Bishops 'wrong' to oppose unions, priest tells teachers

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 23, 1998

Renowned labor priest Msgr. George Higgins urged union leaders working for Catholic school teachers not to give up organizing efforts in the face of opposition within the hierarchy.

"The bishops who are giving you trouble are dead wrong," Higgins told the Annual National Association of Catholic School Teachers' Convention in Boston.

Higgins also said the Catholic church is in "retrenchment" on labor issues. "It would be a tragedy of the first order if the church loses its labor tradition," he said.

Higgins presented an award named in his honor at the convention. John J. Reilly, president emeritus of the association, received the Msgr. George G. Higgins Lifetime Achievement in Social Justice Award Oct. 10.