administered high schools does not "introduce anything essentially new" or "target ... any teachers, singly or collectively."
However, some have lauded the archbishop for the 2,000-word handbook statement, "Statement of the High Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Regarding the Teachings and Practice of the Catholic Church," and its focus on sexual morality and religious practice as well as its strong warning to "administrators, faculty and staff" to "arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church teaching.
The handbook statement and teacher labor contract language Cordileone seeks at those four schools were made public Feb. 3 during afternoon meetings between school administrators and their faculties.
That same day, Melanie Morey, the director of the archdiocese's new Office of Catholic Identity Assessment, emailed the text of the handbook language, a letter from Cordileone, and the three desired labor clauses to administrators of the 10 other Catholic high schools within the archdiocese in what she said was an informational courtesy.
In her email, Morey told the school officials that the documents "contain information that is critical to Catholic identity" and "lay out some of the beliefs a Catholic school claims when it chooses to operate as Catholic. It also explains the responsibilities of faculty and administrators in relation to those beliefs."
Immediately after the documents were released, opposition surfaced to Cordileone's handbook language and labor contract clauses, including a social media campaign launched by students, #teachacceptance, which also supports a petition promoted by Call to Action, "Discrimination and Fear Do Not Belong in Our Schools." The petition had received more than 5,400 signatures by Monday morning.
On Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a front-page analysis on the issue and an editorial titled "Wrong city, wrong century."
The editorial conceded the archbishop's authority "to ensure that his rigid interpretation of church doctrine is taught," but criticized what it called "this attempt to silence teachers and other school employees."
The editorial called the handbook statement "an affront to the many practicing Catholics -- especially in this region -- who have issues with doctrine that would deny same-sex couples the right to marry or prevent families from employing modern medicine to experience the joy of parenthood or to prevent or terminate pregnancy."
Cordileone was the keynote speaker at a long-planned Friday in-service event under the auspices of the Department of Catholic Schools that was open to teachers from all 14 Catholic high schools. More than 350 people attended the event at San Francisco's Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (SHCP), two blocks from St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, where a 9:30 a.m. Mass was held for the educators prior to the assembly. Cordileone presided and was homilist.
SHCP is one of the four archdiocesan-operated high schools. The others are Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, Junipero Serra in San Mateo, and Marin Catholic in Kentfield.
Archdiocesan security personnel did not permit people without convocation badges or other clearance into the cathedral for the liturgy. Several teachers entering the church declined to comment.
Braving driving rain, nearly 200 protesters, most of them students dressed in black as a statement of solidarity, staged a vigil and prayer service on the cathedral's plaza during the Mass.
Many protesters carried signs: " 'If a person is gay and seeks the Lord out of good will, who am I to judge?' -- Pope Francis"; "Inequality is the root of all evil"; and "Homosexuality is not a sin, intolerance is."
The protesters formed a two-block-long line from the cathedral's exit to the entrance of SHCP as teachers left the liturgy. Clearly moved by the show of support, many teachers thanked the protesters as they walked to the school.
Passing cars on busy Gough Street honked continually, and some people shouted support for the protesters out of their windows.
Elizabeth Purcell, an English teacher who has been at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco for 19 years, told NCR during the vigil that she was not representing her school but was participating "as a teacher in support of other Catholic school teachers."
"The language that the archbishop has laid out is unacceptable," she said. "It's exclusive. It's hateful. It denies everything we teach our students about inclusion. ... The kids at St. Ignatius are very upset. They're afraid it'll lead to indoctrination, not education."
Purcell is also one of the promoters of a statement opposing the archbishop's contractual and handbook initiatives. Backers were seeking signatures for the "open letter" and donations to run it as an advertisement in NCR.
Linda Swan, a mother to two SHCP alumni, said, "My brother is gay, so I know what it's like to feel like you're on the outside. I can't believe we're going back to the Stone Age, especially with this new pope."
