press releases

New Pastor Fires Unionized Parish Workers, All Women

June 27, 2003

Chicago, June 27, 2003 -- In a move that has national implications, four of the first unionized Catholic Church parish employees in the United States were fired by a new pastor in his first day on the job in McAllen, Texas.

The firing of the four women employees of Holy Spirit Parish on June 18 sparked massive protests by parishioners. The priest, Rev. Ruben Delgado, resigned on Thursday, but the workers were not reinstated. Fr. Jerry Frank, who was pastor of Holy Spirit Parish until last week, believes that Brownsville Diocese bishop Raymundo Peña orchestrated the firings.

Court proceedings underway may establish a national precedent that could provide Catholic parish employees job security that have never had. In a twist of irony, the women are being defended by the United Farmworkers Union, which received significant support from the Catholic bishops when Cesar Chavez founded it in the 1960s.

The union filed a temporary restraining order and Hidalgo County District Judge Aida Salinas ordered that the workers be reinstated immediately. On Friday, June 20, the church placed the employees on paid administrative leave. A court hearing is set for July 8.

The arbitrary firings of parish employees by priests is common in the Catholic church, where eighty-two percent of church employees at parish level are now women. As the number of priests declines due to age and the clergy sex abuse scandal, more women are taking up paid employment in parishes to keep their communities functioning.

The first four parishes in the U.S. to sign union contracts with their employees announced this historic move in July, 2002. About 30 workers, mostly women, signed contracts with the United Farm Workers Union after the Brownsville Diocese bishop terminated their pension fund, and out of fear that they would be summarily fired like workers at a nearby parish.

The new Rio Grande chapter of Call To Action is taking a lead in organizing for the reinstatement of the fired employees. More than 300 people crowded into a CTA meeting on Monday, June 22, to protest the firings and monitor the diocesan response to the clergy sex abuse crisis.

Call To Action is a national organization of 25,000 laity, religious, priests and bishops and 40 local chapters. It advocates for reforms in the Catholic Church such as the ordination of women, optional celibacy for priests, more focus on the church's social justice teaching, and consultation with the Catholic people on church decision-making and sexuality issues. Their comprehensive web site is at www.cta-usa.org.

CONTACT: Don Wedd, 773-404-0004 ext. 270, don@cta-usa.org, Ann Cass, (cell) 956 631-1589, Rebecca Flores, UFW, 210 212-7101

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