Thursday, April 28, 2005
Moral Misconduct Clauses
For seventeen years, there have been such clauses in each one of my contracts. Essentially, if I engage in "moral misconduct" as determined by the pastor, I'm out of a job. Makes sense. If I were, heaven forbid, caught in one of any number of criminal or non-criminal but sinful acts, I would lose my position and likely not get another job in the diocese. And unless my potential future church employers were naive or hoodwinked, there's a good chance I would not work for the Church for many years, if ever again. I was thinking about this in light of a lay person I know who will soon be replaced in his diocesan job by a priest. And also in light of priests I know who have engaged in sexual misconduct (with adults, not children), but remain active in ministry.
Bishops have a huge credibility problem here. They and parish pastors expect lay ministers and school personnel to abide by moral misconduct clauses in their contracts, but the same standard is unevenly applied to the ordained. This leads me to a suggestion for all bishops: one standard of conduct for all the baptized.
If a priest is caught in immoral behavior, the employment consequences should be the same for lay people in the same diocese caught in the same or similar behavior. If a lay person would lose a job, then the priest should also lose his job. If the lay person's loss was seen as "permanent," then the priest should never be permitted to earn a dollar from church ministry again. That might be different from laicization for the clergy. I could see a person able to operate as a priest in limited ways, but just not be able to draw a parish or diocesan paycheck or a diocesan pension.
I do know of some bishops who have dealt quickly with clergy consensual adult sex or other scandalous non-child acts. Maybe some people think the standard for a priest should be tougher. I wouldn't argue against it. I think clergy should be accountable at least on the same scale as my lay colleagues and I are. What do you think?