Kathy Curran, who has one child at St. Ignatius and another at SHCP, said: "I sent my kids to Catholic school because of the strong academics, but also because I wanted them to have the best church foundation possible in charity, love and justice. This initiative pulls us away from that. I'm deeply saddened and profoundly troubled by the change in the teacher contracts and the handbook. I don't want the teachers to be put in a position of signing a contract they disagree with because they need a paycheck or health care."
SHCP junior Morgan Hood and St. Ignatius senior Jasmine Barnard summarized what many of the student protestors said.
"We have a lot of faculty and students who are part of the LGBQT community, and we don't want them to feel they're not welcome and supported," Hood said.
Barnard agreed. "A bunch of my friends are gay. I have an amazing teacher who changed my life, and she's gay."
Billy Bradford traveled from Castro Valley to join the protest. Holding a sign that says, "Cordileone denies gay families," he said, "I'm a gay father with a kid in college. I'm unhappy about what the archbishop's saying about my moral failings and how my family is not a family."
Nick Andrade, well-known for his board work and support for Catholic Charities CYO in the archdiocese as well as with various schools, also took part in the vigil.
Andrade told NCR he considers Cordileone a friend and has driven the archbishop to help serve at Wednesday evening meals sponsored by San Francisco's Most Holy Redeemer Parish. The parish website describes it as "a spiritual home to all: senior citizens and youth; single people and families; those who are straight, gay, lesbian, and transgendered; the healthy and the sick, particularly persons with HIV disease."
"We have had some good times talking" during the trips to and from the parish, Andrade said, although he said he has not had an opportunity to visit with Cordileone about the faculty handbook declarations.
What advice would he have given Cordileone?
"I would have asked him to be really cautious and ... most importantly to be concerned how it is going to affect other people especially within the gay and lesbian community," Andrade said.
"I understand and completely honor his beliefs ... and he will also tell me he honors my beliefs. He does not agree with them, and I do not agree with his. But the one thing about the Catholic church that is really nice is that we are allowed to agree and disagree."
"I have never felt him to be unwilling to listen or to consult and talk about issues," Andrade said. "He's really good with small groups, but once he gets with large groups, he can take on a different persona. I think he is terribly shy and as a result of that, he does not come off as being welcoming. But I have found him to be very friendly, and even though we have disagreed on some major issues, he's listened and he's been thoughtful."
"He is surrounding himself with some people who, I think, are like-minded, and that is a difficulty," Andrade said. "I don't think he's getting other points of view."
In conversation following Cordileone's address to the teachers Friday morning, archdiocesan Catholic Identity Assessment director Morey underscored Cordileone's "deep integrity" and desire to help young people develop healthy, integrated spiritual and sexual lives.
Morey said hurting or diminishing gay people "is the last thing" Cordileone would want to do.
SHCP graduate and chaplain Fr. Mark Doherty said he supports Cordileone's move.
Catholic school teachers, he told NCR in an email Saturday, "bear the responsibility -- at a bare minimum -- to conduct their professional and public lives, in both word and deed, in such a way as to not present a contrary witness. The new language to be introduced in the faculty handbook is meant to be an aide to faculty members. By clarifying what exactly the Church teaches on neuralgic points of human sexuality and religious practice, the new language ... can help faculty members direct the course of their professional and public conduct in such a way as to not flagrantly contradict the Church's stated mission."
"This is especially true in an age and region where the prevailing cultural trends promote an often-times harmful vision of spirituality and sexuality that hinders and threatens human flourishing," wrote Doherty, who is also parochial vicar at St. Peter Parish in San Francisco.
Another priest of the archdiocese, who asked not to be named, said he has deep reservations about the handbook language. He and others said Cordileone did not consult the archdiocesan priests' council or his consultors in development of the statement, and he had not provided them a heads-up of its content or pending release.
The priest said many of his clerical colleagues are "outraged."
