A Pennsylvania College professor is out of a job tonight.
Father James St. George says he was fully vetted when he was hired to teach at Chestnut Hill College, a private Roman Catholic institution in Pennsylvania. But the schools says that they did not know he was gay, and has since let him go.Now Father St. George is wondering whether a letter from a local lawyer may have done him in. [Of course his behavior had nothing to do with it]
Father St. George doesn’t exactly hide the fact that he’s gay. But he says he never brings it up in class.
“My sexuality has never come up. I’ve never once said i’m gay,” [Except on his public blog]
Father St. George is part of the Old Catholic Church Of The Americas, a faction that broke away from the Vatican back in 1870. In his church, priests are allowed to marry and be gay.
A quick Google search when the college hired him would have revealed that, but the college said in a statement, “it was with great disappointment when we learned through St. George’s public statements of his involvement in a gay relationship with another man for the past 15 years.” [Source]
Technically he was not fired for having same-sex attraction, but for engaging in homosexual acts. The fact that he didn’t mention he was part of the schismatic “Old Catholic Church” is also relevant. He also advertises himself on a wedding web site “Interfaith Ceremony, Same Sex, Single Religion Ceremony.”
He is also available for “Anniversaries, Christenings, Eco-Friendly / Green Weddings, LGBT Weddings / Ceremonies, Memorials”
So what exactly is an Eco-Friendly Green Wedding? Do they throw guaranteed biodegradable rice and the wedding gowns are made of recycled wedding gowns? Or perhaps drag recycled tin cans behind the couple’s Prius?
It is interesting the story of the Old Catholic Church which went into schism after the 1st Vatican Council over papal infallibility. They were seen as hardline on change and of course now allow pretty much everything except of course belief in papal infallibility. When you through Peter over the side pretty soon you crash on the rocks of modernity.
Chestnut Hill College President Carol Jean Vale statement:
“As president of Chestnut Hill College, a private Catholic institution, it is imperative that I clarify the conditions of our College’s decision not to issue a new part-time teaching contract to Jim St. George. St. George served as adjunct instructor in our School of Continuing and Professional Studies from January 2010 to February of this year teaching a variety of courses in religion and scripture.
“At the time St. George joined our faculty, he presented himself as Father St. George and openly wore a traditional Catholic priest’s collar. While St. George appears to be an ordained pastor-he leads St. Miriam, an independent and self-described reformed Antioch-rite Catholic house of worship located in Blue Bell, Pa.–his church allows priests the option to engage in same-sex partnerships. This is contrary to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.
“It was with great disappointment when we learned through St. George’s public statements of his involvement in a gay relationship with another man for the past 15 years. It is important to note that this information came to our attention only after St. George chose to make his private life public information on his blog.
“While we welcome diversity, it is expected that all members of our College community, regardless of their personal beliefs, respect and uphold our Roman Catholic mission, character and values both in the classroom and in public statements that identify them with our school. For this reason, we chose not to offer an additional teaching contract to St. George.” [Source]
Kudos to the college President for acting correctly. Now we need to pray for Father James St. George.
8 comments
It’s strange that the school never checked to see this man’s bona
fideswhen he was being hired. From the looks of it, anyone
could show up in a roman collar and start teaching classes in religion
and scripture there. Why didn’t they check his CV to see where he’d
gone to seminary or ask where he was incardinated? It seems that
it’s a good thing that Mr. St. George no longer teaches at Chestnut
Hill, but he really needs to be joined in the unemployment line by
the fools in that school’s HR department.
Yep, the HR folk messed up. Here’s a tip to any and all administrators: do your freakin’ homework!
Hmmmm, Jim St. George and his Miriam church are the same ones running anti-Catholic attack adds in Philadelphia papers. I supsect that may have something to do with this. http://www.ncregister.com/blog/when-churches-attack
Fyi, Father St. George was solicited to teach at Chestnut Hill College. He didn’t go looking for a teaching job there. He was asked to come on board. He did a good enough job that he was offered additional courses in each subsequent semester, until he was told, last week, that his services were no longer needed. The school stated that his contract offer was revoked because he is a gay man in a relationship with another man, a status that is contrary to Roman Catholic teaching. That is the only reason the school gave.
Just so we’re clear about the origins of his association with the college and the reason the college gave for severing the relationship.
Um. Wait second, why did the school hire someone from the Old Catholic sect? Whoever does their hiring needs to be fired.
Wouldn’t a Catholic who teaches courses in religion and scripture at a
Catholic institution like CHC need to seek a mandatum from
the bishop? Of course, since this man is not in fact a Catholic, he
wouldn’t have received one. Which is one more reason why it should
be public knowledge whether or not Catholic theology faculty have
their Ordinary’s permission to teach. As it stands now in this
country, we laity paying tuition just have to take it on faith both that
faculty actually bother to seek a mandatum and the bishop
actually granted one.
If what Mr. Polaneczky commented earlier is accurate, then this is
not so much a case of a man misrepresenting himself to the college,
but the Catholic college actively seeking out a man from a schismatic
sect hostile to the Church (per. Fr. Richtsteig’s comment above) to
teach religion and scripture on its faculty, and knowingly allowing
people to believe him to be a Catholic priest in good standing.
It sounds like the bishop might want to wade in on this one, because
it may be time for that college to explain what it’s been up to.
The “Old Catholic Church in America”… isn’t. The only body in this country recognized by the historic Old Catholic churches in the Union of Utrecht is the Polish National Catholic Church.
I have already found that groups like this tend to tell one set of things to “alternative” contacts and another to everyone else.
I am surprised that “orthodox” pundits are quite ready to tell group X that “you aren’t REAL Christians, no matter what YOU say”, but do not question fly-by-night outfits alleging they are “Old Catholic” because they say so.
There are essential two varieties of Old Catholics. The first is a group of churches in communion with the Dutch Old Catholic See of Utrecht. As Will mentioned, the only denomination in the US recognized by Union of Utrecht is the polish National Catholic Church. (However this body has severed its ties with the Union of Utrecht over the ordination of women.) These churches have a coherent ecclesiastical structure, membership, and accountability. These are the bodies that were formed by those who rejected Vatican I and Papal Infallibility. These churches have also recognized Anglican Orders and are in communion with the Anglican Communion.
Most Old Catholic bodies in the US are splinter groups, who only connection with the Union of Utrecht is that they trace their Orders to one or two men who received Holy Orders from the Dutch Old Catholic Church, but were subsequently repudiated by them. Many of these groups are little more than a post office box and a bishop, and in our times, a website. Thomas Case was described these churches as “annulment mills” and “refuges for dysfunctional Catholics.” OTOH, some groups have a degree of cohesiveness, are quite well organized, and have substantial memberships. In recent years, some of these churches have been organized by dissatisfied progressives around “resigned” priests. Many of these groups advertise themselves as “gay friendly” and “inclusive” and as “allowing women to participate in all ministries of the church” (i.e. they ordain women). One group simultaneously tries to appeal both to those who dissent from authentic Catholic sexual morality and also to liturgical traditionalists.
In any case, Old Catholic splinter groups seem an inappropriate place to seek professors for a Catholic theological faculty.