Some Thoughts on the HB 2626 Hearing
During the recent House hearing on HB 2626 at Wilkes University, the truth shone forth. This, despite the arcane and convoluted arguments to the contrary on the part of a canon lawyer, a law school dean, counsel for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and assorted Scranton Diocese officials who sought to explain how many bishops could dance on the head of a pin.
The legislators conducting the hearing repeatedly asked those gentlemen clear and logical questions concerning Bishop Martino’s unwillingness to abide by Church teachings, as well as the disparity between Martino and his fellow Pennsylvania bishops with regard to Catholic school unionization. The Church’s minions responded to each and every query with the smug certainty that their legalistic, formulaic and very elastic interpretation of Church law would prove convincing beyond refutation.
When unionized teachers from other Pennsylvania dioceses testified in simple, straightforward fashion about their appreciation of and loyalty toward their unions, the legislators understood the difference between what the Church preaches and how it can stand Church teaching on its head whenever and wherever an individual bishop deems it opportune. The Church, the minions held, is indeed universal in its teachings, but, they maintained in the next breath, it is not monolithic when it comes to the manner in which individual bishops can choose to implement said teachings.
Thus, one hundred years’ of encyclicals, pastorals and bishops’ scholarly letters can be tossed aside by an inaccessible bishop with the power of a 14th century baron. Who has the power to tell the bishop that he is wrong? No one, it seems, except the SDACT and the House, Senate and Governor of the State of Pennsylvania. Thankfully, Medieval mindsets do not play well in 21st century America when the basic rights and freedoms of individuals are at issue.
Representative Thomas Blackwell (West Philadelphia) separated the chaff from the grain very nicely when he likened the plight of Catholic school teachers to African-Americans during the Civil Rights Era. When officialdom hides behind a power structure and attempts to deny equality to a category of citizens for self-serving and unjust reasons, legislative action is needed to redress an ugly, un-American and un-Christian stance.
When it became apparent to all those in attendance at the hearing that the legislators weren’t buying what the Church was selling, speakers in support of the Bishop’s position went negative. The legislators were told, for example, that if allowed to unionize and negotiate contracts, teachers would seek a clause which would allow them to refuse to accompany students to Mass during the school day. The implication here suggests that teachers would indeed engage in such a tactic.
One cannot hear such despicable accusations without thinking of totalitarian governments' tactic of the “big lie” – a lie so preposterous and contrary to fact but repeated so often that it begins to gain traction among those without recourse to the facts, or those predisposed to believe it in the first place. The response of the crowd, many of whom were Catholic teachers and parents, was a predictable and loud indignation.
When you think about it though, the day belonged to the teachers. Such ad hominem attacks not only reflected the desperation of Church officials, but they also served to solidify the opinion of the legislators who see this as a simple issue of fairness and justice for their constituents. With our continued support of the SDACT and our elected state legislators, we will prevail. Justice is within our grasp. Let us not falter now.
The legislators conducting the hearing repeatedly asked those gentlemen clear and logical questions concerning Bishop Martino’s unwillingness to abide by Church teachings, as well as the disparity between Martino and his fellow Pennsylvania bishops with regard to Catholic school unionization. The Church’s minions responded to each and every query with the smug certainty that their legalistic, formulaic and very elastic interpretation of Church law would prove convincing beyond refutation.
When unionized teachers from other Pennsylvania dioceses testified in simple, straightforward fashion about their appreciation of and loyalty toward their unions, the legislators understood the difference between what the Church preaches and how it can stand Church teaching on its head whenever and wherever an individual bishop deems it opportune. The Church, the minions held, is indeed universal in its teachings, but, they maintained in the next breath, it is not monolithic when it comes to the manner in which individual bishops can choose to implement said teachings.
Thus, one hundred years’ of encyclicals, pastorals and bishops’ scholarly letters can be tossed aside by an inaccessible bishop with the power of a 14th century baron. Who has the power to tell the bishop that he is wrong? No one, it seems, except the SDACT and the House, Senate and Governor of the State of Pennsylvania. Thankfully, Medieval mindsets do not play well in 21st century America when the basic rights and freedoms of individuals are at issue.
Representative Thomas Blackwell (West Philadelphia) separated the chaff from the grain very nicely when he likened the plight of Catholic school teachers to African-Americans during the Civil Rights Era. When officialdom hides behind a power structure and attempts to deny equality to a category of citizens for self-serving and unjust reasons, legislative action is needed to redress an ugly, un-American and un-Christian stance.
When it became apparent to all those in attendance at the hearing that the legislators weren’t buying what the Church was selling, speakers in support of the Bishop’s position went negative. The legislators were told, for example, that if allowed to unionize and negotiate contracts, teachers would seek a clause which would allow them to refuse to accompany students to Mass during the school day. The implication here suggests that teachers would indeed engage in such a tactic.
One cannot hear such despicable accusations without thinking of totalitarian governments' tactic of the “big lie” – a lie so preposterous and contrary to fact but repeated so often that it begins to gain traction among those without recourse to the facts, or those predisposed to believe it in the first place. The response of the crowd, many of whom were Catholic teachers and parents, was a predictable and loud indignation.
When you think about it though, the day belonged to the teachers. Such ad hominem attacks not only reflected the desperation of Church officials, but they also served to solidify the opinion of the legislators who see this as a simple issue of fairness and justice for their constituents. With our continued support of the SDACT and our elected state legislators, we will prevail. Justice is within our grasp. Let us not falter now.
posted by SDACT at
2:50 PM
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