Catholics argue university anti-union efforts go against religious teachings

Non-tenure-track faculty at Marquette University, a Jesuit school in Milwaukee, had been working for months to unionize and were preparing for a National Labor Relations Board-sanctioned election to join the United Campus Workers of Wisconsin when, in October, their employer invoked a religious exemption to quash their efforts.

Giordana Poggioli-Kaftan, a non-tenured faculty member who directs the Italian program, and a Catholic, was bewildered. “ I don’t understand how that is possible,” she told RNS. Not only had other Catholic institutions already unionized, but papal teachings stretching over a century promote unions.

A September 2024 report by the Catholic Labor Network listed more than 20 Catholic universities in the United States that have some type of faculty union, representing less than 10% of U.S. Catholic higher education. In the last 15 years, at least eight Catholic universities have invoked religious exemptions to avoid recognizing unions that include faculty or graduate students.

Religion & Politics

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Every February in the Spanish village of Almonacid del Marquesado, residents celebrate the feast day of the Virgin of Candelaria, with "devils" and dancers taking to the streets in a vibrant display of faith and tradition. Members of the Endiablada brotherhood march during the 'Endiablada' festival in Almonacid del Marquesado, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

In Opinion

And finally, Five Catholic women who dream of ordination as deacons

In the first week of February, the Vatican department that oversees Catholic Church doctrine accepted written testimonies about women in the church whose experience conforms with those called to be deacons — a ministry rooted in serving the poor, leading prayer and administering the sacraments of baptism and matrimony, from which women are currently banned in Catholicism.

Among those groups was Discerning Deacons, a network aimed at informing Catholics on campus and in parishes about the female diaconate, which allowed RNS to read some of the testimonies submitted by the organization and to interview the women they put forward.

The Vatican decided to restore the ancient practice of permanent deacons after the Second Vatican Council in 1967 but reserved the office for men, even allowing older married men to be ordained as deacons. They are still rare; most deacons in the church are men taking the first step toward the priesthood.

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