Fury as bishop says no to gay teachers in Catholic schools

Published on Monday 21 March 2005 00:11

THE Catholic Church risked isolation last night after it emerged that senior churchmen want to bar homosexual teachers from Catholic schools.

Politicians, local government and parent groups all warned against discrimination when a senior bishop insisted that the church’s new charter for schools would prevent gay teachers from securing jobs in Catholic schools or gaining promotion if already employed.

Bishop Joseph Devine, president of the Catholic Education Commission, said the church’s blueprint for its schools - A Charter for Catholic Schools - made it clear that homosexuality was incompatible with Catholic education.

He said in an interview: "Being homosexual would not at all be compatible with the charter. It would cut across the whole moral vision enshrined in the charter.

"It would be offering a lifestyle that is incompatible with Catholic social teaching."

Bishop Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, said the charter would provide the framework to make sure gays were not employed in Catholic schools and would probably limit the promotion opportunities of those already employed.

He said: "In practice, I would think that it is possible that some may have been hired, but [the schools] may not have known until it was too late.

"That’s our fault for not making the proper checks and references. The charter tightens it up."

The charter does not explicitly ban the hiring and promotion of gay teachers but it calls for all teachers to support the ethos of Catholicism in their jobs. It states that all staff would be "expected to support and promote the aims, missions, values and ethos of the schools".

This could be interpreted in a number of ways, but for Bishop Devine it means a bar on all homosexual teachers.

The Catholic Church has had discussions with COSLA, the local government body, over its charter and the councils are adamant that any plans to discriminate in any way against homosexuals are not acceptable and not legal.

The charter has yet to be implemented, and it has run into problems principally because, if interpreted in the way Bishop Devine believes it should be, it could easily be seen as blatantly discriminatory.

The Rev Ewan Aitken, COSLA’s education spokesman, said: "Local authorities would never countenance discriminating against a teacher because of sexual orientation. Councils would be in court in seconds."

COSLA’s condemnation was backed up by a statement from the Scottish Executive that stressed the need to hire the best staff possible regardless of any other factor.

A spokesman said: "The Executive would expect authorities, in pursuit of their statutory obligations, to employ the best staff available."

Peter Duncan, the shadow Scottish secretary, said: "I do not see any reason for discrimination on race or sexual orientation or gender."

Fiona Hyslop, SNP MSP and shadow minister for education, said: "The SNP would expect a non-discrimination element to be part of the revised schools code."

Judith Gillespie, from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, described Bishop Devine’s views as "very sad".

She said: "His comments are worse than unfair and it reflects on the church that it wants to reject a group of people who are not choosing their lifestyle. I thought Christianity was about inclusion and brotherhood."