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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Jayne: Catholic school + gay applicant = difficult situation

By , Columbian Opinion Page Editor
Published:

Full disclosure: My daughter is a senior at St. Mary’s Academy, and my wife’s ties to the school date back to the Carter administration. So I have taken more than a passing interest in the events of the past week as a figurative firestorm has engulfed the all-girls high school in downtown Portland.

It flared up as 27-year-old Lauren Brown claimed the school had rescinded an offer for a job as an academic adviser when officials found out she was considering marrying her gay partner. Willamette Week sympathetically reported the story without bothering to ask questions such as, “If you are gay, why apply to a Catholic school? Were you aware of Catholic teachings regarding homosexuality and gay marriage? Did you sign an agreement to follow Catholic doctrine? Had you signed your contract, because school officials claim you had not?”

These would seem to be basic queries, considering that St. Mary’s — or any other religious institution — has every right to not hire somebody who violates their doctrine. For those who support the state’s recognition of gay marriage — myself included — it is equally important to defend the right of religious organizations to adhere to their beliefs. This is not some bakery that is open to the public and therefore must provide the same services to all customers; this is a private group, and if you disagree with their beliefs then you don’t have to join them.

Anyway, all of this raised a kerfuffle of, um, er, biblical proportions. Many students were outraged at the treatment Brown said she received; many alums were apoplectic; the mayor of Portland and other political leaders condemned the action; and when major donors doled out criticism, the wheels really started to turn. Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, who along with his wife is a patron of St. Mary’s, said: “There is no place in the workplace of today, or of the future, for discriminating against an individual based on sexual orientation.”

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.

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