"If I were asked to do a handbook," he said, "I would write, 'We believe and affirm the 16 documents of Vatican II, which are the supreme teaching authority of the church.' "
"This is a wonderful church in the archdiocese," Fr. David Ghiorso, pastor of St. Charles Parish in San Carlos, told NCR, "[but] I struggle with understanding what is transpiring. At the same time, I take the promise of obedience very seriously and to publicly challenge the decisions and actions of our leaders is not easy for me to do. It goes against so much of my priesthood. We can be so much better than what is happening presently in this local church."
In the wake of extensive news coverage about the handbook changes, Head of School Karen Hanrahan at Mercy High School in Burlingame sent a letter to parents clarifying that the school is "one of 10 high schools that are sponsored by religious orders and, therefore, considered independent."
"We understand that this is a challenging time for our colleagues in the four archdiocesan high schools and we hold them in our thoughts and prayers," the letter also said.
An independent Catholic high school official texted NCR on Saturday to say she was "still processing" the previous day's cathedral events and the issues involved.
"More than anything, I am saddened by Archbishop Cordileone's overall approach," she wrote. "It's Pharisaic to say the least -- and his comments about trying to be with the people are simply empty words."
"If he rented a room in [a poor neighborhood], got rid of his body guard, and started having real conversations with people, then he might build credibility," she said. "Cordileone will do much more damage if he continues in this trajectory. ... Imagine if he had started from the ground up and tried to have an impact on the culture by engaging in conversations with educators, students, and their parents. No -- this was about asserting his power and control, which is absolutely contrary to the message of Jesus."
San Francisco activist and blogger Michael Petrelis announced that a "kiss-in" protest of what he called Cordileone's "bigoted remarks and policies" would be held Feb. 21 outside the cathedral to coincide with the archdiocese's annual liturgy to honor married couples.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Cardinal Burke in interview with France 2: I will resist
Rorate Caeli
February 8, 2015
Source: 13h15 le dimanche, Sunday program of French public television network France 2, broadcast on Sunday, February 8, 2015 (title "N'oubliez pas de prier pour moi" - "Do not forget to pray for me").
Presenter:] Since then [the Christmas Address to the Curia dedicated to the "infirmities" of the Roman Curia], the Cardinals have receded into silence, but some remain with a heavy heart. One of the most influential of these has finally accepted to receive us. Cardinal Burke is an American, ultra-conservative, and close to former Pope Benedict XVI.
- [Interviewer:] We are very glad to meet you, that you could grant us a little bit of your time! You are a great admirer of Benedict XVI?
- [Burke, in French:] Oh, yes!
- [Interviewer:] You have his complete works?
- [Burke, in French:] Of all the qualities of Benedict XVI, I think that the greatest is the one of being a master of the faith. / [In Italian:] When there is confusion, protest, I always turn towards him, towards his writings on the liturgy, but also on other doctrinal matters. Now I must get used to a new pope and -
- [Interviewer:] Is it difficult? Sincerely.
[Presenter:] The Cardinal is not seen favorably [lit. "in odor of sanctity"] in the eyes of the new pope. He was in the room on the day Francis threw his darts against the Curia.
- [Burke, in Italian:] I have heard here and there some jokes among the cardinals: "how many infirmities do you have?" It will be remarked upon for some time.
[Presenter:] The opposition between both men goes back to the month of October, at the time of the Synod on the family. In the order of the day, some matters provoke turmoil among the bishops, such as communion to remarried divorcees or the recognition of homosexual couples.
[Recording of Francis in the Synod:] "A cardinal wrote to me saying, 'too bad that some cardinals have not had the courage to say certain things. This is not good. This is not synodality. Because it is necessary to say all those things that, in the Lord, it is felt that must be said."
[Presenter:] Several conservative cardinals take up a crusade in order to defend the traditional family - among them Müller, Brandmüller, and Caffarra. As for Cardinal Burke, he takes the helm of the rebels. The debates are very lively, heated.
