Example of Bishop Hoban worth following

The following editorial appeared in the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, June 22, 2008:

Example of Bishop Hoban worth following

WWBHD -- What would Bishop Hoban do? No, not the high school that existed on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre for 35 years before merging with other schools to become Holy Redeemer, but the great priest who was the namesake of that school and the spiritual leader of the Scranton Diocese from 1899 to 1926.

Bishop Michael J. Hoban was the second Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton and one who was renowned for his support of working families, the unions they formed and the struggles they waged to carve out a better life in Northeast Pennsylvania. He and the moral authority he possessed supported many of our grandparents and we are all the better for it.

Emblematic of that support is the well-known 1902 photograph of Bishop Hoban sitting with President Theodore Roosevelt and John Mitchell, United Mine Workers president, on the landing in front of Holy Savior Church in East End to show support for working miners.

If Bishop Hoban were alive today he may have been front and center on Public Square on June 14 along with parents, students, elected officials and union leaders in support of area Catholic school teachers and the respect they deserve.

The Scranton Diocese Association of Catholic Teachers -- which has represented the diocesan Catholic school educators for 27 years -- organized their “Rally for Rights” that Saturday on the square to urge the Scranton Diocese and specifically Bishop Joseph Martino to recognize their union.

Under the leadership of Michael Milz, a dedicated and selfless Catholic school teacher for 33 years at Bishop Hoban and Holy Redeemer, the SDACT has been respectfully requesting such recognition for over a year.

Milz is a husband and father with a mortgage, taxes and the bills we all must pay. Yet two weeks ago we learned that Milz, who has touched the lives of thousands of students in his three decades of teaching, was informed that his services were no longer needed due to “staffing reasons.”

Surgically removing the leader of a group laboring for the rights of others is not a new tactic. It has been used by the powerful throughout our history. It is this treatment of human beings that Bishop Hoban deplored and would never today condone.

The chilling message which this act sent to Milz and all Catholic school teachers is clear. Crystal. Unfortunately, it was also clear to every citizen with access to a newspaper. We all witnessed the mean-spirited removal of Michael Milz. Sadly, this action contradicts everything I was taught by the Sisters of Mercy at Holy Savior, the Jesuits at the University of Scranton and every good priest we grew up listening to.

Milz and the SDACT have petitioned the Vatican for help and are also supporting House Bill 2626, which would require their official recognition by the diocese. I urge our northeast delegation to support this legislation.

But none of this should be necessary. Wisdom is all that’s required. The SDACT has professionally represented its Catholic school teachers for 27 years. It was recognized by our three previous bishops and all worked well together, until now.

Bishop Michael J. Hoban would certainly break bread with his faculty, recognize their union and keep Milz in the classroom where he belongs. I respectfully urge Bishop Martino to do no less.

Ultimately, in the end, recognition will come. The rights of the Catholic school teachers will be restored either through legislation, a new bishop or possibly through intervention of the Vatican itself. After all, Pope Benedict XVI is a good and wise man. I suspect he knows WWBHD.

Kevin Blaum is associate director of admission at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, where he also teaches government. Blaum spent 26 years as a Pennsylvania state legislator and was a Wilkes-Barre City Councilman. Reach him at kblaum@timesleader.com.