Waffle Syndrome And The Betrayal Of Barb Webb

Kathy Schiffer has been covering the story of the firing of Barb Webb, a teacher at Marian High School who was dismissed after she became pregnant. The story is much more complicated than that, for as Ms. Webb explains herself, all the other pregnant teachers at Marian don’t get fired.

Why are students, parents, alumnae, and faculty up in arms over this event? Because it’s a break with tradition. Nobody minded that Barb Webb was in an active, public lesbian relationship. Nobody minded when that relationship was solemnized with a wedding ceremony. It was only when she crossed over the unspoken line and conceived that she became magistra non grata.

I haven’t seen anything but conjecture on the means Ms. Webb used to conceive, though IVF is being suggested as the likely way; the old fashioned (consensual) method of sperm donation would be problematic as well, though less so since no one gets killed.

If this alone is the case against her, then it suggests that for all Marian offers a full four-year theology program, they have been neglecting quite a few topics. Understandably so — if you can’t get so far as to clear up misunderstandings about the nature of marriage, then it follows that you’d omit to discuss what ought to happen on the wedding night as well.

It’s All So Heady Until Someone Gets Hurt

Who’s hurt by a little progressive-Catholic glossing over of moral theology in the name of “diversity” or “openness”? Barb Webb was hurt, and so are many others in her position.

When you don’t know where you stand, the floor can fall out from beneath you at any time.

When the Catholic faith is promulgated openly and without apology, nobody wonders what the score is. You know what the standards are. When difficult situations are confronted promptly and directly, instead of sweeping them under the rug, there are no nasty surprises. Fornication, IVF, and homosexual behavior are not some new thing that suddenly descended on the state of Michigan in early August, causing the IHM Sisters to wring their hands and wonder what to do.

The new thing that happened was that the leadership at Marian decided to suddenly develop a fit of piety in a context where the Catholic faith had clearly never been taken seriously before.

Neither Justice Nor Mercy

I’m 100% behind the Catholic faith, all of it, neither to the right nor the left, no favoritism or selective hearing. (I didn’t say I’m good at it — I’m behind it, not ahead of it.) I’ve been perfectly clear here on this blog that I stand with the Church in opposition to same-sex unions. Be assured I’m equally on board concerning IVF and fornication. But being Catholic means you treat people with respect, even people with same-sex attraction or bad theology. Treating people with respect means being open about what the standards are and applying them fairly.

It means not doing the fake-friend thing, but doing the real friend thing. Real friends are honest each with other about where their differences lie, and what the limits of cooperation can be. It means that when conflicts arise, you discuss them. When there are misunderstandings, you work through them and move forward. It sure doesn’t mean that you use maternity benefits as a shut-up-and-put-up bribe.

You can’t be a Catholic school and not teach and practice the Catholic faith in its fullness. When you try to pull that stunt, people always end up hurt.