Editorial from the Editor - Appleton Xavier Teacher Gets Canned

I find this story simply fascinating.
http://www.wfrv.com/news/local/story/Xavier-Students-Protest-Teacher-Coach-Being/vvINmnpjmEueAcpGSK5s_g.cspx

The basics as I can gather them from the local media are as follows:

A teacher/assistant athletic director/coach at Xavier High School was canned this morning. The grounds for termination, as they have been reported by the local press, are that he spent the evening at his lady friend's house, after a night of having a few drinks. These actions apparently go against the Catholic belief system, specifically the co-habitation law/rule/whatever, which is why he is no longer employed at the Catholic school. He says that he was indulging in a few adult beverages at said lady friend's house, and made the decision not to drive home.

So why is this a fascinating story? Well, there is a shitload of good moral/religious dilemma here folks. It really produces a lot of questions you need to consider, Catholic or not.

I'll admit, I was quick to my conclusion after initially hearing about this. The Catholic high school was being ridiculous, and draconian at best, in the application of their rules. I think my exact words were "are you f*cking kidding me?" How could they go and fire a teacher, an adult whom many students apparently respected, for staying one night at his girlfriend's house. The punishment clearly did not fit the crime, and it reminded me of the saying about people that live in glass houses... Putting this guy in the unemployment line because his actions went against the Catholic rule of co-habitation? It just seems really harsh, especially for one night.

I wonder if we asked a priest if they had ever sinned or disobeyed Catholic law what they would say? I bet every one would say they had in some way, even while serving in the priesthood. So where does the "sin" of co-habitation fall on the sin-severity rating system, and where in the rule book does it say this is an "unemployment justified" event. My guess is that there is no written scale, which means this was some one's judgement call. Let's hope the people that made this judgement are perfect Catholics, for their sake.

On the face of this issue, it screams hypocrisy. But, as I thought about this more, I thought maybe the Catholic brass made the right judgement call. Maybe I was too quick to judge. The rules and ideals that are a part of the Catholic religion are pretty clear. I assume this guy knew that going in. And what good are the laws of the church, if the individuals that represent those religious beliefs in the Catholic school setting, don't properly apply these rules to themselves? If he was too drunk to drive home from his woman's place there is strike one. Strike two comes from the decision to stay the night there. He's not really holding up his end of the moral Catholic bargain, no matter how you personally view these beliefs. I can understand the school wanting a teacher who represents the Catholic ideals, and conversely ridding themselves of one that doesn't entirely.

Which brings me to the other issue here. Who knows if this guy really was that inebriated that he could not drive home. If he was, perhaps he did many of us a favor by staying put. Does the decision to not drive after he was drinking, assuming he was that drunk, mitigate his decision to stay at his girlfriend's house?

I don't know. I don't make the moral judgements around here. I just thought this story posed a lot of interesting and provoking questions for anyone who considers themselves a religious or moral person...however you may define that.

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Gomez Gonzo
Gonzo Editor-at-Large
gomez@gonzoguidegreenbay.com