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The Vatican has temporarily suspended a decree that revoked Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School’s status as a Catholic school.
In a message sent to the Brebeuf community Monday and posted to the school’s website, Father Bill Verbryke, the school’s principal, said he had just learned the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education in Rome had suspended the decree on an interim basis, pending a final resolution of the school’s appeal.
The decision means the school can resume holding mass and will be able to celebrate the Mass for the Feast Day of St. Jean de Brebeuf in October, Verbryke said.
In June, Indianapolis Archbishop Charles Thompson published a decree stating the Archdiocese of Indianapolis would no longer recognize Brebeuf as a Catholic institution after school leaders refused to fire a gay teacher.
Brebeuf and the Midwest Jesuits, an order of priests that sponsors the school, in August appealed the archbishop’s decree to the Congregation for Catholic Education, asking it to rescind and permanently set aside the archbishop’s decree.
In his message to the Brebeuf community, Verbryke cautioned that the temporary suspension does not mean the saga is over.
“It also does not mean that anyone should infer that the Congregation for Catholic Education is leaning one way or the other on any of the issues at hand,” he wrote.
“We still do not have a specific timeline for how long the appeal process will take, but please be assured that we are sincere in our desire to resolve our disagreement with the Archbishop and resume the strong relationship we had always enjoyed with the Archdiocese since our founding in 1962.
The archbishop and archdiocese were not immediately available for comment.
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It’s good that the Congregation for Catholic Education is hitting the pause button.
Very happy for the Brebeuf community. Hope it all works out in their favor. Every Brebeuf student and parent I know has spoken very highly of the school and its mission.
Step one of Archbishop Thompson’s self-promotion tour: internal strife within the Vatican making a judgement on an obvious dichotomy between the homosexuality in Rome and across all continents and a small, local midwest archdiocese.
Step two of Archbishop Thompson’s egocentricity: co-employment litigation that ends up in the Supreme Court with the other half of this case.
Hopefully, the Archdiocese of Indy loses a major judgement in Federal Court all the while the Vatican moves to allow same sex relationships among teachers and administrators in Catholic Education. You’d think perhaps Archbishop Charlie would get remanded to janitorial duty at St Meinrad at that point. Unfortunately, he’ll probably still get promoted. Either way, hopefully this guy leaves Indianapolis quickly, so we can preserve what is left of our Catholic community.
We can hope this isn’t just for show – rather a sincere act to allow everyone involved to think of a fair solution. Still, I wonder if the Vatican – CCE – has it’s mind already made up.
So so sad. As a Catholic, I am unable to understand, much less support, the archbishop’s judgemental, unkind and unChristlike actions. The course of action is not one of a pastoral nature, but of a punitive overseer. The depth of disappointment is more profound than he imagines.
A “pastoral nature” would be to condone sin and call it anything other than what it is?
Bob P, we are called to love and forgive all, not judge, ever, anyone.
I express profound sadness and it provokes in you a desire to engage in debate.