Updated | Teachers’ union lambasts ‘oppressive’ Curia document on church school teaching posts

In reaction to the media reports on a Curia document which claims that only practicing Catholics should be allowed to occupy top teaching posts in schools, the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) said that it “will be taking all necessary action to protect its members” from what it deems to be a ‘medieval’ move unless the matter is resolved imminently.

Last Sunday, MaltaToday published a report on a confidential Curia document though which Heads of Catholic schools are being asked by the Maltese archdiocese to discuss new terms of employment that will guarantee that schools’ head teachers and other staff can be safely considered to be “practising Catholics” – or face disciplinary action if their “life choices give scandal or run counter to the ethos of the school”.

The decision could close the door to the employment of divorced teachers, gay teachers, or even single parents who have had children out of wedlock, or parents of IVF children, if these “substantive life choices” are not in line with Catholic teaching.

Pointing out that, “worse still, the document reportedly makes it incumbent upon the individual employee to self-report if he/she enters into such life-choices and also invites prying into the private lives of church schools employees,” the MUT also criticised the fact that the document “fails to draw a distinction between Church Ministers and Officials on the one hand and Church School Employees on the other”.

“Employment by the Church in Malta is governed by Maltese Law, which clearly does not allow for such odious distinctions to regulate the selection or promotion of employees,” the MUT added.

The MUT categorically said that it will not endorse such a document, “which blatantly goes counter to Maltese employment laws and practices and defies the most basic and fundamental human rights such as the right to privacy, the right to family life, inclusion and equality”, describing the move as “the most oppressive and repressive employment practices reminiscent of the Middle Ages”.

The MUT added that it expects the Church authorities to discuss this matter and “bring peace of mind to its church school employees” by the end of this month, failing which the Union will be taking “all necessary action” to protect its members.

Curia reaction

In reaction to the MUT statement, the Curia stressed that the document is a "draft document" that is "subject to an ongoing process" of internal consultation within the Church and its School authorities.

"We reserve our comments until this process is duly and freely concluded and the local Church is in a position to make public its official policies regarding its schools in view of their spiritual and religious identity and mission, in full respect of the fundamental human rights," the Curia said in its statement.

READ MORE: Top teaching posts only for 'practising Catholics'