Posted on 10/31/2005 11:22:41 PM PST by Antioch
The mother of a Loretto High School student obtained photographs that exposed a drama teacher as a former Planned Parenthood volunteer, a revelation that led to the teacher's firing last week. It wasn't the first time Wynette Sills raised her anti-abortion views on the all-female, private Catholic campus. Sills, who leads anti-abortion rallies outside Sacramento-area Planned Parenthood offices three times a week, complained to school administrators last year about a classroom presentation on domestic violence, said Gail Erlandson, a theology teacher for 11 years at Loretto.
Sills objected to brochures listing agencies that offer help for women because they included Planned Parenthood, which supports abortion rights. The brochure was later revised. Bishop William K. Weigand's call to fire drama teacher Marie Bain in response to Sills' latest protest has raised concerns in some circles that anti-abortion activists at Loretto have too much pull with the Sacramento Diocese's top cleric.
"There are a handful of extremists in the affluent Catholic community that can make keeping the integrity of academic freedom very difficult," said Erlandson, who retired last year in part over the brochure flap. "There is a lot of fear among teachers: How far is this going to go?" Sills did not return repeated messages left on her telephone or at her home. Sills provided photos of Bain escorting women into the clinic in a Sept. 19 e-mail with a letter stating: "If the identification is verified, clearly this individual cannot be a part of the Loretto staff."
Bain "will have extensive unsupervised access to our young women at Loretto, and I must speak up or they are put at risk due to her abortion-promoting presence," Sills wrote. "My conscience will not let me ignore this information." Loretto, a college preparatory school on El Camino Avenue, is one of three Catholic high schools in the Sacramento area that operate independently of the diocese. But the school still falls under the bishop's purview on issues of morality. Weigand, who declined to comment for this story, exercised that authority in an Oct. 5 letter to Loretto's president, Sister Helen Timothy.
Weigand's spokesman, the Rev. Charles McDermott, said the diocese "treads carefully not to intrude on internal affairs." But the message in Weigand's letter is clear: "I am directing you, under the provisions of Code of Canon Law ... to dismiss Ms. Bain with all deliberate speed." The letter also states that the termination should be handled with "dignity, sensitivity and appropriate decorum."
Dom Puglisi, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Sacramento, said parents have a right to expect their students will be taught in accordance with Catholic principles. And allowing teachers to publicly display contrary beliefs sends the wrong message, he said. "It sounds like we play hardball, but they know up front, whether they are Catholic or non-Catholic, that these are Catholic schools and we go by the teachings of the church and Rome," said Puglisi. Loretto has long employed Catholic and non-Catholic faculty alike. Bain, who was hired in August, is not Catholic. That fact could play a role in a potential discrimination lawsuit, wrote Bain's attorney, John M. Poswall, in a statement.
"Loretto knew that she was not a Catholic and did not insist that she either hold or follow Catholic doctrine when they hired her," wrote Poswall. Vocal parents demanding action from administrators are not unique to Loretto, said the Rev. Martin Connell, an education professor at Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit college in Los Angeles.
Increasingly, he said, "teaching and schooling is treated as a service industry - we tell people how we want our lawn cut, how we want our hair cut and how we want our children educated." While it's positive to have parents more involved in their child's education, sometimes parents step on the toes of teachers and administrators, he said. One of the Sacramento Diocese's seven Catholic high schools, Loretto offers a rigorous academic program with an emphasis on social justice. Traditionally, the school's mission has been to instill Catholic values while pushing students to become independent thinkers. School officials have said they take pride in presenting all sides of an issue.
"The idea is to come to the right decisions based on faith," said Rebecca Williams, a University of California, San Diego, freshman who graduated from Loretto in the spring. "That doesn't mean you always have to agree with the church, but you have to always consider both sides." Williams said she understands the bishop has certain moral obligations, but is disappointed he would "align himself with someone who takes pictures of people walking into a clinic."
