ARTICLES

Quite a Defeat

Same-Sex Benefits at USF

BY JOHN HERREID

In February of 2004, the University of San Francisco formally ratified an amendment to employee contracts that provides benefits for "legally domiciled adults." An e-mail that was sent to faculty boasted that the University of San Francisco was "the first Jesuit university to do so" and invited staff to a celebration that included, among others, university president Father Stephen Privett, S.J. Father Privett was identified as one of the "administration members most responsible for the successful conclusion of this agreement."

Was it coincidence that the amendment was ratified at the same time that San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom defied state law to issue marriage licenses to gay couples? At least one faculty member, Peter Novak (assistant professor of visual and performing arts), took advantage of the new licenses to marry. But the move for benefits at the university began before the mayor made his controversial decision. In June 2003, the board of trustees voted to extend benefits to legally domiciled adults, and the move to incorporate this change had begun much earlier. According to Dr. Raymond Dennehy, professor of philosophy, "it may even have started before Privett." Because of what Dennehy calls the secularization of the university, they are hiring "more and more faculty that are [homosexual]."

"USF is secularizing. It's just not going to change. They've hired all these people, many of whom are innocent of the Catholic intellectual tradition," Dennehy said. For the most part, the faculty, he contends, is not trying to undermine Church teaching. "They're just doing what they're hired to do." The vote to change the contracts for employees was 124 to 4.

Despite the fact that the move for the change had begun before Father Privett became university president, it is clear that some of the attitudes at the school were amplified rather than quelled when he began his tenure. In a highly criticized move that he made in his first months at the university, Father Privett fired John Galten and John Hamlon of the St. Ignatius Institute. Many felt that the firings were intended to squelch criticism of the university's liberal approach to religion and to remove any non-conformity with the prevailing political attitudes on campus.

Though a connection between the same-sex marriage license policy of Gavin Newsom and the University of San Francisco's new legally domiciled adult policy does not seem to exist, there are ample connections between the mayor, a Catholic, and Father Privett.

In 2002, then city supervisor Gavin Newsom co-authored a city resolution praising the National Organization for Women for helping keep abortion "safe and legal." When asked at the time why he chose to laud an organization and practice that clearly violated Church teaching, Newsom's reply was, "I am a Catholic and I disagree with the church on many matters (women priests, choice, distribution of birth control in third world countries) but my disagreements do not change my personal relationship with God. Lastly, my Catholic teachings at Santa Clara taught me that we must learn to be men and women for others. I strive for that every day."

Newsom's "Catholic teachings" at Santa Clara University included teaching by Father Stephen Privett. At the time, Father Privett taught such courses as "Faith Development and Moral Maturity," "Ministry for Peace and Justice," and "Faith, Justice and Poverty." Since that time, the ties between Father Privett and Newsom have grown stronger and more apparent.

Newsom was first elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1997. Reelected three times, he then ran for mayor in 2003. Father Privett became provost and vice president for academic affairs at Santa Clara University in 1997. In 2000 he began his tenure as president of the University of San Francisco. In 2001 he officiated at the wedding of Gavin Newsom and Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom. When Newsom won the mayoral election in 2003, his transition team included, among others, Father Privett, who also gave the invocation at the inauguration. "I pray that Gavin may challenge, inspire, and lead us all to put aside narrow self-interest and pursue the common good of all the citizens of this great city, especially of those who need us the most," Privett said.

The decision by Mayor Newsom to issue same-sex marriage licenses was condemned across the country by Catholic leaders. A statement by Archbishop William Levada's said, in part, "it is not discriminatory to limit 'marriage' to heterosexual couples, as same-sex couples cannot bring into existence what marriage intends by its very definition." But Father Privett's reaction, though careful to fall short of what could be interpreted as an outright endorsement, bordered on the laudatory. At the American Ireland Fund's annual dinner in March, where Newsom and his father were honored, Father Privett took the podium and expressed admiration for the courage shown by the new mayor. Though, according to the March 14 San Francisco Chronicle, Privett said the Church's position on homosexual marriage is clear, he said Newsom's decision to allow homosexual marriages "was not a smart political move. But Gavin doesn't need the job, so he has the freedom to make difficult decisions in office."

In the past, Father Privett has often made statements that cause raised eyebrows from those who support traditional Church teaching on homosexuality. In his homily at the 2003 Baccalaureate Mass he talked of "coming out" as an expression of the beatitudes. "A student talked about the difficulties he faced in coming to grips with his own homosexual orientation," said Privett. "He feared the rejection of family members and the ridicule of friends. He had to be as he was created to be by a loving God. He came out. It is not easy for him. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness." And, more recently, he told the March 4 USF Foghorn, a student paper, that the extension of benefits to same-sex couples was necessary because the Church required it. "The Catechism of the Catholic Church states very clearly that gay persons 'must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.'"

In the opinion of Dr. Dennehy, the impact of the university's decision can only be negative. "I felt it was quite a defeat. If people who aren't married get the same benefits that the married do, that basically robs marriage of its social-economic meaning," he said. The chance that the decision might be changed or rescinded in future is minimal, Dennehy thinks. And the possibility of Father Privett being reprimanded for allowing it is even slimmer, since the archdiocese of San Francisco set the precedent in a 1996 policy. That decision was made when the city voted to require any business with a city contract to offer benefits to domestic partners. The solution that Archbishop Levada drew up said any adult living with an adult working for a Catholic agency or business in affiliation with the archdiocese would receive benefits, regardless of relationship. It was a solution that satisfied some, but even the archbishop himself seemed uncertain about the policy. In a 1997 First Things article on the situation, he stated that, "in defending my action in this matter, it may sound as though I am proposing this course for others to emulate. Far from it."

The solution to problems like the ones now facing orthodox Catholics who work for Catholic colleges and universities like the University of San Francisco seems far off. Dr. Dennehy thinks that one of the problems is the perception people have of these schools. Many expect the schools to uphold and teach the official doctrines of the magisterium. "Generally that represents a bygone era," said Dennehy. "It's a pretty secularized environment. You can graduate from USF without having taken a course in Catholic theology."

USF graduate Steve Ambuul (2000) is another critic of the current administration at the university. "I don't think it's hopeless," he said, pointing to Gonzaga University as an example of change. At that school, Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer has been able to effect some changes that orient it in more traditional directions. But, even so, Ambuul said, the University of San Francisco doesn't seem like it will change any time soon. "The hope I see is in Campion College, Thomas Aquinas College, Ave Maria University, and other colleges that are run like USF was when the Jesuits were still Catholic," he said.

TOP