[NYer]

Mary Jo Anderson appeared on Johnette Benkovich's program last night. Here is a good example of a such a bishop.

* * * * *

In Loretto High School, a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California, there is student rebellion of sorts. A teacher who had served as a Planned Parenthood volunteer and publicly written in favor of facilitating abortion for students was terminated, thanks to William K, Wiegand, Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento.

At a recent open-house at the school, some parents sensed that something was very wrong. For example:

• a poster on one wall stating that "Our girls can be anything they want to be" and showing a group of girls dressed as a coven of witches;

• bookshelves displaying the books of notorious clerical dissenters; and

• another poster promoting an event sponsored by the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the name of which does not even hint that it is a Planned Parenthood donor.

Later that night the rightly very concerned parents discovered the inspiration for these decidedly un-Catholic displays in a Catholic high school. This article appeared on the front page of the Sacramento Bee:

A drama teacher at a Catholic high school in Sacramento was fired Thursday after church officials learned she had previously volunteered at an abortion clinic, school officials said Friday.

Marie Bain, 50, of Sacramento, who had taught at Loretto High School since August, was dismissed after a student's parent obtained pictures showing Bain escorting people into a Planned Parenthood clinic last spring.

The pictures were delivered to Bishop William K. Weigand, head of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, who outlined the decision to terminate Bain in an Oct. 5 letter to the president of the all-female school.

"Obviously, the very public nature of Ms. Bain's previous volunteer activity at a Planned Parenthood Clinic is inconsistent with her position as a teacher at a Catholic high school and her role as a collaborator in the formation of Catholic women," Weigand wrote. "Abortion is gravely immoral and Ms. Bain's active and public participation in the procurement of abortions is morally inappropriate and unacceptable with regard to her work as a teacher at Loretto."

Reached at home Friday night, Bain acknowledged that she had been fired and that she had volunteered at Planned Parenthood before taking the Loretto job.

"There are many things I would love to say, but I don't want to jeopardize anything. I am pursuing many avenues," she said.

Bain's termination, announced Friday afternoon, was met with tears from students at the college preparatory school on El Camino Avenue. She was described as a passionate teacher with a dramatic personality who pushed her students to memorize their lines with precision.

Bain had been preparing her students for a four-day run at the end of the month of "The Young and Fair," N. Richard Nash's 1948 play about balancing one's idealism and personal ethics.

"She is exceptional" said Sister Helen Timothy, the school's president. "Students thought very highly of her."

"We lost a great teacher," said Cynthia Mitterholzer, the dance instructor who will take over for Bain.

Mitterholzer said teachers working at a Catholic school understand they must follow certain rules.

However, "I think that your personal life is your personal life, and she complied with everything asked from the school in her contract."

Weigand, who is out of town, was unavailable for comment.

The Rev. Charles McDermott, vicar episcopal for theological affairs for the diocese, said employing teachers who have volunteered at abortion clinics sets a poor example for students.

"To support abortion is contrary to the position the Church has held for nearly 2,000 years," he said.

"If you participate in that way, you are not qualified to teach in a Catholic school because teachers are inevitably role models."…

In July, a letter to The Bee signed Marie Bain of Sacramento voiced opposition to laws requiring teens to notify parents if they have an abortion.

"Like it or not, teens get pregnant," the letter stated. "And the most important issue is keeping them safe. Safe means access to reliable health care, not gut-wrenching red tape."…

She volunteered weekly for about nine months for Planned Parenthood, greeting patients and ushering them past anti-abortion protesters who frequently demonstrate outside clinics, said Katharyn McLearan, director of public affairs for the local Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

"We have protesters who hold very graphic signs and are very intimidating, and they sometimes come up to patients' cars," said McLearan. "She was there to be a friendly face and address their concerns"….

Weigand, in his letter, said the case serves to emphasize the importance of checking employee backgrounds to ensure that "those entrusted with forming responsible Catholic women at Loretto High School share our important Catholic moral beliefs and can serve in all respects as worthy role models for our young women."

Let there not be any confusion: the Catholic Church is not tolerant of abortion or those who facilitate and promote it because abortion is gravely sinful.

What is tragic, if the Sacramento Bee article is accurate, is that the Catholic high school principal and other faculty at the school saw nothing wrong with hiring and retaining a pro-abortion Planned Parenthood activist to teach at a Catholic girls' school.

Thank God for Bishop Wiegand.

The good bishop was absolutely right to terminate an employee who promotes and facilitates abortion and publicly wrote in favor of facilitating abortions for students.

What is most disconcerting is the report that it required the intercession of the good bishop to end Ms. Bain's employment by a Catholic high school. Photographic evidence of Ms. Bain's active participation at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Sacramento reportedly did not cause the school principal to take the necessary action.

When the same evidence reached the good bishop, he did not flinch. He did what needed to be done. Now perhaps the Catholic high school principal needs an extended leave of absence to go on retreat and pray.

[Rodney King]

"We lost a great teacher," said Cynthia Mitterholzer, the dance instructor who will take over for Bain. Mitterholzer said teachers working at a Catholic school understand they must follow certain rules. However, "I think that your personal life is your personal life, and she complied with everything asked from the school in her contract."

The Bishop should fire her, too.

[pgkdan]

What is tragic, if the Sacramento Bee article is accurate, is that the Catholic high school principal and other faculty at the school saw nothing wrong with hiring and retaining a pro-abortion Planned Parenthood activist to teach at a Catholic girls' school.

Thank God for strong Bishops!!! Send us more Lord!

Now I think he should close the school until they can hire a principal and faculty better equipt to provide a genuinely Catholic education for these girls.

[Ohioan from Florida]

In July, a letter to The Bee signed Marie Bain of Sacramento voiced opposition to laws requiring teens to notify parents if they have an abortion.

"Like it or not, teens get pregnant," the letter stated. "And the most important issue is keeping them safe. Safe means access to reliable health care, not gut-wrenching red tape."

So that's what safe means, huh? Gosh, my definition is something completely different. I thought it meant security from harm and danger.

Does this woman think she is really helping pregnant teenagers to be safe from harm and danger by escorting them to an abortion facility, a place where they will be completely lied to about the effects on them physically, emotionally, and spiritually from obtaining an abortion? I'd like to write this woman a letter. She does more harm than she realizes. Good job, Bishop Weigand! We need more like you!