-[Burke, in Italian:] I cannot accept that communion be given to a person who is living in an irregular union, because it is adultery. On the matter of persons of the same sex, this has nothing to do with matrimony. This is a suffering that some persons have, of being attracted - against nature, sexually - to persons of the same sex. Those people, we must help them to live chastely. But there is no relation to marriage and family, it is a separate issue.
[Presenter:] The response to the Supreme Pontiff is clear: it is a rejection of what Francis had said in July 2013.
[Recording of Francis in the Airplane interview of July 2013]: "If someone is gay, and he searches the Lord, and has good will, who am I to judge him?"
-[Interviewer:] How do you intend to place pope Francis on the good path?
-[Burke, in Italian] On this, also one must be very attentive regarding the power of the pope. The classic formulation is that, "the Pope has the plenitude, the fullness, of power." This is true. But it is not absolute power. His power is at the service of the doctrine of the faith. And thus the Pope does not have the power to change teaching, doctrine.
-[Interviewer:] In a somewhat provocative way, can we say that the true guardian of doctrine is you, and not pope Francis?
-[Burke, in Italian:] [Smiles, shakes his head] We must, let us leave aside the matter of the Pope. In our faith, it is the truth of doctrine that guides us.
-[Interviewer:] If Pope Francis insists on this path, what will you do?
-[Burke, in Italian:] I will resist. I cannot do anything else. There is no doubt that this is a difficult time, this is clear, this is clear.
-[Interviewer:] Is it painful?
-[Burke, in Italian:] Yes.
-[Interviewer:] Worrisome?
-[Burke, in Italian:] Yes.
-[Interviewer:] According to you, today, is the Catholic Church under threat as an institution?
-[Burke, in Italian:] The Lord assured us, as he assured Saint Peter in the Gospel, that the forces of evil will not prevail -- non praevalebunt, we say in Latin. That the forces of evil will not achieve, let us say, victory over the Church.
-[Interviewer, looking at a portrait of Francis in the Cardinal's study:] Well then, Francis is your friend?
-[Burke, in Italian:] [Laughter] I would not want to make of the pope an enemy, certainly!
Source: 13h15 le dimanche, Sunday program of French public television network France 2, broadcast on Sunday, February 8, 2015 (title "N'oubliez pas de prier pour moi" - "Do not forget to pray for me").
Presenter:] Since then [the Christmas Address to the Curia dedicated to the "infirmities" of the Roman Curia], the Cardinals have receded into silence, but some remain with a heavy heart. One of the most influential of these has finally accepted to receive us. Cardinal Burke is an American, ultra-conservative, and close to former Pope Benedict XVI.
- [Interviewer:] We are very glad to meet you, that you could grant us a little bit of your time! You are a great admirer of Benedict XVI?
- [Burke, in French:] Oh, yes!
- [Interviewer:] You have his complete works?
- [Burke, in French:] Of all the qualities of Benedict XVI, I think that the greatest is the one of being a master of the faith. / [In Italian:] When there is confusion, protest, I always turn towards him, towards his writings on the liturgy, but also on other doctrinal matters. Now I must get used to a new pope and -
- [Interviewer:] Is it difficult? Sincerely.
[Presenter:] The Cardinal is not seen favorably [lit. "in odor of sanctity"] in the eyes of the new pope. He was in the room on the day Francis threw his darts against the Curia.
- [Burke, in Italian:] I have heard here and there some jokes among the cardinals: "how many infirmities do you have?" It will be remarked upon for some time.
[Presenter:] The opposition between both men goes back to the month of October, at the time of the Synod on the family. In the order of the day, some matters provoke turmoil among the bishops, such as communion to remarried divorcees or the recognition of homosexual couples.
[Recording of Francis in the Synod:] "A cardinal wrote to me saying, 'too bad that some cardinals have not had the courage to say certain things. This is not good. This is not synodality. Because it is necessary to say all those things that, in the Lord, it is felt that must be said."
