I see a report like this one, and I can’t help but think that it smacks of agenda-journalism. This would not have been a story if the teacher in question had been released for adultery (which is also in violation of Catholic teaching). The only reason that this story registers is because it involves homosexuality. Despite appearances, this is not a straight news report. I think it’s something else altogether.

The report linked here is about a gym teacher in Ohio who lost her teaching position after it became known that she was a lesbian. She had been teaching at a Catholic high school for 19 years, but when the administration found out that she was in violation of the morality provision in her contract, they let her go.

I guess what caught my attention about this story is that it even made the news. A Roman Catholic school is requiring its teachers to adhere to a morality provision that each teacher voluntarily agreed to keep when signing their contract. The morality provision reflects the teaching of the Roman Catholic church. No one is happy about a long-time employee losing her job, but why is it particularly controversial?

Could it be that NBC’s coverage is designed to show how unjust and wrong the Catholic school is for being consistent with Roman Catholic teaching? I notice that nothing much is made of the fact that the gym teacher apparently flouted the morality provision of her contract for 19 years. And yet the school seems to be portrayed as having done something wrong in this report.

It also caught my attention that Stephanie Gosk did the reporting on this particular story. It seems that she has slanted the story against the school and in favor of the gym teacher. Given her own recent coming-out on The Today Show, one can’t help but wonder whether Gosk’s personal stake in the issue might make her less than objective in her report.

I see a report like this one, and I can’t help but think that it smacks of agenda-journalism. This would not have been a story if the teacher in question had been released for adultery (which is also in violation of Catholic teaching). The only reason that this story registers is because it involves homosexuality. Despite appearances, this is not a straight news report. I think it’s something else altogether.

Denny Burk is Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminar. He blogs on matters concerning politics, theology and culture. This article is used with his permission.

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