Teachers struggle with 'morals' edict

Following a recent demand by the Santa Rosa Catholic Diocese that all teachers under its jurisdiction sign a "morals addendum" to their contract, some teachers at St. Vincent de Paul High School in Petaluma say they are struggling with what they see as discriminatory language contained in the document, and worries about the community's resulting perception of their institution.

"Even the teachers that I consider to be the most devout Catholics are uncomfortable with this addendum," said a St. Vincent High School teacher who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.

The addendum requires teachers to believe, among other things, that contraception, abortion, homosexual marriage and euthanasia are "modern errors" that "gravely offend human dignity."

According to the teacher who spoke to the Argus-Courier, the addendum is not asking teachers to change curriculum in their classrooms. Instead, many teachers feel the document is forcing teachers who may not share traditional Catholic beliefs, to now adopt these teachings as their own.

"All that matters is that we're setting a good example for our students," the teacher said. "Typically, there is a widespread belief that teachers in Catholic schools can (personally) disagree with the church, but still teach its ideals. But what the Diocese has outlined in this addendum would end that."

When teachers at St. Vincent's first heard that Bishop Robert Vasa was planning to require teachers to sign a morals addendum, faculty at St. Vincent's came up with an alternative document they felt would adequately uphold the school's inclusive environment. They hoped that the Bishop would use their document as the morals addendum to their contract instead. An excerpt from the document reads:

"We accept and promote Catholic moral values and we agree to uphold the Gospel spirit of peace, brotherhood, love, patience and respect for others …We accept our responsibility to create an environment for our students and their families that reflects the virtues of love, respect, compassion, stewardship and humility, with the goal of fostering a school community that is … a model of Jesus' instruction to act as witnesses for his message."

According to teachers at St. Vincent's, their message is at odds with the Diocese addendum.

"Our document gives you the sense of what we see our school as being all about, as opposed to what someone in an office sees us as needing to be about," said the St. Vincent teacher. "Our primary motivation of how we should behave toward our students is to follow the model of Jesus and many (teachers) here don't believe that Jesus would call out people for being different. He would embrace them."

Part of the challenge comes from the fact that a larger number of teachers in Catholic schools are not members of the church, the result of fewer trained Catholic teachers to draw from. Today, the Diocese estimates that 25 percent of its teachers are not Catholic.

Bishop Vasa said Tuesday that being a good teacher and following the rules of Catholic dogma are not mutually exclusive. "Many think that either we are an institute of academic excellence or we are a faithful catholic institute," said Vasa. "The past has proven though, that we can be, and have been, both."

Vasa said that realistically, the addendum is not meant to do anything other than remind Catholic teachers what their religion calls them to believe. He said that teachers could conceivably sign the document without believing what it said, and the Diocese would not know. "If someone signs this without believing what's in it, I'll never know and their students would never know," said Vasa. "But I'm hoping that it would at least twinge their conscience a bit."

Vasa said he would prefer that schools under the Diocese only hire teachers belonging to the Catholic faith. "When it comes to the teachings of the church, (we) have a preference for our educators to be Catholic," he said. "But there has been a reluctance on the part of Catholic school administrators to say the same thing. It's also a balance to try and get the best teachers available."

Neither St. Vincent Principal Dr. John Walker nor St. Vincent de Paul's pastor Father Gary Lombardi would comment on the content of the addendum. But Lombardi did say that he hopes all the teachers will sign the contract. "It is my experience that, in our schools, our teachers uphold what the Church teaches and values - both by what they expressly teach and by how they live their lives," he said. "I would not want to lose any of them."

Teachers at local catholic schools aren't the only ones concerned about the addendum. A local parent with a student in another nearby Catholic high school, who also wished to remain anonymous to protect her child's privacy, said that she finds the document discriminatory. "Some of the teachers aren't Catholic; some are Jewish, or of other religious affiliations," she said. "Also, there are parents of students in these schools that are gay. The discriminatory language of the addendum is what bothers me. I want my kids to be taught about helping their community, not judging others."

The community viewing St. Vincent's as discriminatory or non-inclusive is exactly what its teachers are afraid of, said the anonymous teacher. "Whether we sign it or not, no one I know wants this document associated with the school," she added.

Per Vasa, teachers have until March 15 to sign the addendum. "I have not received much direct input from the teachers or from the schools locally," he said. "But I can tell you that the national response is largely positive."

(Contact Janelle Wetzstein at janelle.wetzstein@arguscourier.com)

instead. An excerpt from the document reads:

"We accept and promote Catholic moral values and we agree to uphold the Gospel spirit of peace, brotherhood, love, patience and respect for others …We accept our responsibility to create an environment for our students and their families that reflects the virtues of love, respect, compassion, stewardship and humility, with the goal of fostering a school community that is … a model of Jesus' instruction to act as witnesses for his message."

According to teachers at St. Vincent's, their message is at odds with the Diocese addendum.

"Our document gives you the sense of what we see our school as being all about, as opposed to what someone in an office sees us as needing to be about," said the St. Vincent teacher. "Our primary motivation of how we should behave toward our students is to follow the model of Jesus and many (teachers) here don't believe that Jesus would call out people for being different. He would embrace them."

Part of the challenge comes from the fact that a larger number of teachers in Catholic schools are not members of the church, the result of fewer trained Catholic teachers to draw from. Today, the Diocese estimates that 25 percent of its teachers are not Catholic.

Bishop Vasa said Tuesday that being a good teacher and following the rules of Catholic dogma are not mutually exclusive. "Many think that either we are an institute of academic excellence or we are a faithful catholic institute," said Vasa. "The past has proven though, that we can be, and have been, both."

Vasa said that realistically, the addendum is not meant to do anything other than remind Catholic teachers what their religion calls them to believe. He said that teachers could conceivably sign the document without believing what it said, and the Diocese would not know. "If someone signs this without believing what's in it, I'll never know and their students would never know," said Vasa. "But I'm hoping that it would at least twinge their conscience a bit."

Vasa said he would prefer that schools under the Diocese only hire teachers belonging to the Catholic faith. "When it comes to the teachings of the church, (we) have a preference for our educators to be Catholic," he said. "But there has been a reluctance on the part of Catholic school administrators to say the same thing. It's also a balance to try and get the best teachers available."

Neither St. Vincent Principal Dr. John Walker nor St. Vincent de Paul's pastor Father Gary Lombardi would comment on the content of the addendum. But Lombardi did say that he hopes all the teachers will sign the contract. "It is my experience that, in our schools, our teachers uphold what the Church teaches and values - both by what they expressly teach and by how they live their lives," he said. "I would not want to lose any of them."

Teachers at local catholic schools aren't the only ones concerned about the addendum. A local parent with a student in another nearby Catholic high school, who also wished to remain anonymous to protect her child's privacy, said that she finds the document discriminatory. "Some of the teachers aren't Catholic; some are Jewish, or of other religious affiliations," she said. "Also, there are parents of students in these schools that are gay. The discriminatory language of the addendum is what bothers me. I want my kids to be taught about helping their community, not judging others."

The community viewing St. Vincent's as discriminatory or non-inclusive is exactly what its teachers are afraid of, said the anonymous teacher. "Whether we sign it or not, no one I know wants this document associated with the school," she added.

Per Vasa, teachers have until March 15 to sign the addendum. "I have not received much direct input from the teachers or from the schools locally," he said. "But I can tell you that the national response is largely positive."

(Contact Janelle Wetzstein at janelle.wetzstein@arguscourier.com)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.