The pregnancy was the catalyst for the firing. Even the school admitted that.
From the article:
‘A termination letter said she was fired for violating a section of her employment contract that requires employees to “comply with and act consistently in accordance with the stated philosophy and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court .’
As you can see the letter describes the reason for termination as a violation of a section of her employment contract. It is all very simple. She signed a contract stating that she would comply by the stated philosophy and teachings of The Roman Catholic Church. She didn't. She was therefor fired.
Do you really think that she is going to win against a multi-trillion Dollar World Wide religious and political organization comprised of more than 1.2 billion people and represented in every country on the face of the Earth? Do you really think a first year teacher not even smart enough to avoid a pregnancy that would not only inconvenience her personal life but end her religious teaching career is really going to win against the Roman Catholic Church in a court of law? Really? I highly doubt it!
It is a shake down for a money and 40% to the lawyer and the Church decided not to play. They decided their contract and Morals Clause describing ALL EMPLOYEES as Ministerial Employees is going to protect them from this blatent money grab by the knucklehead teacher and her ambulance chaising lawyer.
The stakes are high enough for the moral and legal implications that the Church will ride this pony all the way to the Supreme Court. But they will not have too, precedent has been set that she IS subject to the Morality Clause. The lawyer will not be able to pay for it and after the Hosanna-Tabor Lutheran Church SCOTUIS decision not even the scumbags at the ACLU or one of its’ ugly headed clones will take up the cause, pro-bono or otherwise. That is why they are full blown in the papers and TV trying to shame the Church into a settlement.
The Church won't settle, the teacher will get another job, hopefully finding a husband and getting some well needed life lessons and the lawyer will go back to chasing ambulances. Meanwhile the Church will go on for another few Millenniums. And there isn't a damn thing anybody can do about it, not him, her, you, Federal Government, not even the Supreme Court.
The Church has stood against & out lasted all sorts of dictators & tyrants from Nero to Robespierre to Mao and Stalin, they won't sweat Justice Roberts or even Barack Husein Obama.