"What does that say about our church as a compassionate organization?" Williams asked.
At least three mornings a week, demonstrators gather in front of Sacramento-area Planned Parenthood clinics, many hoisting anti-abortion signs and shouting anti-abortion messages to clients and workers, said Katharyn McLearan, spokeswoman for the local chapter. As a volunteer, it was Bain's job to be a "friendly face" and help steer clients through the protesters, McLearan said. Sills first saw Bain during one of those morning rallies, according to the e-mail Sills wrote to administrators. Sills decided to alert the school after seeing Bain at a Loretto function in September.
Many at the school have kept quiet about Bain's firing - at least publicly. Calls to six Loretto teachers and the school principal were not returned. Timothy, who initially voiced support for Bain, has since referred all questions to Weigand's office. But debate is lively in cyberspace. Web sites ranging from "Bush vs. Choice" to "California High School Conservative" have weighed in.
Loretto sophomore Katelyn Sills, Wynette Sills' daughter, started a political blog in March and has written in support of the bishop's decision to fire Bain. A person "who volunteers at abortion clinics on days when the killing occurs is probably not the best candidate for a position at an all-girls Catholic high school," wrote Katelyn Sills, who did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
An classmate who wished to remain anonymous retorted on Sill's blog: "Many people at our school are pro-choice but do not think that abortion is the right answer. Should we with our beliefs be expelled from the school?"On a recent afternoon, Loretto students gabbed and listened to iPods in front of the school as they waited for rides home.
Kathryn Wahlberg, taking a break from after-school play practice, said she was in Bain's drama classes. She drafted a four-page letter that she plans to send to the bishop. Wahlberg said Bain was a "disciplined but fun" teacher who was "really good for students who are serious about acting." Regarding her termination, Wahlberg said, "It makes people think we don't tolerate people of opposite opinions. I don't think we're like that."
Expulsion from Loretto
As of Saturday, October 29th, I was given official notice by express mail that I am expelled from Loretto High School. This was given completely without forewarning, without a meeting, and without a chance to say goodbye. My family is now seeking legal advice, and more details will follow.
Bain gets fired; Katelyn gets expelled. Bain & Katelyn hire attorneys. Ain't nobody happy except for some lawyers.
LOL,
Perhaps the Bishop was so impressed with your mother's "legal advice" that he could sh*tcan the irksome that he said that if one is good, two is better?
Good for Sills. She has the conviction of her beliefs. She is right to not want this women teaching in a Catholic School that thank God opposes the wholesale slaughter of babies yet in their mother's womb.
Sounds like a good parent.
Why not hand out cigarettes?
How many people are allowed to moonlight fo another business during work hours?
Dear Friends in Christ,
Over the past week, you may have read about a clarifying canonical directive that I issued to the administration of Loretto High School in Sacramento regarding disqualification for employment as a teacher in the Catholic educational apostolate in our Diocese. The incident in question arose as a result of the hiring of a teacher, who until as recently as a month before her employment at Loretto High School in Sacramento, was actively engaged in pro-abortion activism, including volunteer work escorting women and girls into a local Planned Parenthood clinic and advocating against parental notification requirements applicable to teens seeking abortions. The dismissal of this particular teacher by Loretto High School administrators has been widely covered in the media.
Transpiring during October, “Respect Life” month, these events have presented the people of our Diocese with an opportunity to reflect upon the centrality of the Gospel of Life to our Catholic faith and to recall the fundamental purpose and mission of the Catholic educational apostolate in the life of our Church. As Pope John Paul II reminds us, in his 1994 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, “the Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as ‘good news’ to the people of every age and culture.”
We are all called to witness to that timelessly fundamental tenet of our Faith, that “human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves ‘the creative action of God,’ and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being.” Accordingly, we believe as faithful disciples of Christ, that abortion is a crime which no human law can claim to legitimize. To this end, each of us is called to proclaim Christ’s Truth in our words, our deeds, and our lives.
