Oakland's Bishop Barber defends personal-conduct standards for Catholic-school teachers

June 03, 2014

Bishop Michael Barber of Oakland, California, who has been roundly criticized for including a code of personal conduct in contracts for Catholic-school teachers, defended his policy in an interview with the National Catholic Register.

Bishop Barber, who described himself as a “career classroom teacher,” said that purpose of the revised contracts was to “set an expectation.” He explained: “Every teacher is a role model for the students, whether they are teaching P.E. or math. The classroom is their pulpit, and they will help form their students as young adults.”

Rejecting the idea that his policy was a form of interference in teachers’ private lives, the bishop said:

What you do in your private life is between you and God. But what you do in your private life that becomes public — either because you put something on Facebook or let all the kids know about it in class —becomes a source of scandal, and it directly affects your responsibilities as a teacher.

The broader purpose of the new policy, the bishop said, was to underline the Catholic identity of parochial schools. “When things drift, alternative visions replace Catholic identity,” he said. When a clear Catholic identity is lacking, he remarked, the result is an “untenable situation” in which individuals feel free to set their own rules. He reported that the controversy over his new policies had been “spurred by a few teachers and some parents who are not in agreement with most teachings of the Church.”

Bishop Barber, a Navy chaplain, also revealed to the Register that he has “kept my commission active” and is using his vacation days to fulfill his military obligations.

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Bishop Michael Barber: A ‘Career Classroom Teacher’ (National Catholic Register)