The San Francisco Fire of 2015

San Francisco's Archbishop Cordileone has done something shocking.

He has asked the teachers and staff at the four Catholic high schools in his diocese to refrain from promoting anti-Catholic doctrine in the work place.

Can you believe how radical this is?  To ask someone employed at a Catholic High School in a very influential role to avoid expressing personal opinions in the classroom when they are contrary to church teaching?

These are Catholic schools.  Of course they should be teaching Catholic morality!  The church's position on issues such as abortion, same sex marriage and contraception has not changed in 2000 years.  I truly don't understand why someone who doesn't agree with the church in these areas or any others would even apply for a job at a Catholic school unless they specifically wanted to influence the youth against it.

I further cannot understand why a parent would enroll their child in a Catholic school if they didn't want them to receive a Catholic education.  There have been countless parents opposed to the Archbishop's request and this simply doesn't make sense.  If you enroll your child in a Jewish school you don't expect him to learn about Christ, do you?  The are plenty of secular private high schools in the Bay Area that give parents the benefits of a private school but the secularism of a school without any faith education at all.  If you don't agree with church teaching, please don't involve yourself with a Catholic school and try to strip it of the items you don't believe in.  The Catholic church is very straightforward about what it stands for, and the last time I checked we still live in a nation that supports religious freedom.  We are free to practice whatever it is we believe in and free to choose and education for our children that is in alignment with our own values.

This firestorm has made me so very sad because it highlights for me exactly how disconnected people have become with our beautiful faith.   Archbishop Cordileone, I thank you for trying to keep your Catholic Schools Catholic!