In an attempt to justify the San Francisco diocese’ proposed morality clause for teachers in Catholic schools, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has claimed that

all teachers are expected to “contribute to an atmosphere of holiness, virtue and familiarity with the Gospel.“

Really?

If that were the case in his archdiocese, the Archbishop would be requiring his schools to #TeachAcceptance. Instead, he is engaging in a witch hunt with absolutely no justification in the Gospel.

The primary target of his edict is gay teachers – and most specifically, those who make public their relationships, in acts of marriage or civil unions. Peripherally, the edict is also aimed at others who fall foul of the Vatican sexual rules, for example, against cohabitation or sexual relationships ( as disclosed by pregnancy) before marriage. But there is not a single word in any of the Gospels to justify this opposition. In fact, there is nothing at all in any of the Gospels with anything at all to say about sexual relationships, except in opposition to divorce, and the story of the woman caught in adultery, with it’s ambiguous double message – “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”, and “Go, and sin no more”.

On same – sex relationships, or on cohabitation before marriage, there is not a word in opposition. Nada. Zilch. Nic hts.

In contrast, there are numerous passages that queer biblical scholars interpret as supportive of these relationships, most notably the familiar story of Jesus’ willingness to “enter the house” of the Roman centurion, even though he would have been seen as an unwelcome foreign invaders, and his relationship with his “servant / boy” is likely to have included a sexual element, as was commonplace for Roman officers at the time. There are also his words about eunuchs, and some biblical scholars have concluded from numerous texts (especially in Mark, and refeerences to the “disciple that Jesus loved”, that Christ was himself gay.

Whether one accepts or rejects these arguments about a “gay Jesus” is in fact irrelevant, to the question of ” #TeachAcceptance”. This should surely be settled teaching It is clear from the Gospels, that Cordilione claims to be promoting, that one Jesus Christ actively promoted radical inclusion and equality for all, iirrespective of social status. Indeed, He seems to have gone out of His way, to demonstrate acceptance and inclusion for the outcasts of his day: lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors and others. There can surely be no doubt that in the present day, if He were to return, He would likewise be promoting  radical inclusion for the modern outsiders  – the lgbt community.

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