Catholic League: Homosexual High School Teacher Was Rightly Fired
by Jim Brown
May 31, 2006
(AgapePress) - - The Catholic League is defending a decision by a Nevada Catholic school to fire a homosexual teacher over his MySpace.com profile. Jeff Crouse, a 45-year-old former seminarian, has been fired from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas after school officials learned he was trolling for same-sex dates on the Internet.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Crouse, who teaches philosophy and film studies to high school seniors, posted information in his MySpace.com profile, describing himself as a homosexual seeking "straight-acting single men." This came to the attention of school administrators and, not long afterward, the teacher was terminated.
According to Crouse, he was called into the principal's office May 12 and told he was being fired, in accordance with the terms of his contract, for "maintaining, by word or action, a position contrary to the ordinary teaching of the Catholic Church."
Kiera McCaffrey, director of communications for the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, believes the schoolteacher's firing was justified because his behavior violated Roman Catholic instruction on sexual morality. "The church teaches that any sexual activity outside of marriage, which, of course, can only be heterosexual, is wrong," she points out, "so it would be the same if a straight person were posting [on the Internet], looking for -- not dates, because that would be fine -- but looking for sexual situations, that sort of thing."
McCaffrey emphasizes that Crouse's firing was not proper simply because he was online "looking for a homosexual date," but because his behavior fell outside of the boundaries of church teaching on the proper context for sexual expression. "A married person looking for an extramarital affair would be the same sort of situation," she contends.
Teachers have a responsibility, the Catholic League spokeswoman asserts, not only to impart knowledge about the subjects they teach but also to serve as role models for their students and "to reflect the teachings of the church in every in every matter." However, she notes, "this isn't saying that a teacher should be followed and made sure that every one of his actions on his off time adheres to church teaching. I don't think anybody would pass muster then."
While she admits that "everybody makes mistakes," McCaffrey insists that "there's a big difference between slipping up once in a while and putting a posting on the Internet looking for homosexual dates. I mean, this is something the students are going to see."
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Crouse would not discuss whether he regretted posting his personal profile on MySpace.com, or whether he plans to fight his termination. Las Vegas Diocese and school officials declined to comment on the case, citing personnel confidentiality.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
