Boston, Mass., Apr 24, 2023 / 12:51 pm (CNA).
A professor at a Catholic seminary in Louisiana lost his job after it was discovered that he had gone on social media to offer his services as a pilot to women wishing to travel to states where abortion is legal.
Greg Williams, a former Greek and Latin professor at St. Joseph Seminary College, posted on his Facebook account just days following the overturning of Roe v. Wade that he would be available to fly women across state lines.
“If any women need to make an unexpected trip from the south to, say, Illinois or New Mexico or Virginia for reasons that are none of my business, I can provide safe, private air transport that would get you where you need to go and back the same day at a price that will work for you,” he wrote, The Guardian reported.
Abortion is legal in Illinois, New Mexico, and Virginia, where Williams offered to fly the women. Louisiana, where the seminary is located, has a near-total ban on the procedure.
After he got his pilot license in 2009, The Guardian reported, Williams began volunteering for the Louisiana-based Pilots for Patients, a nonprofit that offers free flights for patients to travel to locations for medical treatments not otherwise available in their area.
The charity helps make it possible for patients to receive the urgent medical care they need, whether it be for treatment at a cancer center or a visit with a specialist.
When Williams went on Facebook with his offer to transport women out of state for a fee, he was operating independently of any group or charity. Abortion services fall outside Pilots for Patients mission, the organization told The Guardian. However, the organization also “acknowledged it does not control what trips its unpaid volunteers might take on during their own time,” according to the outlet.
The organization did not respond to CNA’s request for comment.
On July 5, 2022, about a week after his Facebook post, he received a letter from the rector of the seminary, Father Gregory Boquet.
“Your Facebook post publicly and deliberately advocated a position contrary to the official teaching of the Catholic Church,” read the letter, according to The Guardian.
“The decision is to terminate your employment … effective immediately,” the July 5 letter said.
The school has a policy that mandates that employees act in accordance with Church teaching.
As a condition of employment at the seminary, staff members “shall act with the highest degree of integrity and moral standards that will reflect favorably on SJASC and consistent with the teachings of both the Order of St. Benedict and the Roman Catholic Church,” the school’s conflict of interest policy says.
When asked for comment, the seminary told CNA it did not comment on personnel matters. Williams is not shown on the list of faculty at the school. The former professor, who is an Episcopalian, according to The Guardian, told the outlet that he was hired by the seminary in 2015.
St. Joseph Seminary College is a Benedictine school located in Saint Benedict, Louisiana, in the southeastern part of the state.
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Bravo to the folks at the Seminary for having a spine and using it. People are free to do as they wish as private individuals but should not do it under the cover of any Catholic institutions. This includes Catholic Schools and colleges and seminaries.Anyone who is employed at a catholic institution should need to sign an employment contract that states they will be required to uphold catholic teachings in all areas, or face firing. If they find that objectionable, let them seek employment elsewhere. Its long past time the church starts to enforce some rules and establish some red lines. Abortion is a heinous thing and almost never done because of real medical safety for the mother, or in cases of rape. Its a simple issue of convenience for most. “Disgusting” doesnt cover it. That this guy felt a need to be a part of such actions makes it better he is no longer employed at a catholic institution.
Yes, thank you for that LJ. The seminary may have failed to vet the teacher thoroughly originally, but they certainly did the right thing once his views became known.
Excellent
The gentlemen is an Episcopalian, they do accept abortion contraception etc.. Why was he teaching Catholic seminarians, and what did he impart in his teachings that did not follow Catholic teachings…. Proper formation is desperately needed in our seminaries…
Not every Anglican though agrees with feticide. There are different varieties of Anglicans even in the US. We’re more familiar with the progressive branch but others are quite close to us in moral issues.
We had a wonderful Anglican choir director for our TLM Scola. He was much more knowledgeable about Gregorian chant than many Catholics are, was quite sympathetic to the Catholic Church and really appreciated the Latin Mass. He just hadn’t crossed the Tiber yet.
Exactly, theresa323.
That is the key point here.