Very well stated. And here is the irony: That is exactly the ethos that is embraced in the halls of St. Mary’s. While it is a 156-year-old Catholic school run by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, it long has focused upon the social-justice chapter of Catholic teaching more than upon conservative dogma. As senior Anna Lee told The Oregonian: “I was confused, then I started to get angry. There’s an unspoken rule of acceptance. The teachers make us feel safe, and we can confide anything.” St. Mary’s, like any other school — Catholic or not — has gay students and gay staff members, and it makes them feel welcome.
Change of policy
All of which makes it surprising that school officials so badly botched the public relations portion of the equation. Brown said that when administrators withdrew their job offer, they offered to pay her one year’s worth of salary and benefits and provided her with a script to post on social media pages: “Friends, I want to let you all know I will no longer be at St. Mary’s in the fall. Please message me if you know of any jobs available.” Whether or not the intent was to purchase her silence, that certainly is the appearance — an appearance that inherently is unattractive.
Within a day of the story coming out, St. Mary’s officials convened the board of directors and amended their nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation. They said they will seek reconciliation with Brown, although the position she had been offered has been filled. They lived up to the ideals they espouse.
The situation has exposed a rift that permeates the Catholic Church in the United States. Archbishop Alexander King Sample of the Portland Archdiocese has vociferously decried this summer’s Supreme Court ruling in support of gay marriage, and there are questions about whether he will work to remove the school’s Catholic status.
And so, the issue will remain a fascinating tangle of legal and moral and societal questions. St. Mary’s has every right to reject a gay job applicant, but just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should. In the end, school officials did the right thing.