Good Work, Bishop Wiegand

In Loretto High School, a Catholic high school in Sacramento, California, there is student rebellion of sorts. A teacher who had served as a Planned Parenthood volunteer and publicly written in favor of facilitating abortion for students was terminated, thanks to William K, Wiegand, Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento
At a recent open-house at the school, some parents sensed that something was very wrong. For example:

• a poster on one wall stating that "Our girls can be anything they want to be" and showing a group of girls dressed as a coven of witches;
• bookshelves displaying the books of notorious clerical dissenters; and
• another poster promoting an event sponsored by the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the name of which does not even hint that it is a Planned Parenthood donor.

Later that night the rightly very concerned parents discovered the inspiration for these decidedly un-Catholic displays in a Catholic high school. This article appeared on the front page of the Sacramento Bee:

A drama teacher at a Catholic high school in Sacramento was fired Thursday
after church officials learned she had previously volunteered at an abortion
clinic, school officials said Friday.

Marie Bain, 50, of Sacramento, who had taught at Loretto High School since
August, was dismissed after a student's parent obtained pictures showing Bain
escorting people into a Planned Parenthood clinic last spring.

The pictures were delivered to Bishop William K. Weigand, head of the
Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, who outlined the decision to terminate Bain in
an Oct. 5 letter to the president of the all-female school.

"Obviously, the very public nature of Ms. Bain's previous volunteer activity
at a Planned Parenthood Clinic is inconsistent with her position as a teacher at
a Catholic high school and her role as a collaborator in the formation of
Catholic women," Weigand wrote. "Abortion is gravely immoral and Ms. Bain's
active and public participation in the procurement of abortions is morally
inappropriate and unacceptable with regard to her work as a teacher at
Loretto."

Reached at home Friday night, Bain acknowledged that she had been fired and
that she had volunteered at Planned Parenthood before taking the Loretto
job.

"There are many things I would love to say, but I don't want to jeopardize
anything. I am pursuing many avenues," she said.

Bain's termination, announced Friday afternoon, was met with tears from
students at the college preparatory school on El Camino Avenue. She was
described as a passionate teacher with a dramatic personality who pushed her
students to memorize their lines with precision.

Bain had been preparing her students for a four-day run at the end of the
month of "The Young and Fair," N. Richard Nash's 1948 play about balancing one's
idealism and personal ethics."

She is exceptional" said Sister Helen Timothy, the school's president.
"Students thought very highly of her."

"We lost a great teacher," said Cynthia Mitterholzer, the dance instructor
who will take over for Bain.

Mitterholzer said teachers working at a Catholic school understand they must
follow certain rules.

However, "I think that your personal life is your personal life, and she
complied with everything asked from the school in her contract."

Weigand, who is out of town, was unavailable for comment. The Rev. Charles
McDermott, vicar episcopal for theological affairs for the diocese, said
employing teachers who have volunteered at abortion clinics sets a poor example
for students."

To support abortion is contrary to the position the Church has held for
nearly 2,000 years," he said."If you participate in that way, you are not
qualified to teach in a Catholic school because teachers are inevitably role
models."…In July, a letter to The Bee signed Marie Bain of Sacramento voiced
opposition to laws requiring teens to notify parents if they have an
abortion.

"Like it or not, teens get pregnant," the letter stated. "And the most
important issue is keeping them safe. Safe means access to reliable health care,
not gut-wrenching red tape."…

She volunteered weekly for about nine months for Planned Parenthood, greeting
patients and ushering them past anti-abortion protesters who frequently
demonstrate outside clinics, said Katharyn McLearan, director of public affairs
for the local Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

"We have protesters who hold very graphic signs and are very intimidating,
and they sometimes come up to patients' cars," said McLearan. "She was there to
be a friendly face and address their concerns"….

Weigand, in his letter, said the case serves to emphasize the importance of
checking employee backgrounds to ensure that "those entrusted with forming
responsible Catholic women at Loretto High School share our important Catholic
moral beliefs and can serve in all respects as worthy role models for our young
women."

Let there not be any confusion: the Catholic Church is not tolerant of abortion or those who facilitate and promote it because abortion is gravely sinful.

What is tragic, if the Sacramento Bee article is accurate, is that the Catholic high school principal and other faculty at the school saw nothing wrong with hiring and retaining a pro-abortion Planned Parenthood activist to teach at a Catholic girls' school.

Thank God for Bishop Wiegand.

The good bishop was absolutely right to terminate an employee who promotes and facilitates abortion and publicly wrote in favor of facilitating abortions for students.

What is most disconcerting is the report that it required the intercession of the good bishop to end Ms. Bain's employment by a Catholic high school. Photographic evidence of Ms. Bain's active participation at a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Sacramento reportedly did not cause the school principal to take the necessary action.

When the same evidence reached the good bishop, he did not flinch. He did what needed to be done. Now perhaps the Catholic high school principal needs an extended leave of absence to go on retreat and pray.

Michael J. Gaynor is a New York attorney admitted to practice in the New York State courts, the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has written articles for The National Law Journal, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and the Long Island Catholic as well as numerous online publications and recently appeared on The World Over With Raymond Arroyo (EWTN).

This article is adapted from one of his columns.

Bishop Fires Catholic Schoolteacher for Volunteering at Planned Parenthood Abortion Center

10/20/05

A Catholic schoolteacher has been fired for volunteering at a Planned Parenthood abortuary.

Marie Bain, a drama teacher at the all-girls Loretto High School was dismissed by local Bishop William Wiegand after a parent brought him a picture showing Bain ushering young women into the abortuary, past pro-life protesters outside.

Planned Parenthood said Bain volunteered weekly to abet the women in obtaining the abortions. “She would wear a planned parenthood vest, just really welcome them in,” said Planned Parenthood spokesman Katharyn McLearan, according to a Fox40 Morning News report.

Bishop Wiegand’s directive affirmed that “public participation in the procurement of abortions is morally inappropriate and unacceptable.”

“We can’t have it,” added the Catholic Schools Superintendent Dom Puglisi. Puglisi said it is okay for a teacher to have privately held convictions, but if these beliefs digress from Catholic teaching, it is not okay to demonstrate them publicly. “Parents have made a commitment to send their children to a Catholic school so they have certain expectations on us.”

(This article courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)