Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has appealed to San Francisco Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to remove a new anti-gay “purity test” for teachers.
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is urging San Francisco Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone to remove a new anti-gay “purity test” for teachers.
The new clause was introduced by drunk driver Cordileone who has in the past called same-sex attraction “self-destructive”, opposed employment protections for LGBT people and stated that marriage equality is “harmful to individuals and society as a whole.”
Documents presented on Tuesday characterize homosexuality as “gravely evil” and make clear to teachers that what they do in their personal and public lives after the work day could be used as grounds for dismissal. The language would also prohibit straight teachers from supporting LGBT non-discrimination measures.
Teachers in four Catholic high schools schools directly affiliated with the archdiocese and those at ten other private Catholic high schools with connections to the archdiocese are expected to experience the effects of the language.
Lisbeth Melendez Rivera, director of Latina/o and Catholic Initiatives for HRC Foundation's Religion and Faith Program, said:
“The new ‘moral clauses' proposed in the contract by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone stand in stark relief to the message of inclusion being promoted by Pope Francis.
“In imposing what amounts to an anti-LGBT purity test, the archbishop is closing the door on dedicated professionals, many of them faithful Catholics, gay and straight, whose moral codes do not embrace discrimination.”
In a heartening move, students in the diocese are using the hashtag #teachacceptance to voice their opposition to the archdiocese's anti-LGBT edicts. They have also set up the petition “Discrimination And Fear Don't Belong In Our Schools,” which currently has close to 2,500 signatures.
SF students are better than bigotry and bullying. Stand up FOR your teachers, stand up TO the archbishop. #trustsfteachers #teachacceptance
— Katie Emanuel (@ladyhamlett) February 5, 2015
Perpetuating intolerance & a disturbingly high LGBTQ teen suicide rate is gravely evil #SalvatoreCordileone #teachacceptance @TrevorProject
— Anthony Valdez (@AnthonyValdezSF) February 4, 2015
Watch a FOX 2 report of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory School students rallying against the “purity test” AFTER THE JUMP…
