To: George Leo Thomas, Bishop
Don't fire Catholic teacher for getting pregnant
Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and hypocritical. Give Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis's words about love and healing more seriously.
Why is this important?
In the Pope Francis era, you'd think that an unmarried woman who becomes pregnant and decides to have the baby, rather than have an abortion, would have the support of her church.
But a beloved Catholic teacher in Montana was just fired simply for becoming pregnant. According to diocesan officials, she's now a bad example for her students.
This is exactly what Pope Francis is getting at when he warns that the church needs to stop being so punitive and sex-obsessed.
Already a leading Catholic theologian is criticizing the diocese, saying that when "Catholic teaching on sexual matters is so widely dismissed, even by Catholics, this kind of necessarily selective enforcement is going to make Catholic teaching seem arbitrary and cruel."
So far, the Bishop of Helena, George Leo Thomas, hasn't spoken publicly about this case. So we're launching a petition calling on him to give the teacher, Shaela Evenson, her job back -- will you sign?
But a beloved Catholic teacher in Montana was just fired simply for becoming pregnant. According to diocesan officials, she's now a bad example for her students.
This is exactly what Pope Francis is getting at when he warns that the church needs to stop being so punitive and sex-obsessed.
Already a leading Catholic theologian is criticizing the diocese, saying that when "Catholic teaching on sexual matters is so widely dismissed, even by Catholics, this kind of necessarily selective enforcement is going to make Catholic teaching seem arbitrary and cruel."
So far, the Bishop of Helena, George Leo Thomas, hasn't spoken publicly about this case. So we're launching a petition calling on him to give the teacher, Shaela Evenson, her job back -- will you sign?