Last Thursday, Marquette University rescinded the position offer of Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences to Seattle University professor Jodi O’Brien, a woman who is openly gay. Many feel that the job offer was withdrawn due to her sexual orientation.

While the Catholic Church can and should reserve the right to hire those they feel will be appropriate contributors to the Catholic voice, perhaps the larger issue for O’Brien is that she was offered the position by Marquette President Rev. Robert A. Wild before having it snatched away from her. This is a disgustingly unfair practice.

Marquette University student Megan Moore of Rockford, Illinois, explains her frustration with the situation: “I am kind of split over the issue. I do not think very many people in the student body know the whole story, nor do I think that we have been given the whole story.” As for the behavior of Rev. Wild and the administration, Moore comments, “The way the Marquette administration went about this saddens me. It was not a very Jesuit response to the situation.”

Another Marquette student, James Bauer, also from Rockford, decided to look deeper into the issue. He found the following regarding Jodi O’Brien’s view of religion: “To quote her article, “Wrestling the Angel of Contradiction: Queer Christian Identities,” which appeared in Culture and Religion in 2004, ‘Religion is clearly the enemy,’” Bauer explained. “Regardless of context, an individual who writes such a statement would clearly have difficulty working at an institution (like Marquette), whose mission is essentially religious.  How she made it for twelve years at Seattle University, another Jesuit university, is mysterious to say the least.”

In defense of Rev. Wild, the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality is quite clear. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law…. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” Whether or not you agree with this teaching, it is the truth as understood by the Catholic Church, and Catholic institutions have a duty to respect that truth. Rev. Wild respected that truth by rescinding Jodi O’Brien’s job offer. However, the Catholic Church also teaches that Catholics are called to love all people regardless of variables that all too often divide, such as race, religion, or in this case, sexual orientation. This is where the debate over an increase in tolerance comes in.

There is one school of thought, largely brought to the forefront through Norte Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins due to the Obama controversy last fall, that says that bringing differing opinions into the Catholic setting may lead to increased dialogue between the Catholic voice and the largely opposing view of the human tradition.

In my opinion, a lesbian dean in the College of Arts and Sciences leads to the potential for scandal among the Marquette University community. Giving a lesbian such a prestigious position is a direct endorsement of her behavior and her philosophy. However, I do not think it is out of the question for the Marquette University administration to hire lesbian and gay professors and staff members to develop an increase in tolerance and diversity, so long as in the classroom or workplace the Catholic truth remains revered and respected. The gay and lesbian community, if they wish to be a part of Catholic institutions, must respect the environment in which they work. There is room for the Catholic voice and the human tradition to respectfully disagree. Marquette can still maintain its identity as a Catholic University in the sight of such efforts. However, in respect to James Bauer’s comments on O’Brien’s view of religion, she does not appear to be a good fit for a Jesuit Catholic institution, or any Catholic institution for that matter. James Bauer sums it up perfectly: “Regardless of how the media decides to spin this situation, the fact of the matter is that Jodi O’Brien was not a good fit for Marquette.  The fact that her published works directly denounce Marquette’s basis as a Jesuit institution should disqualify her for an administrative position outright.”

Tolerance and diversity should be inherent parts of any Catholic institution, but not to the point where the Church and her truth become of the world, rather than in it.