[Presenter:] Several conservative cardinals take up a crusade in order to defend the traditional family - among them Müller, Brandmüller, and Caffarra. As for Cardinal Burke, he takes the helm of the rebels. The debates are very lively, heated.
-[Burke, in Italian:] I cannot accept that communion be given to a person who is living in an irregular union, because it is adultery. On the matter of persons of the same sex, this has nothing to do with matrimony. This is a suffering that some persons have, of being attracted - against nature, sexually - to persons of the same sex. Those people, we must help them to live chastely. But there is no relation to marriage and family, it is a separate issue.
[Presenter:] The response to the Supreme Pontiff is clear: it is a rejection of what Francis had said in July 2013.
[Recording of Francis in the Airplane interview of July 2013]: "If someone is gay, and he searches the Lord, and has good will, who am I to judge him?"
-[Interviewer:] How do you intend to place pope Francis on the good path?
-[Burke, in Italian] On this, also one must be very attentive regarding the power of the pope. The classic formulation is that, "the Pope has the plenitude, the fullness, of power." This is true. But it is not absolute power. His power is at the service of the doctrine of the faith. And thus the Pope does not have the power to change teaching, doctrine.
-[Interviewer:] In a somewhat provocative way, can we say that the true guardian of doctrine is you, and not pope Francis?
-[Burke, in Italian:] [Smiles, shakes his head] We must, let us leave aside the matter of the Pope. In our faith, it is the truth of doctrine that guides us.
-[Interviewer:] If Pope Francis insists on this path, what will you do?
-[Burke, in Italian:] I will resist. I cannot do anything else. There is no doubt that this is a difficult time, this is clear, this is clear.
-[Interviewer:] Is it painful?
-[Burke, in Italian:] Yes.
-[Interviewer:] Worrisome?
-[Burke, in Italian:] Yes.
-[Interviewer:] According to you, today, is the Catholic Church under threat as an institution?
-[Burke, in Italian:] The Lord assured us, as he assured Saint Peter in the Gospel, that the forces of evil will not prevail -- non praevalebunt, we say in Latin. That the forces of evil will not achieve, let us say, victory over the Church.
-[Interviewer, looking at a portrait of Francis in the Cardinal's study:] Well then, Francis is your friend?
-[Burke, in Italian:] [Laughter] I would not want to make of the pope an enemy, certainly!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
San Francisco teacher union fanning hopes for contract breakthrough
Dan Morris-Young
National Catholic Reporter
February 7, 2015
A spark of hope that San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has signaled flexibility on a key impediment to contract negotiations with the union representing employees of the four high schools owned and operated by the archdiocese is being fanned by union members.
During a question-and-answer period following a Friday talk to more than 350 Catholic high school educators gathered at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School in San Francisco, Cordileone indicated openness to altering contract language he is seeking that would classify employees in the four schools as “ministers.”
Union members fear that designation would distance them from legal protection against discriminatory actions or firings by making them an official part of the church apparatus.
“All is lost” if the ministerial definition is adopted in contract language, one member said during the meeting.
Asked following his address if he was willing to discuss changing or removing the term “minister,” Cordileone said his goal is “to find language” that would “reflect employees' legal rights” but at the same time accomplish his push to make clear that all employees are collaborators in a Catholic school's mission and that the Catholic schools of the archdiocese endorse the entirety of Catholic church teaching.
He also said, “I've already thought of” possible language options. He did not elaborate.
Several dozen members of San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers Local 2240 and their elected representatives remained in the SHCP assembly room to meet following Cordileone's keynote address there just over an hour earlier for an annual high school teachers' in-service day.
Teachers from all 14 of the Catholic high schools within the archdiocese attended the convocation. Only four of the schools -- SHCP and Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, Marin Catholic in Kentfield, and Junipero Serra in San Mateo -- come under direct archdiocesan administration, and only those four have union representation.
