Humanists say Curia church school teaching plans will discriminate against minorities

The Curia's plans to disallow non-practicing Catholics from occupying top teaching posts at Catholic schools is likely to affect minorities, the Malta Humanist Association said in a statement.
“Considering what the church teaches on topics such as homosexuality, homosexual relationships, unwed parents, IVF and many others, this new policy is likely to affect such members,” MHA vice-president Ramon Casha said. “Even the requirement that staff reveal such details such as their sexual orientation or marital status is a violation of that person's privacy and dignity. Employers are in fact legally prohibited from requesting such information during interviews.” 
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, including religion and PSD teachers and counsellors 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.
While Casha acknowledges that the church's concordat with the state grants it autonomy in running its schools, he said that the church are nevertheless bound by employment laws.
The Employment and Industrial Relations Act makes it clear that “discriminatory treatment means any distinction, exclusion, or restriction which is not justifiable in a democratic society including discrimination made on the basis of marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, sex, colour, disability, religious conviction, political opinion or membership in a trade union or in an employers' association,” Casha said. “While the church currently has a constitutional exemption to permit it to discriminate in the case of religion teachers, this proposal would extend this discrimination to cover heads of schools, assistant heads, PSD teachers and other staff positions.”
The humanists have joined the Malta Teachers' Union in criticisng this document. The MUT said on Tuesday 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.
Casha added that the Faculty of Theology at the University is proposing a course in Catholic School Leadership and that teaching candidates who have attended this course will be given preference over those who haven't.
“The MHA calls upon the relevant ministries to proactively investigate these matters and not wait for the first staff to lose their jobs and have to face the consequences alone,” Casha said. “Many teachers and other staff, including MHA members, are not Catholics and are concerned about the possible repercussions to their own careers if these plans are put into practice.”