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October 26, 2005
Stand Up and Speak Out
Let me tell you the whole story. My family was not originally as pro-life as we are now. Actually, it all started at Loretto. In my freshman year in our Sexuality and Spirituality class, we had to research abortion, develop an opinion, and give a presentation to the class. That night I went home and was reading some websites. It was then that I realized that there really was no argument. You can see what I have to say on it here. I realized that if abortion is the ending of a human life, I would need to do whatever I could to protect that life. When I shared all of this with my family, they agreed. We had always made small donations to the Life Center, but after this touched our hearts, we knew we had to do more. Since then, we have gone to abortion clinics, passed out literature on fetal development and the facts of abortion, and have offered to help women in any way we can.
I have gone to the Planned Parenthood mentioned in this article and have seen this individual as an escort there. I know that many people do not know what exactly an escort does, but a blogger named"Naaman the Ex-leper" was formerly an abortion clinic escort and explains it here. When I started school and saw Ms. Bain, I just thought that they looked very similar. I mentioned this to my mom and she could not believe it.
Read the comments boxes. And then try to argue with the view, offered here and there, that at a good number of the Catholic high schools in this country should probably be just shut down. Educating the wealthy for...what?
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
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Comments
That it should even be contested that an activist for abortion, passing out materials promoting abortion in class, is not suitable as a teacher at a Catholic school is appalling. The newspaper comments: "Bishop William K. Weigand's call to fire drama teacher Marie Bain in response to Sills' latest protest has raised concerns in some circles that anti-abortion activists at Loretto have too much pull with the Sacramento Diocese's top cleric." Too much pull? I should hope that the Sacramento Diocese's top cleric would be one of the main anti-abortion activists doing the pulling. Apparently too, judging from the tenor of comments by alumnae of the school, it has utterly failed to inspire respect for the Church and her teachings in the young women who attended it. If they do get sued, and the place is closed down, I hope that not one penny of the diocese's money goes to help them. But the way things go these days, the diocese will probably be sued too. American Catholics just have to face up to the reality that persecution is coming, and that the price of fidelity will be deprivation, then possibly imprisonment or death; and the leaders of the persecution will be our own apostate brethren.
Posted by: Henry Dieterich at Oct 26, 2005 11:55:27 AM
That young lady and her family are certainly very brave. It is stories like this that one can look at with both hope and horror at the same time. To stand up and speak out and risk your comfortable affluent lifestyle says something about their character. The venom that their family has been met with is not surprising. For many of the families that Catholic school was a vehicle for getting into a good college and nothing more. The Church's moral teaching are a hinderance to their comfortable suburban lifestyle. Katelyn seems to be one more light in the darkness.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing." ~
Edmund Burke
Posted by: DJL at Oct 26, 2005 12:08:59 PM
A few things:
Strictly speaking, the outcry and termination of the teacher in question is not a pro-life activity per se; it would be more accurately seen as an administrative matter. It's probably pointless, but I wonder if the outcry against Ms Bain:
1. Harms the pro-life movement because it appears vindictive against an individual person (who admittedly, though, engages in a practice that, for a Catholic employee, would be seriously problematic).
2. Is more a matter of misdirected energy? The Bushies don't appear willing to end abortion-on-demand, and neither does Western society at large. We're clearly in for a long road if the moral tide in society will turn on this issue to the satisfaction of many of us, so does Bain become a convenient and vulnerable target because the big picture seems impossible to tackle at the moment?
Personally, I think pro-lifers need to ask: what will this accomplish? I think the daughter's story is admirable, and she's clearly a good writer so something's on target in her schooling. But Bain wasn't the source or original inspiration for the outcry in her defense. She's only been there two months, right? The attitudes against Mrs Sills have been formed long ago.
Posted by: Todd at Oct 26, 2005 12:11:23 PM
Todd,
Some things you do, not because they will be effective but because they are the right thing to do.
Posted by: John J. Simmins at Oct 26, 2005 12:36:18 PM
"Personally, I think pro-lifers need to ask: what will this accomplish?" -Todd
The Catholic Church won't be providing a living for someone who actively procures abortions, that's what!
Posted by: midwestmom at Oct 26, 2005 12:37:14 PM
"Is more a matter of misdirected energy? The Bushies don't appear willing to end abortion-on-demand, and neither does Western society at large."
It's a Catholic school, not a Catholic in public office. Nothing to do with politics. We have to live with ourselves in our own schools and parishes and communities. What are we and who are we as Catholics?
Wondering if the teachers sign a contract containing a clause that they will respect and adhere if Catholic, to the Catholic Church teachings?
Wondering what would happen if this teacher was directed to a pregnant and unhappy student...
Wondering what the heck happened to our Catholic schools starting many years ago, even when I was in them in the 70s.
Wondering how the heck this kid has the fortitude to get up and go to school each day... what an inspiration.
