Bishop Richard Lennon

Bishop Richard Lennon and the Diocese of Cleveland are asking teachers at the 104 elementary schools in the diocese to sign contracts for next school year with a more detailed "morality clause" than in the past.

(Plain Dealer file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland Catholic diocese has expanded the "morality clause" in its contract for teachers at more than 100 elementary schools, spelling out in detail a long list of activities teachers must agree to avoid or they will lose their jobs.

The contract bans, as does a similar contract that sparked protest and a 24,000-signature petition in Cincinnati recently, "public support of positions contrary to Roman Catholic teaching (including, but not limited to, publicly supporting abortions, euthanasia, assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, surrogate parenthood, direct sterilization or so-called homosexual or same-sex marriage or unions."

The contract, which prohibits teachers from engaging in any of those listed behaviors, also refers to teachers as “teacher-ministers.”

It also bans teachers from sexual relations outside of marriage, any same-sex sexual activity, cohabitation outside of marriage, drug use, viewing pornography and sending any “improper, immoral or scandalous” texts or emails.

See the contract and supporting materials below.

The contract applies to the elementary schools that are part of the diocese, but not high schools or schools run by separate religious orders. Diocesan high schools are unionized and any contract changes must be negotiated.

In a sample letter the diocese provided for pastors to give to teachers along with the expanded contracts, the diocese says the more detailed morality clause and addition of the “teacher-minister” title are not meant to add new expectations or requirements.

“These specific changes…are simply an attempt to be clear about the role that teachers play in the formation of students as Catholics and to lay out in a clear way some of the issues important to the Catholic Church in light of the very real challenges posed by today’s secular society,” the letter reads.

In a May 1 letter to pastors, Bishop Richard Lennon also notes the changes in the contract.

“Circumstances, including several lawsuits, in our state and throughout the country indicate that there is a very real need to better communicate with our teachers and administrators about the ministerial nature of their work and about the specific expectations that come with being a part of such an important ministry,” Lennon wrote.

Lennon included a two-page explanation of that role.

Robert Tayek, spokesman for the diocese, on Friday provided a statement from the diocese that reinforced what Lennon's letter and the sample letter to teachers said. (See the full statement below.)

The Plain Dealer called several diocesan elementary schools Thursday seeking comment on the new contract, but principals of most could not be reached.

Jeanette Polomsky, assistant principal of St. Francis elementary school at 7606 Myron Avenue in Cleveland, confirmed that the diocese has asked the school to use the new contract.

“We’re a diocesan school and we’ll be using the new contract provided by the diocese,” Polomsky said. Teachers have to sign it to be employed at the school next year.

She said she has heard no objections to the contract from teachers at the school.

“It is up to them whether they agree to sign the contract or not,” she said.

Teachers at the elementary schools have no union or association. But the National Association of Catholic School Teachers represents teachers at the five diocesan high schools: Cleveland Central Catholic, Elyria Catholic, Holy Name, Lake Catholic and Villa Angela-St Joseph's.

Those schools are not affected by the contract change because the diocese and union have to negotiate a contract.

But Rita Schwartz, head of the national union, said she’s watching as similar contracts crop up around the country – in Cincinnati, in Oakland and in Honolulu. She hadn’t seen the new Cleveland contract yet, but called the others “six pages of thou shalt not.”

She said teachers in Catholic schools expect to have to uphold Catholic values, but the explicit list of prohibited behaviors is new and amounts to a “witch hunt.”

Michael DeSantis, president of the union’s local, the Cleveland High School and Academy Lay Teachers Association (CHALTA), said the contract mostly lists things teachers should have already understood went against Catholic values. DeSantis said that he has told members in the past that most of the listed activities could get them fired.

“The vast majority of it are things that are already covered in the contract that we have as teachers, but were not spelled out that specifically,” he said. “It was behavior that was expected of us, but the contract didn’t come down and tell us point by point what you can and can’t do.”

But a few items concerned him, including the ban on publicly supporting same-sex marriages. What if a friend or relative was having a ceremony and you’re invited? Would attending a wedding of a gay relative lead you to be fired?

And the “teacher-minister” designation is a touchy legal issue for unions. There are already obstacles to organizing the elementary school teachers as a union, but agreeing to be a “teacher-minister” adds more. Ministers, Schwartz and DeSantis said, can’t be unionized.

If teachers object to the contract and want to organize, DeSantis and Schwartz said they are happy to help.

Here is the full statement from the diocese:

"Three changes are included in the new contract but they are not meant to impose any obligations that were not already present in the former contract. They are intended to make clear and more specific what has always been required and expected of our teachers and administrators

This new contract includes (1) the use of the term “Minister,” (2) the inclusion of specific acts that are contrary to the moral teachings of the Church, and (3) an exhibit that explains the Church’s teachings about the ministerial nature of the work that teachers and administrators do.

The Catholic Morals clause has long been a feature in our contracts with teachers and administrators. However, the current secular culture presents a view of life and humanity that is increasingly at odds with our Catholic faith and as a result, there is often confusion about what it means to live an authentically Catholic Life. Circumstances including several lawsuits in our state and throughout the country indicate that there is a very real need to better communicate with our teachers and administrators about the ministerial nature of their work and about specific expectations that come with being part of such an important ministry.

As before, the assumption is that those signing these contracts live their lives in an authentically Catholic way. As before, any issues relating to a possible breach of the contracts’ morals clause will only arrive when problematic actions or speech are made public or become known to school leadership."