The Right Angle -- 12/6/2005
Liberals call for an end to the separation of church and state
Once upon a time, the ACLU wasn’t just a big joke. I don’t know a whole lot about that, because that was obviously long before I was born, and you should only write what you know. So I’m going to write about the ACLU being a big joke.
A few months ago, Michelle McCusker became pregnant, and as a result, lost her job. The ACLU says the institution that fired McCusker practices gender discrimination and that her rights have been infringed. In most cases, I’d be inclined to agree. The catch? McCusker was an unmarried teacher at a Catholic school.
In case you missed the significance of that statement, Catholics don’t believe in premarital sex, something that’s pretty much a prerequisite to McCusker’s situation. Therefore, allowing this woman to teacher small children about the Catholic religion might not be the best idea. These parents are paying to send their kids to a school where, ideally, they will receive a good, religious-based education, and not end up in Ms. McCusker’s predicament. But it’s hard to achieve that goal when one of the teachers is walking around pregnant, unwed, and refusing to get married.
I support any woman’s right to not get married, and even their right to have children outside of wedlock. But this is different. This school’s handbook warns that all teachers must “convey the teachings of the Catholic faith by his or her words and actions.” When McCusker took this job, she was aware that she would have to abide by the handbook and its restrictions on virtually everything that goes against the Church’s teachings.
Enter – surprise, surprise – the ACLU. They make the argument that this policy discriminates against women, because men can’t get pregnant. I find their argument laughable, and I’m just waiting for the day when the ACLU tries to sue some sort of God-figure for placing the burden of child-bearing upon women.
Their main argument is that male teachers could still practice premarital sex and get away with it, while female teachers risk getting pregnant and losing their jobs. The school responded by claiming that they would fire a male teacher if they found out he had gotten a woman pregnant out of wedlock. But the ACLU’s assertion is that the woman’s sin is much more visible, therefore, the rule discriminates against women.
To which I intelligently reply: DUH. It’s the Catholic Church, people. It’s been a patriarchy since Day One. I know that, and most of the rest of the world knows that. And even though the ACLU is suing the actual school for having discriminating policies, what they’re doing in affect is suing the Catholic Church for having these policies. And forgive me if I’m mistaken, but is the government now allowed to tell churches what they can and cannot preach?
It just seems to me that this reeks of a breech of the separation of Church and State that everyone likes to scream about. Funny how every time someone on the Right wants the government to be more moral, the Left cries out, “Separation of Church and State!” but look at what happens when the roles are reversed.
This could create some potentially harmful precedents if the ACLU wins the case. Which church teachings are next on the list? Does the teaching of salvation discriminate because it preaches that atheists are going to hell? Maybe God needs to check with the ACLU before He publishes any more controversial material. We don’t want to offend anyone, you know.
If you ask me, this woman is just looking for someone to blame. That’s what our society does, it teaches you that nothing is ever your own fault. In this case, it’s teaching Ms. McCusker that it’s not her fault she chose to not obey the school’s handbook; it’s the institutions fault for just being so darn strict!
If McCusker really wanted to avoid all of this trouble, perhaps she should have called on the ACLU earlier. You know, to sue the Catholic Church for not allowing her to use birth control while having her forbidden premarital sex, and not allowing her to have an abortion. Or maybe, if she’s going to work for a religious institution, she needs to stop picking and choosing which of the Church’s laws she follows.
posted by Melissa @ 3:27 AM
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