The mentions in this story of what the Angels did remind me of the time members of the Angeli family moved the Holy House from Nazareth (under islamic invasion) to safety in Loretto. History duly recorded that angels did the incredible deed...
"“Fr. Steve, as CEO...never should have been a spiritual director or confessor to his own staff members, as this violates the dynamic of internal/external forum, which blurs the appropriate spiritual boundaries,” their letter said."
I'm quite confused. It seems like the Gloor investigation was handled appropriately. People are complaining about a lack of communication, but that's pretty par for the course with HR and privacy; nobody outside those investigating are supposed to have details.
Ultimately, Gloor was terminated, which seems unfair, but that was the decision of the board and their call to make.
I'm not sure what people are angry about? That he was fired? But then they talk about his negative influence and potential favoritism, so shouldn't they be happy he was let go?
I thought WoF's statement regarding the timeline of events and the accountabilities of the organization was spot on. What am I missing here?
A lot of vapour, seems to me. Strenuous efforts to expose a non existent scandal. Lots of huff and puff reporting. Employees come across as whiners and whingers
Workplace culture is extremely important to a nonprofit because it’s important for donors to know how their funds are being used (or wasted, in this case). There is much research that shows a toxic workplace not only leads to high turnover, but also has a major impact on business productivity and profit. If so many employees as already leaving, it sounds like productivity is already being significantly negatively affected.
Many of the issues JD raises not only sound like a toxic workplace, but also illegal. Steve Grunow threatening employees with termination for asking legitimate questions about an employee on leave may be illegal, or least least poses a big liability risk for wrongful termination. Gloor speaking inappropriately (assuming JD means Gloor making sexually inappropriate comments as referenced in the Chris Damien articles) in front of Grunow and Barron, where Grunow and Barron were silent and didn’t correct the behavior, means they enabled a culture that allowed Gloor to sexual harass women at work (also illegal). That’s sexual harassment training 101. These are just some examples of the illegal conduct, but there’s more. Any of these facts could lead to an employee lawsuit. Also, a big red flag for donors. Why would a donor want their money to go towards defending a lawsuit that could have easily been prevented by having an HR department that just enforced the law? Or prevented by firing an incompetent CEO who clearly has anger issues?
So, no, it’s incorrect to dismiss all of these facts as just run-of-the mill workplace issues. Illegal and toxic workplace behavior pose a big financial risk and must be taken very seriously. And, not to mention WOF is a Catholic organization, so it should be held to a higher standard. What kind of true Catholic would put so many families of the employees through so much emotional distress? That isn’t very Christ-like.
Dysfunction in a rich and powerful Catholic organization in a country where most people, including the bishops, worship money and power? Say it ain’t so! In all seriousness, though, isn’t the evangelization supposed to come from how we love each other? (“To will the good of the other,” as Bishop Barron likes to quote.) So let’s give away all the money and power and love each other already!
Word on Fire and Bishop Barron have made magnificent contributions to deepening the faith of many Catholics worldwide. But in order to move forward, they should come clean and explain exactly what happened, what mistakes were actually made, etc and how to improve in the future. Because as someone who has purchased many items from WOF bookstores etc, I certainly won't be supporting them again until it is evident that things have changed. Regardless of what wrong a person does in any walk of life, you cannot beat transparency and honesty even if it means certain repercussions. People will respect you more in the long run too, especially if you admit you were wrong.
So it turns out that Word on Fire, based in Chicago, is a "side-gig" of a bishop of Los Angeles. I think I do not trust the supposedly Catholic teaching of any organization that is not under the eye of any church authority. (I suppose that is true of many writers and organizations. Alas, we are Protestants. Caveat emptor. I was so naive.)
A mess, and a fear of messiness. It's clear that the people at Word on Fire are imperfect, and it's also clear that the people at Word on Fire are afraid of imperfection. It's as if everyone went into this expecting to be working with perfectly-program robots that communicate perfectly and never make mistakes, and then got upset that they were actually working with humans who behave like humans.
While there are some obvious organizational fixes that need to be implemented--Fr Steve can't be CEO and spiritual director, for instance--the biggest problem at Word on Fire seems to be a pervasive spiritual naivete among the people working there. People are messy, even people striving for holiness. Get used to it.
Not ideal news, but things we needed to hear. Good work, Pillar team.
damn, rip word on fire.
The mentions in this story of what the Angels did remind me of the time members of the Angeli family moved the Holy House from Nazareth (under islamic invasion) to safety in Loretto. History duly recorded that angels did the incredible deed...
