SF Supes tell archbishop his morality clauses are unwanted

Supervisor Mark E. Farrell during a Board of Supervisors meeting last year -- his resolution about proposed restrictions on teachers in Catholic schools passed unanimously Tuesday. Supervisor Mark E. Farrell during a Board of Supervisors meeting last year -- his resolution about proposed restrictions on teachers in Catholic schools passed unanimously Tuesday. Photo: Sam Wolson / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Sam Wolson / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close SF Supes tell archbishop his morality clauses are unwanted 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

In a rebuke to the archbishop of San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday urging the conservative Catholic leader to respect the rights of teachers and administrators.

The measure comes after Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone included morality clauses in a new handbook and proposed changes to the labor contract of teachers at four Bay Area Catholic high schools, setting off a wave of opposition.

“These actions really conflict with the values of San Francisco,” said Supervisor Mark Farrell, who introduced the resolution. “In San Francisco, we stand up for everyone. We stand up for our LGBT community and honor and embrace those who do the same.”

The morality clauses include language against homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, contraceptives and artificial insemination.

Farrell, a practicing Catholic, said on Tuesday that they create “a culture of fear that has no place in our schools right now.” He has previously said city officials are considering legal action to prevent what he described as Cordileone’s discriminatory measures from going into effect.

Roughly a dozen teachers and students from the affected high schools appeared during the public comment period at the meeting to express their opposition to the morality clauses. Just one person spoke in support of the measure, telling the opponents they should be be ashamed of themselves.

Annie Fatooh, a senior at Sacred Heart Cathedral, told the supervisors, “Our parents do not want this, our teachers do not want this, and most importantly we students do not want this.”

And in the first formal and public accounting of their overwhelming opposition to the archbishop’s efforts, more than 80 percent of the teachers and staff from the four high schools issued a statement on Tuesday rejecting the archbishop’s proposed language for the faculty handbook.

“We believe the recently proposed handbook language is harmful to our community and creates an atmosphere of mistrust and fear,” said according to Sacred Heart Cathedral teacher Jim Jordan. “We believe our schools should be places of inquiry and the free exchange of ideas where all feel welcome and affirmed. Such language has no place in our handbooks. We respectfully ask Archbishop Cordileone to use the faculty handbook currently in place.”

At Sacred Heart Cathedral, 126 teachers and staff signed the petition; at Serra High School, 87 teachers and staff signed; at Riordan 74; and at Marin Catholic, more than 68 personnel also put their names to the document.

“This language in this judgmental context undermines the mission of Catholic education and the inclusive, diverse and welcoming community we prize at our schools,” the statement said. “It is an attack not only on teachers’ labor and civil rights, but on young people who are discovering who they are in the world.”

Emily Green and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: egreen@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen, @jilltucker