According to a report in the archdiocesan newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, about 470 full and part-time teachers and staff are employed at those four schools which enroll about 3,600 students.
The union represents “about 400 members,” nearly all of them full-time teachers, union official Susan Woodall told NCR. The union does not represent other staff who are part-time, maintenance or administrative, she said. The union was formed more than four decades ago.
During the union meeting, Woodall said she was both “delighted” and “encouraged” by the archbishop's apparent receptiveness to discussing use of the word “minister.”
No specific “language ideas” have been revealed “as we have yet to meet with the archbishop,” Woodall wrote Saturday in a email to NCR. “That should happen within the next few weeks.”
Union representatives are scheduled to meet with presidents of the four high schools on Monday to resume contract talks.
When Cordileone expressed "thanks and esteem" for the union negotiating team during the question-and-answer period, the crowd erupted in sustained applause.
Much of the union meeting's give-and-take also dealt with the widely publicized and controversial statement Cordileone developed for inclusion in the 2015-16 faculty handbooks of the four archdiocesan-administered campuses.
The 2,000-word statement, titled "Statement of the High Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Regarding the Teachings and Practice of the Catholic Church," was made public Feb. 3 and quickly generated significant news coverage and opposition.
The free-standing handbook segment puts faculty and other employees on notice about heightened demands regarding adherence to Catholic teaching, particularly on sexual issues, and warns against taking public positions contrary to church teaching.
The section:
• Delineates areas of church teaching on "sexual morality and religious practice" it says needs more clarity and emphasis;
• Underscores that "administrators, faculty and staff of any faith or no faith are expected to arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny" church doctrine and practice;
• Calls on "administrators, faculty and staff who are Catholics" to "not only avoid public contradiction of their status as professional agents in the mission of Catholic education," but to also "conform their hearts, minds and consciences, as well as their public and private behavior, ever more closely to the truths taught by the Catholic Church";
• Warns educators to "refrain from participation in organizations that call themselves 'Catholic' but support or advocate issues or causes contrary" to church teaching.
Woodall and others at the Friday union assembly underscored that the union does not have any direct authority to impact handbook content.
“Let's focus on what we can control and what we cannot,” charged one member. He called the handbook controversy “a red herring” that drew attention and focus from union negotiations on teacher retirement, benefits, wages and performance reviews.
Another member who said he was “a 31-year teacher” said “my Catholicism comes first” and warned against the union “losing sight of what” the archbishop “had to say about the role” of a Catholic school institution in conveying church teaching.
“Not all people in this union feel the same way,” he said.
While the handbook section and the union contract clauses are separate issues, labor negotiations and handbook content have long been intertwined, archdiocesan superintended of schools Maureen Huntington told NCR last week.
Catholic San Francisco reported that "the handbook additions will take effect in the 2015-16 school year and are not part of the [teachers'] contract.” However, a legal expert consulted by NCR said faculty handbooks do have legal bearing.
Nearly 200 persons, most of them students, staged a prayer vigil and protest Friday morning on the plaza of St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral as the Mass for high school teachers prior to their convocation was taking place inside. Cordileone was celebrant and homilist.
The protesters formed a two-block long line from the Cathedral exit to the entrance of SHCP as teachers left the liturgy. Clearly moved by the show of support, many teachers said, “Thanks,” “Thank you guys,” “We appreciate it,” as they walked.
Friday, February 6, 2015
What is really toxic in the new San Francisco teacher handbook
Brian Cahill
National Catholic Reporter
February 6, 2015
[Brian Cahill is the former executive director of San Francisco Catholic Charities.]
Continuing to ignore the spirit of nonjudgmental inclusiveness of Pope Francis, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone is inserting a new document into the handbook of the four Catholic high schools under his control.
