Iowa Catholic School Board Accepts Resignation of Divorced Teacher

Members of the Waterloo Cedar Valley Catholic Schools Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to accept the resignation of a teacher, Tom Girsch, 59, who had remarried after a civil divorce, but who, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, is still married to his first wife. The vote follows a previous vote in July when the board declined to accept the former teacher's resignation.

Catholic teaching does not recognize civil divorce as dissolving a marriage, and considers that a person who remarries without a declaration of nullity (i.e. an annulment) from the Church is committing adultery. Before the vote, a letter was read from Archbishop Jerome Hanus of the Dubuque Archdiocese who said that the Catholic identity of the school board was at stake.

Girsch, who taught social studies and served as a sports coach, had originally resigned from his job at Columbus High School after it was revealed he had remarried after a civil divorce. Girsch had tried and failed to obtain a declaration of nullity. But on July12, the board voted 8 to 6 to reject the resignation. At the time of the second vote, Girsch had sought court intervention, but the judge declined to intervene in an internal church matter.

The Waterloo Courier reports that the board voted to accept Girsch's resignation after receiving a letter from Archbishop Hanus that said the issue was not about one man but the nature of the Catholic school and its relationship to the Church.

Hanus wrote about "sacredness and indissolubility of Christian marriage" saying, "Teachers play a key role in the teaching of the faith." The letter reminded the board that its constitution required it to be in agreement with Catholic doctrine. In refusing Girsch's resignation in July, the letter said, the board had attempted to act contrary to Church teaching, and therefore has jeopardized its Catholic identity. "This is unacceptable and requires correction by the CVCS board," the letter read.

Jeff Henderson, the archdiocese superintendent of schools said at the board's meeting, "From where I'm standing, it appears that Catholicity, to some degree, stands in the balance."

"To me tonight, one of the things you need to decide first and foremost is whether you want to be a Catholic school or a private school."

Judge George Stigler had earlier denied a temporary injunction to stop the meeting, saying it would involve the courts too deeply in a matter of religious freedom. "Were this an ordinary corporation, you might have a point," he said. "But when the corporation is in itself the church, how do we do what you would have me do without getting too involved with the workings of the Catholic Church?"

The case highlights the growing pressure on Christian institutions to ignore their religious principles in favor of secular values, particularly the political aims of the homosexual movement.