Thursday, April 18, 2013

Father, forgive them; even though they know what they are doing.


The following is an Abstract for the upcoming Pastoral Essay entitled "Father, forgive them; even though they know what they are doing."


“If you want someone to be marginalized, enable a bully.
If you want to eliminate the sin of marginalization, enable Grace”

This personal essay focuses on the events that led up to the termination of Bishop James Wilkowski from his secular position with the office of the Cook County Clerk in August of 2012.

During the last two years of the Bishop's nine year employment with the Cook County Clerk, he was transferred into a different department where he encountered multiple forms of marginalization because of his race, clerical status and health.  When repeated acts of supervisional bullying failed to force the Bishop's resignation, a scheme to manipulate grounds for termination began and where completed on August 12th, 2013.

This essay witnesses acts of bullying, prejudice and racism within the workplace.