I agree with you that conservative religious people of any sort would be an improvement over nonbelieving people claiming to be Catholic. In my parish, we have some people, including a deacon, whom any objective person would identify as Protestant, at best. Not that there’s anything wrong with Protestants, as long as they’re deacons in a Protestant church!
However, especially with young students, the fact that someone is a math teacher doesn’t mean he’s not going to be asked faith questions by students. Could a teacher who is a sincere believer in his own non-Catholic or non-Christian faith give answers from a Catholic perspective? One’s religion is not simply a recitation of a few statements, but a comprehensive belief system that affects every subject.
I understand, other than I do think there are many ‘secular’ subjects that quite naturally and normally can be taught well without extensive recourse to theological teachings, especially those that could be termed “distinctives” of the Roman Catholic Church in particular. SO, that is one viewpoint I wish to set forth for your consideration. (examples: algebra, most English, French, German classes, physics, P.E., etc.).
There are some classes where more ‘morals type’ questions may arise (biology perhaps?), and those we can discuss.
But so many courses are essentially NOT exercises in theology, imho.
Secondly, there are Orthodox, Jewish, Protestant and perhaps (now I really risk flaming, given what we’ve seen on FR....ha!) Mormon teachers who I believe would, in good faith, undertake to provide instruction on morals issues consistent with RCC teaching. I am thinking of sincerely faithful people, not the “flaming liberals” one can also find in any of the faith traditions (or claiming to still belong to same, though you and I may choose to contest that with them). The RCC is already working in concert with ‘traditionally minded’ Protestants and Jews on the abortion problem, for example, and these efforts are quite visible, too. The various cooperating participants share moral teachings on abortion that are very much in harmony at least on most key aspects. The RCC is also attempting to teach a moral sexual lifestyle, as the Bible makes quite clear (at least insofar as the homosexual business is concerned, which is, after all, the Number One sexual issue in San Fransicko these days).
SO in short, my points are that there are many courses (not the Catechism classes, but many or most of the more ‘secular’ ones) that can be taught well by any good person with the skills ... so long as s/he undertakes to deal with any ‘theological’ questions (which shouldn’t even arise in some classes) in harmony with Church teaching.
This would be infinitely better than keeping a socalled “Catholic” in there who is openly supporting or even promoting serious moral error.
ANYWAY this would not be an issue at all if only the so-called Catholic teachers who are causing all these problems were really Catholic. But just because a person carries a “Catholic name” and possibly even attends mass..does not a real Catholic make. (Same comment for Protestants and Jews, of course).
All my best, and let’s all pray that the new Arch-bishop can clean house one way or the other....for the better. Thanks!