One daugher in Catholic high school... good academics and an occasional teacher who is inspiring and/or teaches w/o the pc stuff you find in public high schools. I guess that is what we settle for. Not much in the way of Catholic identity or helping us parents raise our kids with Catholic morals and knowledge... although I know that the school caters to what parents are interested in, so I guess they are doing the jobs most of us want.
Posted by: Colleen at Oct 26, 2005 12:38:54 PM
My daughter looked at Catholic high schools - and ended up in a non-sectarian private school. It was also very liberal, but she pointed out that there she could say "this is what my Church teaches" without having a Priest or Nun telling her that wasn't important. She ended up going to Thomas Aquinas College because she wanted to learn more deeply about the faith she had been defending for four years. (The school thought it was a waste - wanted her to go to Harvard. I was so relieved that she chose TAC.)
Posted by: Elizabeth at Oct 26, 2005 12:54:19 PM
"Read the comments boxes. And then try to argue with the view, offered here and there, that at a good number of the Catholic high schools in this country should probably be just shut down. Educating the wealthy for...what?" Good point, Amy.
Not very far into the comments on this girl's site, maybe the fourth one from the top, is a post by "Soph", who includes a link to her homepage. Brace yourself and check it out.
She has a slutty picture of herself lying on her bed in her homecoming dress and uses the F-bomb rather freely.
Posted by: midwestmom at Oct 26, 2005 1:00:20 PM
Michael Gaynor's October 18 column with a lot of relevant info....
Posted by: Zhou De-Ming at Oct 26, 2005 1:15:47 PM
But I wonder if Loretto grads represent the mainstream? It is California, which is hardly known as the bastion of traditional values. I really don't see as much of a problem in Catholic high schools here in Houston. Not saying they are perfect (or even good), but I'd have a hard time thinking that many would jump to the defense of a teacher in a similar situation at my alma mater (or my sister's).
Posted by: c matt at Oct 26, 2005 1:25:48 PM
But Bain wasn't the source or original inspiration for the outcry in her defense. She's only been there two months, right? The attitudes against Mrs Sills have been formed long ago.
Unfortunately, this is probably true (judging from the comments). Bains was simply a poster child for the heterodox views of those who support abortion and still want to call themselves Catholic. Thus, the firing lit the fuse for them to unleash on the Sills.
Posted by: c matt at Oct 26, 2005 1:30:09 PM
c matt,
I'm sure the California crowd is perhaps a little more "in your face" about their rebellion but I would say it's probably par for the course nationwide.
I was in a mall in Omaha, NE and watched many uniformed girls from the nearby all-girls' Catholic high school pass by. Their plaid skirts were way too short, their tanning bed skin was beyond well done, and their rather large tattoos were showing.
This is the same school that had posted on its website articles from the student newspaper in which the authors saw nothing wrong with homosexual relationships (her big brother was gay!) and women's ordination.
Enrollment in a suburban Catholic high school is nothing more than a status symbol for many.
Posted by: midwestmom at Oct 26, 2005 1:41:56 PM
As for "What will this accomplish"?
Catholic Parents have the right to safeguard the education of their children. When they send their children to Catholic schools, it is with the expectation that those children will be taught the Catholic faith. The obligation of school administrators is to provide an authentically Catholic environment and curriculum.
As for "The attitudes against Mrs Sills have been formed long ago," I'm sure they did.
My wife taught at a nominally Catholic school where there were only a few orthodox parents. And most of those knew how to keep their mouths shut. THere was one mother, though, who would did not hesitate to complain about things like the teachers doing the "Rosary hokey-pokey."
And one of the favorite passtimes of the teachers at the school was to badmouth this woman behind her back. As my wife's conservative views became known, she also became a target of their derision, and a certani silence would cover the teacher's lounge when she walked in.
Posted by: JC at Oct 26, 2005 1:42:27 PM
C.Matt,
This does represent the mainstream in California (which is 12% of the US population). At Notre Dame High School in San Jose, an event was created to honor the local Congresswoman who is very pro-abortion. When this was criticized by pro-life Catholics, the principals of all of the Catholic High Schools in the diocese got together and lauded the Congresswoman and condemned those who would have her disinvited. Our bishop was silent.
Posted by: SiliconValleySteve at Oct 26, 2005 1:43:31 PM
... individual person (who admittedly, though, engages in a practice that, for a Catholic employee, would be seriously problematic).
Priceless. A teacher at a Catholic high school cooperates in the procurement of abortion, an offense which normally triggers excommunication, and the best St. Blog's house dissenter can offer is that it's merely "problematic." Short of her holding the scissors and forceps, Ms. Bain ought to keep on teaching.
... the big picture seems impossible to tackle ...
On these issues "big pictures" are like mosaics. The mother in this case just added a much-needed tile.
