Teachers reject Salvatore Cordileone’s rejection of homosexuality and other stuff

In a strong show of how Catholicism is truly changing, 355 teachers and staff from four Catholic Diocesan high schools signed a statement today, rejecting San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s proposed "morality" language for the faculty handbook.The move came amid teacher negotiations with the with the Archdiocese.Earlier this month, Cordileone condemned homosexuality and dubbed contraception and reproductive technologies as "evil," asking teachers and staff at high schools to embrace these sentiments among others. Moreover, the language is written into a new school handbook and would be enforced by proposed changes to teachers' contracts.This hasn't gone over with Catholic parents and teachers who signed onto today's petition, affirming “commitment to our students and the Catholic educational mission ... and the principles of respect for individual conscience, and the value placed on the diversity of our faculty, staff, and student and parent bodies.” “We believe the recently proposed handbook language is harmful to our community and creates an atmosphere of mistrust and fear. We believe our schools should be places of inquiry and the free exchange of ideas where all feel welcome and affirmed. Such language has no place in our handbooks. We respectfully ask Archbishop Cordileone to use the faculty handbook currently in place.”At Sacred Heart Cathedral, 126 teachers and staff signed the petition, including teachers not covered by the collective bargaining agreement. At Serra High School, 87 teachers and staff signed; at Riordan 74, and Marin Catholic, more than 68 personnel as well. This represents 80 percent of faculty and staff.Jim Jordan, an English teacher from Sacred Heart Cathedral, noted “As teachers, we are not only seeking to preserve a safe and vibrant community that supports education and the free exchange of ideas, but the safety and well-being of our students. This language in this judgmental context undermines the mission of Catholic education and the inclusive, diverse and welcoming community we prize at our schools. It is an attack not only on teachers’ labor and civil rights, but on young people who are discovering who they are in the world.”Union representatives will deliver the petition to the Archbishop.