Neutral outside expert organizational review to distinguish opinion from fact and recommend a future course of action seems like the way to go.
The spokesman seems to be making a bad situation worse. Maybe it’s not a good job fit.
"“Fr. Steve, as CEO...never should have been a spiritual director or confessor to his own staff members, as this violates the dynamic of internal/external forum, which blurs the appropriate spiritual boundaries,” their letter said."
That is a big problem.
I'm quite confused. It seems like the Gloor investigation was handled appropriately. People are complaining about a lack of communication, but that's pretty par for the course with HR and privacy; nobody outside those investigating are supposed to have details.
Ultimately, Gloor was terminated, which seems unfair, but that was the decision of the board and their call to make.
I'm not sure what people are angry about? That he was fired? But then they talk about his negative influence and potential favoritism, so shouldn't they be happy he was let go?
I thought WoF's statement regarding the timeline of events and the accountabilities of the organization was spot on. What am I missing here?
Too long
I don’t see the problem either.
A lot of vapour, seems to me. Strenuous efforts to expose a non existent scandal. Lots of huff and puff reporting. Employees come across as whiners and whingers
Your first pratfall, Pillar.
Workplace culture is extremely important to a nonprofit because it’s important for donors to know how their funds are being used (or wasted, in this case). There is much research that shows a toxic workplace not only leads to high turnover, but also has a major impact on business productivity and profit. If so many employees as already leaving, it sounds like productivity is already being significantly negatively affected.
Many of the issues JD raises not only sound like a toxic workplace, but also illegal. Steve Grunow threatening employees with termination for asking legitimate questions about an employee on leave may be illegal, or least least poses a big liability risk for wrongful termination. Gloor speaking inappropriately (assuming JD means Gloor making sexually inappropriate comments as referenced in the Chris Damien articles) in front of Grunow and Barron, where Grunow and Barron were silent and didn’t correct the behavior, means they enabled a culture that allowed Gloor to sexual harass women at work (also illegal). That’s sexual harassment training 101. These are just some examples of the illegal conduct, but there’s more. Any of these facts could lead to an employee lawsuit. Also, a big red flag for donors. Why would a donor want their money to go towards defending a lawsuit that could have easily been prevented by having an HR department that just enforced the law? Or prevented by firing an incompetent CEO who clearly has anger issues?
So, no, it’s incorrect to dismiss all of these facts as just run-of-the mill workplace issues. Illegal and toxic workplace behavior pose a big financial risk and must be taken very seriously. And, not to mention WOF is a Catholic organization, so it should be held to a higher standard. What kind of true Catholic would put so many families of the employees through so much emotional distress? That isn’t very Christ-like.
Edited for clarity
Dysfunction in a rich and powerful Catholic organization in a country where most people, including the bishops, worship money and power? Say it ain’t so! In all seriousness, though, isn’t the evangelization supposed to come from how we love each other? (“To will the good of the other,” as Bishop Barron likes to quote.) So let’s give away all the money and power and love each other already!
Word on Fire and Bishop Barron have made magnificent contributions to deepening the faith of many Catholics worldwide. But in order to move forward, they should come clean and explain exactly what happened, what mistakes were actually made, etc and how to improve in the future. Because as someone who has purchased many items from WOF bookstores etc, I certainly won't be supporting them again until it is evident that things have changed. Regardless of what wrong a person does in any walk of life, you cannot beat transparency and honesty even if it means certain repercussions. People will respect you more in the long run too, especially if you admit you were wrong.
So it turns out that Word on Fire, based in Chicago, is a "side-gig" of a bishop of Los Angeles. I think I do not trust the supposedly Catholic teaching of any organization that is not under the eye of any church authority. (I suppose that is true of many writers and organizations. Alas, we are Protestants. Caveat emptor. I was so naive.)
A mess, and a fear of messiness. It's clear that the people at Word on Fire are imperfect, and it's also clear that the people at Word on Fire are afraid of imperfection. It's as if everyone went into this expecting to be working with perfectly-program robots that communicate perfectly and never make mistakes, and then got upset that they were actually working with humans who behave like humans.
While there are some obvious organizational fixes that need to be implemented--Fr Steve can't be CEO and spiritual director, for instance--the biggest problem at Word on Fire seems to be a pervasive spiritual naivete among the people working there. People are messy, even people striving for holiness. Get used to it.