Subject: Re: more catholic stuff
So where are the multitude of examples demonstrating Forgiveness,
Compassion and Unrequited Love?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Ventura" <frank.ventura@littlebreezes.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 12:59 PM
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
Miriam, more to the point the church feels it must teach children that sin
has consequences and her being fired (expelled from the garden, etc) is just
one example.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:59 AM
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
The school administration believes that having sexual relations when you're
not married is a sin. That baby is proof of the teacher sinned. If she is
allowed to teach, the administration believes that the lesson the children
will learn is that the church condones what she did. They believe that it is
their responsibility to teach children not to sin.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:10 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: more catholic stuff
First and foremost, where is the Christian love in this firing of a
soon-to-be mother? Not only will the school administration teach her better
manners, but their punishment also impacts the innocent little babe.
But the example is set before the Administration in the very beginning of
Scriptures.
It was Eve who disobeyed God, only once, by plucking the fruit of the Tree
of Knowledge and sweet talking Adam into taking a bite. Did God call the
couple together and discuss their grave error? Did He suggest that they
might do some community service to pay for their mistake? No, without so
much as a "how dee doo", He banned them from the Garden of Eden. Naturally
this not only had a negative impact upon their life style, but on their
children and upon all generations since then.
In our Fairy Tales, it is the wicked witch or wizard or evil step-mother who
treats others in such a harsh manner. But in the Bible, it is our Loving
Father.
How can the school's administration do differently?
We are railing against their Bible based actions, when we should be opposing
the Myth itself.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 5:00 AM
Subject: more catholic stuff
20,000 support Mont. teacher fired for pregnancy By John S. Adams USA TODAY
More than 20,000 people from across the USA have called on the Catholic
diocese
here to reverse its decision to fire an unmarried middle school teacher who
is pregnant. Supporters delivered a petition Thursday to Bishop George Leo
Thomas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, calling the Jan. 10 decision
to fire Shaela Evenson of Butte Central Elementary-Junior High School
hypocritical.
"Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and
hypocritical," said the petition from Faithful America, a social justice
group that says
it is dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right. "Give
Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis' words about love
and healing more seriously. The school fired Evenson, a literature and
physical education teacher for eight years, after the diocese received an
anonymous
letter informing administrators that she was having a child out of wedlock.
The Catholic Church teaches that sex between a man and a woman is reserved
for marriage and condemns abortion a grave evil. Aaron Viles, Faithful
America deputy director, said the organization did not consult Evenson
before taking
action on her behalf. "This petition came from the staff of Faithful
America," Viles said Thursday. "We saw her story and were inspired to take
action.
The organization's initial goal was 15,000 signatures; almost 22,000 were
recorded online Friday afternoon. MoveOn.org has a duplicate petition on its
website that has received almost 900 signatures. A friend on gofundme.com
also is raising money for Everson, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy.
Susan
Hawthorne, a friend of Evenson, and Margaret Rankin, a longtime member of
the Helena Diocese, delivered the petition to Thomas' office at the chancery
near the Cathedral of St. Helena. Rankin, a parishioner at St. Teresa's
Catholic Church in Whitehall, Mont., who also graduated from the diocese's
Carroll
College, said she didn't expect the petition to have much of an influence on
the church. "The only way that change could be made is if (Pope) Francis
himself
came and asked for that change to be made, and I doubt that would happen,"
she said. The diocese encompasses 21 counties and parts of two others in
western
Montana and ministers to almost 45,000 parishioners. More than 1,000
children are enrolled in a half dozen elementary and secondary schools in
Browning,
Butte, Kalispell and Missoula; Carroll College here has more than 1,500
students. The Helena Diocese filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 31 as part
of
a proposed $15 million settlement for more than 350 victims who say clergy
sexually abused them for decades while the church covered it up. Thomas was
not at his office to receive the petition about Evenson, but diocese
spokesman Dan Bartleson took the missive and signatures and said the bishop
would
take the matter under advisement. Bartleson said he did have time to discuss
the matter briefly with Thomas before Thursday's developments.
<! --iframe-->
"At this time it's unlikely, right now, that he would reverse the decision
that was made in Butte," Bartleson said. In a written statement handed out
to
reporters, Thomas said Pope Francis in January asked Catholic educators to
"give uncompromising and unambiguous witness to church teaching and defend
themselves
from all efforts to dilute their Catholic identity. "I am deeply saddened by
these recent events, and caught between the values of upholding the Catholic
identity of our schools while desiring to provide pastoral outreach and
understanding to the teacher," Thomas said. "At the end of the day, there
are no
easy answers or facile solutions. The diocese has declined to comment on
Evenson's firing, citing her right to privacy. Evenson declined to comment
and
referred questions to her lawyer, Brian Butler of Cincinnati. Butler said
Evenson is pursuing administrative relief and all employers, including
religious
organizations, have to follow state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
"There are state and federal laws that specifically protect women from
discrimination
because they are pregnant," Butler said. Evenson is not Catholic and never
has been, her lawyer said. "Besides being an outstanding educator and an
inspiration
to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship,
said Evenson's friend who is raising money on gofundme.com, Jen Hensley.
"This
pregnancy is hard fought and very much wanted. In June, in a case Butler
described as having "nearly identical" circumstances to Evenson's firing, a
federal
jury found the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati discriminated
against a Catholic school teacher fired after she became pregnant through
artificial
insemination. The jury awarded Christa Dias more than $170,000 in an
anti-discrimination lawsuit. Butler's firm represented Dias in that case.
"These cases
are nearly identical. She (Dias) was not Catholic, and she didn't teach any
religion," Butler said. "She decided to have a child, and when the school
found
out she was pregnant, she was terminated. John S. Adams also reports for the
Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune.
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