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Bishop Richard Lennon and the Diocese of Cleveland have added an expanded and detailed "morality clause" to its high school teachers, a year after adding it to contracts for its elementary school teachers.

(Scott Shaw, Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Teachers at the five high schools run by the Cleveland Catholic diocese have agreed to sign the same expanded and detailed "morality clause" that elementary school teachers had to sign a year ago.

The new rules, outlined in the recently signed contract between the diocese and the Cleveland High School and Academy Lay Teachers Association (CHALTA), say a teacher can be fired for "certain speech or actions that are considered to be contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church."

Among the banned behaviors the contract spells out:

- "Publicly supporting abortion, 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."

- Having an abortion or helping another person have one.

- Sex outside of marriage or living together without being married.

- Viewing pornography or sharing any material, by email or texts, that is "lewd, indecent, sexually suggestive, or pornographic."

- Unlawful use of drugs

In addition, teachers are now called "teacher-ministers" in the contract, a title that gives the church greater say over behavior.

In a letter to the teachers, Bishop Richard Lennon tells them that Catholic schools need to be "authentically Catholic" in every way.

"The Church has long recognized the uniquely important and true ministry of teachers and administrators in fulfilling this mission," Lennon writes, before adding: "Each and every teacher and administrator in a Catholic school, whether they teach religion as a subject or not, is called by the Church to model Jesus."

See below for the full morality clause language.

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Mike Desantis, president of CHALTA, said the union's executive committee had serious debates over the language before asking the 195 teachers in the union to pass it. DeSantis said there was no real discussion at the March 25 vote but many votes - a "high minority" of members - against the contract.

The affected high schools are: Lake Catholic, Cleveland Central Catholic, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Holy Name and Elyria Catholic.

Another 15 Catholic high schools in Northeast Ohio, including schools such as St. Ignatius and St. Edward, are run by religious orders, not the diocese and are not included.

Robert Tayek, spokesman for the diocese, said the language was not a serious issue in negotiations and that the teachers are supportive of its goals.

DeSantis said union leaders supported the contract after hearing detailed explanations of the language from the diocese. And he said the philosophy behind the new rules is the same as behind the shorter and less-defined morality clause that teachers have agreed to for years.

DeSantis said the old clause simply said: "The employment of a teacher shall be based upon professional qualifications for the position open and his/her commitment to gospel values, the philosophy of Catholic education of the diocese of Cleveland and the philosophy and mission of the individual school."

"We always knew that we were expected to demonstrate the values of the Catholic teachings," he said. "(Now) They're basically defining what was in the old contract."

Expanded morality clauses are becoming more common nationally after some teachers fired under the old ones sued and won judgments against the church, including in Cincinnati. A lesbian teacher at a Columbus-area Catholic school reached an out-of-court settlement after she was fired.

When new rules were added in Cincinnati, there were protests and a 24,000-signature opposing them. But there were no real protests here in Cleveland after the rules were added last spring.

A few people who had concerns about the rules contacted The Plain Dealer last fall about hoping to have a public forum on the issue, but they asked to remain anonymous until plans were set, then backed off.

New morality clauses added in Columbus last year also did not bring protests like Cincinnati saw.

Since the new high school language was agreed to in contract negotiations, significant opposition is not expected.

DeSantis said he had real concerns when he first saw the elementary school language last year. He told The Plain Dealer last spring that he was worried about the section prohibiting public support of gay marriage: What if a gay relative was having a ceremony and you are invited? Would it cost you your job if you go?

But he said the Diocese explained that rule to his union in detail.

"You are able to give support to family members," he said. "If you have a child or sibling that has decided to live the gay lifestyle you can still be supportive of that individual, but you cannot come out and be supportive of that lifestyle in public."

Click here for a roundup from last year on the national trend and details of legal issues around the morality clauses.

The new contract with CHALTA and the diocese states:

The Teacher-Minister understands that actions and speech that are contrary to Catholic teaching shall be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination. The following, although in no way an exclusive list, represents by way of example certain speech or actions that are considered to be contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church:

a) Public support of positions contrary to Roman Catholic Church teaching (including, but not limited to, publically supporting abortion, 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).

b) Procuring or assisting another in procuring an abortion.

c) Making use of or participating in artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, or surrogate parenthood.

d) Preparing for or engaging in a same-sex marriage or union.

3) Engaging in or publicly supporting sexual relations outside of marriage (which shall be understood for purposes of this Agreement as being the marriage between one man and one woman).

f) Living with another as husband or wife without the benefit of a marriage recognized as valid by the Roman Catholic Church or co-habitating outside of marriage.

g) Engaging in or supporting transvestitism, transgenderism, or sex reassignment.

h) Membership in any organization that is anti-Catholic or whose philosophy is in any way contrary to the ethical or moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

i) Indecent or lewd behavior (including, but not limited to, the unlawful use of drugs, substance abuse, or use of pornography).

j) Serious dishonesty.

k) Entering into a marriage with a person when one of the parties to the marriage is validly married to another person in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church (e.g., entering into a marriage if one of the parties has entered into marriage previously and has not received an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church).

l) Use of social media or electronic means of communication (e.g., email and texting) in an improper, immoral, or scandalous manner (including, but not limited to, use of social media or electronic means to communicate, post, share, or send material that is lewd, indecent, sexually suggestive, or pornographic).

m) Any other actions or speech that are considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be immoral or evil or which might cause scandal, as such term is understood by the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., an attitude or behavior which leads or tempts another to do that which the Roman Catholic Church considers evil or immoral).

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