US school loses Catholic status for refusing to fire gay teacher
Pope Francis is also a Jesuit, the same congregation fo the Catholic church that the school belongs to. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty)
A Catholic school in Indiana has been kicked out of its archdiocese for refusing to fire a gay teacher who they said was “highly capable.”
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis cut its ties with the school, which means it will no longer be able to use the name “Catholic” and will be taken off the Catholic school directory.
According to a statement obtained by HuffPost, the archdiocese said: “Regrettably, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School has freely chosen not to enter into such agreements that protect the important ministry of communicating the fullness of Catholic teaching to students.
“Therefore Brebeuf… will no longer be recognised as a Catholic institution by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.”
In a statement, the school said it had “respectfully declined the Archdiocese’s insistence and directive that we dismiss a highly capable and qualified teacher due to the teacher being a spouse within a civilly-recognised same-sex marriage.”
Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School said the gay teacher was “highly capable.” (Brebeufjesuit/ Instagram)
Refusing to fire the gay teacher was “the most Catholic thing the school could do”
Reverend James Martin, who has written a book about the Catholic church and the LGBT+ community, wrote on Twitter that if the church were to fire a gay teacher, they would also have to fire teachers that used birth control or IVF.
He said: “LGBT people are the only ones being targeted in this way. They are the only ones whose sexual lives are investigated in this way.
“Brebeuf’s willingness to stand with its LGBT employees, and its unwillingness to participate in the targeting of LGBT people is a necessary and courageous stance.
“It is the most Catholic thing that the school, and the Jesuits, could do.”
“We are disheartened that the Archbishop has chosen to end our formal relationship. Nevertheless, our identity as a Catholic Jesuit institution remains unchanged,” the school said in its statement.
It said it plans to appeal the decision made by the Archdiocese.
Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the congregation ton which the school belonged, and the Vatican recently published a document to say that “gender ideology” is a “move away from nature.”
