Current Affairs

US: Teacher sacked for being a lesbian will not be reinstated at Catholic school

Jun 12 2013
Written by Corinne Pinfold

The Ohio high school teacher sacked after her female partner was named in her mother’s obituary will not be reinstated, the district’s Superintendent has ruled.

In March Carla Hale was fired from Bishop Watterson High School in Ohio after her partner, Julie Uncapher, was named in her mother’s obituary.

An anonymous letter about the obituary sent to the school’s diocese by a parent led to Ms Hale, who had taught physical education at the school for 19 years, being sacked.

Ms Hale vowed to fight against the discrimination and received the backing of 130,810 signatories in a petition to have her reinstated.

However, StateImpact Ohio reports that a short letter from the Superintendent of the Catholic Archdiocese of Columbus, Lucia McQuaide, has revealed that she will uphold Ms Hale’s termination.

Ms McQuaide said:-

Dear Ms Hale,

Thank you for meeting with me on May 30, 2013. After consideration of all the facts and circumstances, including our discussion at our meeting, this is notice that I have decided to uphold the termination of your teaching contract.

Ms Hale said: “I’ve attended graduation ceremonies for nineteen years. It was very difficult for me to be excluded this year.”

Her Attorney, Thomas Tootle, said in a statement: “Seeking reinstatement from the Superintendent is one more step in a process that we must exhaust before we can bring this matter to a meaningful resolution before a neutral arbitrator.”

The Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, Ms Hale’s union, has refused to back her.

Right-wing radio host Linda Harvey targeted Ms Hale, saying she had been “misleading children into accepting what God has clearly called sinful” during her time as teacher.

Bryan Fischer also weighed in against Ms Hale, saying: “The school discriminated against this teacher, yes they absolutely did and they should have.”