I read with interest both Rick's post on the demise of parochial schools and the article in today's times to which it refers.
I can't speak for other urban areas, but as a product of a Brooklyn parish and its parochial school, I can say there is much truth in the observation that parishes were something like "mini-states," that, as Rick expresses it, were often more important to urban geography, and to city-dwellers' identity, than the conventional markers and boundaries." Virtually everything in our lives revolved around the parish. Not only were we educated in the parochial grade school, but all of our activities - scouts, sports, Great Books Club, etc. were run by the parish, as was a teen youth center and various other activities for adults, teens and children. The priests and nuns were constant presences in the streets of the neighborhoods or in our homes for meals or coffee. As a result, our faith was not just something we learned in our religion classes or in church, it was in the air we breathed.
When asked where I grew up in Brooklyn, I'm still as likely as not to respond by saying: "Sts. Simon and Jude." (Amusingly...although perhaps only to me....as the child of a NYC police officer, the other way I typically identify Brooklyn neighborhoods is by precinct number.)
For all the complaints I've made over the years about various aspects of Catholic school education, I think something is lost with the closing of so many parochial schools. But I think perhaps more may have been lost with the demise of the parish as a central part of the lives of parishioners.
Susan
Friday, February 11, 2005
Rick's post about the the Ninth Circuit's decision in Elvig vs. Calvin Presbyterian, which holds that a suit for damages may be brought against a church for sexual harassment committed by a pastor/supervisor to a minister, quotes the dissent position that the decision is "an invasion by the federal government into the church's core prerogatives and autonomy.''
I disagree with the position that the availability for damages for harassment is an impermissible interference with the church's constitutionally protected decisions to hire and retain ministers. It is one thing to say that a church may engage in what would otherwise be termed employment discrimination in hiring its ministers. It is another to suggest that respect for religious freedom requires protecting the ability of pastors to sexually harass those employees they choose to hire. If the pastor had physically assaulted the minister, would anyone think it inappropriate if the minister sued for damages to compensate for those injuries? (The court in this case was clear that there could be no damages for the resulting termination of employment of the harassed employee, only for the harassment itself.)
Dissenting from the Ninth Circuit's decision not to rehear the case en banc, Judge Kleinfeld argued that the availability of damages for sexual harassment necessarily interferes with hiring decisions becuase "to prevent lawsuits alleging sexual harassment, churches will fire ministers who they think expose them to risk of damage awards and hire those who they think will not." I'm not entirely sure how one determines whether a potential employee is likely to expose the church to damage awards, but unless a church is trying to preserve its ability to engage in sexual harassment of its employees, it is difficult for me to see the danger here.
As the Ninth Circuit said in denying a rehearing en banc, there was no allegation by the church that that there was a religious justification for the sexual harassment. Thus the court did not address the question left open in its prior decisions concerning whether sexual harassment based on a religious justification was constitutionally protected.
Susan
Thursday, February 3, 2005
The Guild of Catholic Lawyers of the Archdiocese of New York held its 22nd Annual Charles Carroll Award Reception this evening. The recipient of this year's Charles Carroll award was MOJ blogger, Amy Uelmen, recognized for her outstanding work as Director of Fordham Law School's Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer's Work and for her example in living an integrated life of faith. It was a privilege for me to be there (along with fellow MOJ blogger Rob Vischer) to share in the honoring of a member of our community.
Amy's remarks at the award reception were very inspiring and I am hopeful that she will post them here.
Susan
Thursday, January 27, 2005
We've been remarkably silent on the question of the war in Iraq. Joan Chittister's National Catholic Reporter column this week, titled "What the rest of the world watched on Inauguration Day," contrasts the percentage of wartime casualties in World War I (15%) with that today (75%) and tells the horrific story of one family destroyed last week. She ends with the questions: "Who or what will free us from the 2st century's new definition of bravery? Who will free us from the notoin that killing children or their civilian parrents takes courage." The entire column can be read here.
Susan