Posted by: Rich Leonardi at Oct 26, 2005 3:18:27 PM
If this girl lived on the East coast and went to a certain Catholic high school, she'd have to shut down her blog.
Posted by: Chris at Oct 26, 2005 4:37:44 PM
JC. What does that mean--the "Rosary hokey-pokey." ?
Posted by: john c at Oct 26, 2005 4:57:35 PM
Two things about this story bother me, although overall I think we should throw all the bums out, whoever those bums are (not me, of course, nor my friends).
Anyway:
(1) The teacher stopped being a PP escort before she started teaching at the school. Apparently the teacher knew that the school had a "zero tolerance" policy regarding this related to abortion, and compiled. The photos the mom took were from months before Bain started her teaching job:
Marie Bain was terminated after a student's parent sent pictures to the head of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento which showed her escorting patients into a Planned Parenthood clinic last spring before being hired to teach at the school in August.
Now, how many of us have ever done anything, ummmm, bad? And suppose we had a change of heart and started working in something related to the Church. Then somebody starts waving around pictures taken of us doing someting unseemly from months ago and yelling, "Sinner! Sinner! Get out!"
(2) I do hope young Miss Sills is able to handle her 15 minutes of Global Fame, as this story, and her blog, are now Global news, and she is not painted as a pariah (remember, she lives in California), or driven out of school, or her parents' farm boycotted, or never being able to get a date (because all the boys that like her want to be priests). This is a big, big load of highly charged publicity for a young girl.
Posted by: Zhou De-Ming at Oct 26, 2005 4:59:33 PM
Not 2 hours ago, I was telling a young co-worker, a devout Catholic who is expecting her second child, about this girl. My co-worker stated that although she went to Catholic schools herself, she doubted she would be able to afford to send her kids to them. She noted that the religious education she had received was "worthless" and she had learned more from her own reading. She said that she was planning on sending the kids to public school and handling their religious education herself, with the help of books.
I thought back to the quality of religious education I received in Catholic schools and found myself agreeing that since she actually believes what the Church teaches, she could probably do a better job catechizing the kids on her own.
Posted by: Donna at Oct 26, 2005 5:20:56 PM
This is a big, big load of highly charged publicity for a young girl.
I agree. Blame the Sacramento Bee, which published her mother's man and mentioned that Katelyn had a blog.
As usual, the Jesuits disappoint:
Vocal parents demanding action from administrators are not unique to Loretto, said the Rev. Martin Connell, an education professor at Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit college in Los Angeles.
Increasingly, he said, "teaching and schooling is treated as a service industry - we tell people how we want our lawn cut, how we want our hair cut and how we want our children educated."
While it's positive to have parents more involved in their child's education, sometimes parents step on the toes of teachers and administrators, he said.
I would guess just about every reporter in the country has the phone number of a dissent Catholic from the Society of Jesus on speed-dial.
Posted by: Donna at Oct 26, 2005 6:21:30 PM
Sorry, that should be "her mother's name."
Posted by: Donna at Oct 26, 2005 6:23:36 PM
"In July, a letter to The Bee signed Marie Bain of Sacramento voiced opposition to laws requiring teens to notify parents if they have an abortion."
This quote, from the Sacramento Bee on October 15, 2005, indicates that Marie Bain was actively pro-choice as of July, 2005. She was hired by Loretto in August. And though anything is possible, it seems unlikely that she had a change of heart concerning her views on abortion.
I also don't think it out of the realm of possibility that this teacher could have been approached by a student seeking advice on a "difficult" situation (such as an unwanted pregnancy). Since Marie Bain was, by many accounts, a popular teacher, this scenario is not unimaginable and quite troubling.
Posted by: Nerina at Oct 26, 2005 7:15:40 PM
Loreto is the name of the Italian town that has the Santa Casa, the house that Mary is said to have lived in at Nazareth at the time of the Anunciation. Connect these two dots, Loreto (Italy) and Loretto (California), and . . . Or is my imagination overactive?
Posted by: Nick Frankovich at Oct 26, 2005 7:21:01 PM
JC. What does that mean--the "Rosary hokey-pokey." ?
That's a question we've been wondering about for five years. . . . It happened before my wife taught there, but apparently at a schoool birthday party for one of the nuns, the teachers did some sort of "rosary hokey-pokey," for which they were quite pleased with themselves, and this "intolerant" mother found it offensive.
Posted by: JC at Oct 26, 2005 7:27:51 PM
Amy,
Since you're normally a glass half-full person regarding the church in America it carries more weight with me when you say something like: "Read the comments boxes. And then try to argue with the view, offered here and there, that at a good number of the Catholic high schools in this country should probably be just shut down. Educating the wealthy for...what?".
I came to that conclusion a long time ago but have been hoping someone I trust and admire as much as you would convince me the other way. Sheesh.
Posted by: SiliconValleySteve at Oct 26, 2005 7:34:46 PM
