SAN FRANCISCO — The Archdiocese of San Francisco on April 27 signaled that it was prepared to make “adjustments” to advance negotiations with the local Catholic teachers’ union, which has staged protests attacking proposed “morality clauses” in the contracts for the 2015-2016 school year.

The union represents faculty at the four Catholic high schools under the direct jurisdiction of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. And it has challenged proposed language that directs teachers to avoid public statements and actions that oppose Catholic teaching on sexual ethics, Mass attendance, abortion and the Eucharist, among other issues.

“The archdiocese reiterates its commitment to do what we can to listen to teachers’ ongoing concerns, to restore respectful discussion and to heal any rifts that may remain,” read the statement, released by the archdiocese on April 27.

Archbishop Cordileone “understands that the teachers want to make sure that the final language in the contract both promotes Catholic identity and protects the rights of the teachers. He too wants language that protects the rights of the teachers, and he is willing to make adjustments to firmly secure those rights.”

The statement followed an afternoon of protests against the archdiocese.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Hundreds of Catholic-school teachers and supporters gathered outside the San Francisco Archdiocese” on the afternoon of April 27 to protest Archbishop Cordileone’s policy requiring all archdiocesan personnel to abide by the Church’s 2,000-year-old teaching on moral issues, including homosexual relations.

The statement stirred concerns from Archbishop Cordileone’s supporters, who feared that he might withdraw the controversial language, part of his broader effort to strengthen the high schools’ religious identity.

Larry Kamer, the archdiocese’s spokesman, said he could not provide additional details about the negotiations.

“We’ve been engaged in productive dialogue with the teachers’ union but are not going to discuss specific items that are still on the bargaining table,” Kamer told the Register.

However, Jesuit Father John Piderit, the moderator of the diocesan Curia and vicar for administration, suggested that the archbishop was looking to strike a balance between teachers’ concerns about job security and the need to discourage actions that could confuse students and undermine the schools’ Catholic mission. 

“The archbishop has reiterated on a number of occasions that ... he will not go after people or pry into their private lives,” Father Piderit told the Register. “But he does not want teachers to contradict the faith outside the campus.”

The statement celebrated the devotion of Catholic teachers, who “make vital contributions to the formation of minds and of character. They teach our students to think, read, speak and pursue wisdom and happiness in a place where the gifts of each person are cultivated and valued.”

Meanwhile, the new language approved for the faculty handbook has also sparked anger, and the archdiocese is poised to makes some changes to this document, as well.

The handbook language spells out Church teachings on a range of sensitive matters, backed up with citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

After a cascade of national news headlines, protests, petition campaigns and a paid “open letter” in the Chronicle attacking the archbishop’s educational initiative, the April 27 statement framed the allegations flung by some critics as often incorrect, overblown or inflammatory.

“Most disturbing is the suggestion that the contract negotiations are being used only to provide an excuse to fire teachers. That could not be further from the truth,” the statement said. “Today Archbishop Cordileone met again with some administrators from the archdiocesan high schools and reiterated his determination to keep teachers, not fire them. There will be no ‘witch hunts,’ no prying into people’s personal lives, no shaming, no hidden agendas.” 

CNA contributed to this report.