About to be fired as assistant principal at Purcell Marian High School, Mike Moroski says he doesn’t regret voicing his support of gay marriage on his blog.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati placed Moroski on administrative leave Feb. 4 and plans to fire him, Moroski said. He says he has hired a lawyer.
Moroski refused to take down his statements on the blog.
“I believe in Catholicism,” Moroski said in an interview. “But my conscience will not permit me to recant my statement.
“I put it up there because I really truly honestly believe it,” he added. “I’m absolutely willing to lose my job over this. The only difficult thing for me now is the students.”
Moroski, 34 who is married and lives Downtown, acknowledges that he violated the Archdiocese’s social media policy.
The contract he signs every year also requires him to “comply with and act consistently in accordance with the stated philosophy and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.”
Moroski said he “knew the statement I was making was not in accordance with Roman Catholic beliefs,” but he does not think he violated the contract because he was following his conscience. (source)
He has since been dismissed and has lawyered-up.
Of course it will be a situation where he will demand that that Archdiocese allows him to follow his conscience, but the Archdiocese is not allowed to follow theirs.
I always have mixed-feelings about such stories as this in that while I will hopefully never support error, somebody acting on their conscience, even a badly formed one, is at least somewhat positive. When it comes to Catholic schools I think we will find more and more cases of this at least will have the effect of dissenters self-identifying themselves. The issue of same sex marriage no doubt will be a central issue in regards to this dissident self outing.
Mr. Moroski says “I believe in Catholicism”, or more likely the spirit of Catholicism like the spirit of Vatican II. A broad nebulous idea of Catholicism where you don’t have to look too closely at details. The Catholic Church is like a Mandebrot set where the closer you look the more details you see. The spirit of Catholicism is just the opposite.
I think that you would also find that if you talked with Mr. Moroski you would not find that he believes in everything the Church teaches except the sinfulness of homosexual acts. This almost always goes with a whole host of connected issues. I don’t think I have ever heard of anybody who supported homosexual acts, but condemned contraception as an intrinsic evil. The dissident treats the Church like a stack of Jenga blocks and yet thinks taking a block from the bottom has no effect on the rest. The Church’s teaching on human sexuality is consistent, because truth is always consistent. The Church’s teaching on marriage flows into so much else.
I just wished Mr. Moroski had thought to contact a spiritual director instead of a lawyer. This individualistic my conscience against the Church is pure hubris with no docility. If you are going to be “Athanasius against the world” it might be a good idea to make sure you are right first.
As for the “spirit of Catholicism”:
“Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mt 7:21–22)
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (Jn 14:15)
“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Lk 10:16)
4 comments
The spirit of Catholicism? Is that anything like the schools that teach “in the Tradition of Catholic Education,” and then allow all sorts of things on campus in opposition to the teaching of the Church? This is like the supposedly “Jesuit” schools that teach in the “tradition” of Jesuit / Ignatius” and don’t teach the Ignatius Exercises and again are in complete opposition to the Magisterium in the name of “Academic Freedom.” I think a improperly formed concious is a dangerous thing…to the individuals soul and, in the case of an educator, to the soul of their students and the local Church. This guy was well aware of the conditions of his contract, if his malformed concious made it impossible for him to fulfill his job then he should have quit. The School and the Church have a right to expect their teachers teach according to what the Church teaches. He breached his contract by his actions. End of story.
(((About to be fired as assistant principal at Purcell Marian High School, Mike Moroski says he doesn’t regret voicing his support of gay marriage on his blog.)))
Victor! You and your so called 7% Jesus Catholic Cells have got to learn to read the house rules that we 92% gods have created cause we’re getting Fed UP with ya not following them just because your little retardo soul choses to do “IT” is OWN WAY NOW! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cAsIXF2ZMY
Hey lighten “IT” UP sinner vic cause “I” think that my soul was only trying to defend “Saint Peter” because “Jesus” did give him the key to ya know where?
Sorry Victor! Forgive me cause some days “I” just seem to get carried away! 🙁
“IT” is OK sinner vic cause nun of U>S (usual sinners) are perfect NOW.
Go Figure! 🙂
Peace
On the one hand, SCOTUS has made it very, very clear that religious organizations have broad latitude on retaining or releasing employees based on doctrinal principles. OTOH, I can see some judge allowing this suit to proceed, and Mr. Moroski dragging this out for years to drain money and energy from the Archdiocese…
Ever since 1968, when the Canadian Bishops in Winnepeg issued their “Statement” they did so in the terms of freedom of conscience. This has been used by the false Spirit of Vatican II on several issue. The problem with it is that this is standard Protestant thought but Catholics are not like Protestants when it comes to ‘freedom of Conscience” The Catholic conscience must be properly formed. Pope Benedict stressed this at great length in 2008 visit to the US when he addressed educators, I myself am a graduate of Marian High School before they merged in 1982. It is good the Archdiocese is suspending him, but this kind of incidents are why many Catholic Parents are instead choosing to home school their children. Even if he privately supported this he can not as an assistant principal publicly support this. When it comes to this issue it is clear -respect the person but not the lifestyle and NOT Marriage.