The principle mission and objective of Catholic education is the formation of our young people into intellectually mature adults and faithful disciples of the Lord, in complete fidelity to the Gospel and the teachings and traditions of the Church. Catholic education is directed to the spiritual and intellectual formation of the whole person. Although all school teachers serve as role models for their students, Catholic school teachers have an additional responsibility, by virtue of the unique mission of Catholic education, to witness the Gospel in their teaching and their lives. As sacred Scripture reminds us, “I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (James 2:18).
If we are to form faithful Catholic young people and provide suitable role models for such formation, teachers in our Catholic schools must themselves be witnesses to the Truth proclaimed in the Gospel, conducting themselves by word and deed in accordance with the Truths of our Faith. Their witness does not end when the school bell rings at the end of the day or the school year concludes at the beginning of summer.
Thus, persons who engage in activities fundamentally opposed to the teachings and beliefs of our Faith are disqualified from collaborating in the educational apostolate of the Church as principals, teachers, teacher’s aides, or catechists. To this end, any person who has actively and publicly advocated or participated in activities contrary to the Gospel of Life, such as supporting or promoting abortion, lacks the threshold qualifications essential to minister to our young people in the Catholic educational apostolate. There is no place for such persons in the Catholic educational system in the Diocese of Sacramento. This has been, and continues to be, the policy of the Diocese and, as such, is reflected in the employment materials and contracts received by all Diocesan Catholic school teachers.
As we conclude the observance of “Respect Life” month, I call upon the faithful of the Diocese of Sacramento to reflect and pray upon these important teachings and beliefs of our Catholic faith and to join me in support of the Gospel of Life both in our public lives and in our personal lives.
Sincerely in the Lord,
WILLIAM K. WEIGAND
Bishop of Sacramento
To which, Russ Lopez, the spokesman for Gray Davis, said the bishop was "trying to make an example and that's sad." "Governor Davis has said repeatedly that he is proud of the legislation he has signed giving women the right to choose. He will not back down."He then criticized the bishop for "telling the faithful how to practice their faith."
Good. Especially since "we" are paying the bills!
While it's positive to have parents more involved in their child's education, sometimes parents step on the toes of teachers and administrators, he said.
Extremely good. They think they're different from other employees?
Next "difficult" issue? I'm on a roll here!
Oh, yeah, much better if he aligned himself with someone who butchers babies in that same "clinic."
Waving the fig leaf of 'academic freedom' as the ultimate good in this life. Actively participating in abortions has nothing at all to do with 'academic freedom'.
"There is a lot of fear among teachers: How far is this going to go?"
Get 'academic', look at the Catechism on line and see for yourself how far things will go. The Church isn't a boogeyman, she states what she believes clearly enough for even an 'academic' to understand it.
I don't think anything is THAT clear :-).
**At least three mornings a week, demonstrators gather in front of Sacramento-area Planned Parenthood clinics, many hoisting anti-abortion signs and shouting anti-abortion messages to clients and workers, said Katharyn McLearan, spokeswoman for the local chapter. As a volunteer, it was Bain's job to be a "friendly face" and help steer clients through the protesters, McLearan said. Sills first saw Bain during one of those morning rallies, according to the e-mail Sills wrote to administrators. Sills decided to alert the school after seeing Bain at a Loretto function in September.**
Guess Bain found out that the cafeteria is now CLOSED!
**Actively participating in abortions has nothing at all to do with 'academic freedom'.**
You nailed it!
Might bring to mind the lyrics of "The Harper Valley PTA"
I hope that it goes far enough that every teacher or administrator who would label pro-life Catholics as 'extremists' is run out of the place!
Academic freedom is the call of every so-called Catholic academic that has hidden behind tenure at Catholic institutions as they worked tirelessly to destroy the Church.
Yes, They think killing the messenger will make it all go away.
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