The document creates a clear demand to adhere to Catholic teaching on sexual issues. Cordileone says he is not going after individual teachers, but at the same time he is attempting to reclassify all school employees as “ministers,” a convenient way to dodge anti-discrimination laws and other workplace protections. Cordileone says he understands that not all teachers are Catholic and they may not agree with all church teachings. But the document includes multiple “affirm and believe” declarations relating to abortion, birth control, “artificial reproductive technology,” as well as pre-marital sex, same-sex acts or marriage, and masturbation. There is also a prohibition from joining organizations that call themselves Catholic but oppose church teaching. Cordileone says that the statement is “made on behalf of the institution, not all individuals in the institutions.”
Cordileone suggests that he will not be invading the private lives of employees. However, it’s safe to assume that on these high school campuses no public masturbation takes place, no abortions, no distribution of condoms, no in vitro fertilization, no same-sex weddings. Therefore the only possible area of focus is in the non-work lives of teachers. Will a gay or lesbian teacher who belongs to DignityUSA be fired? Are married teachers who use contraception at risk? What about teachers who are in legal same-sex marriages? And what is the point of adding masturbation? In the spirit of “affirm and believe” will employees have to resort to issuing “Nixonian” denials of such activity?
The language of the statement clarifies that employees must “arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny” these Catholic teachings. The key word here may be “visibly.” That would suggest if employees get caught breaking any of these rules, they would be fired, as teachers have been fired all across the country in Catholic high schools, but if they could just be discreet — then no harm, no foul. That’s pretty much what has become the fallback position of Oakland, Calif., Bishop Michael Barber when he tried this. Now his effort is seen for what it is — a clumsy, inept Catholic version of “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
No one should be surprised at this latest action of our culture warrior archbishop. This is the man who made his career on Prop 8. This is the man who says every child should have a mother and father but blissfully ignores the hundreds of thousands of children placed in the foster care system because of the abuse and neglect of their mothers and fathers, parents who are living proof that sexual orientation is not an indicator of good parenting. This is the man who is opposing workplace protection for gays and lesbians. This is the man who hung out with documented bigots last year at the National March for Marriage.
Cordileone stated that Catholics who endorse contrary views “create toxic confusion about our fundamental values.” But if Catholic couples, in the spirit of the pope’s recent comments, limit the number of children they have, is that toxic? If you are a little girl who is only here because science helped her mom and dad conceive her, is that toxic? If you are a 10 year old abused child and the only adoptive parents who want you are a loving, qualified gay couple, is that toxic? If you think that the civil rights of gays and lesbians should be protected, is that toxic?
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Pope Francis to address joint meeting of US Congress
US Congress
February 5, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today made the following announcement:
“It is my great privilege to announce that His Holiness Pope Francis will visit the United States Capitol on Thursday, September 24, 2015. On that day, he will become the first leader of the Holy See to address a joint meeting of Congress. It will be a historic visit, and we are truly grateful that Pope Francis has accepted our invitation.
“In a time of global upheaval, the Holy Father’s message of compassion and human dignity has moved people of all faiths and backgrounds. His teachings, prayers, and very example bring us back to the blessings of simple things and our obligations to one another. We look forward to warmly welcoming Pope Francis to our Capitol and hearing his address on behalf of the American people.”
.........
Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement after Speaker Boehner announced His Holiness Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to address a Joint Meeting of Congress on September 24, during his visit to the United States:
“We are honored and overjoyed that Pope Francis, the first pontiff born in the Americas, has accepted our invitation to address a Joint Meeting of Congress during his upcoming visit to the United States.
“Pope Francis has renewed the faith of Catholics worldwide and inspired a new generation of people, regardless of their religious affiliation, to be instruments of peace. In the spirit of the namesake of San Francisco, St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis’ universal message of love and compassion speaks to millions around the world.
“We are eager to welcome His Holiness to the U.S. Capitol and we look forward to hearing his call to live our values, to protect the poor and the needy, and to promote peace.”
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