Posted on 12/21/2015 12:25:32 PM PST by wagglebee
BOSTON, Massachusetts, December 21, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – A Massachusetts judge sided with a practicing homosexual who sued a Catholic school for acting to uphold its Catholic identity.
In a first of its kind case, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins ruled that Fontbonne Academy discriminated against Matthew Barrett for his sexual orientation and gender in violation of State law when it withdrew a job offer in 2013.
Barrett had been offered the position of food services director at the all-girls Catholic prep school in Milton, MA, but the offer was later rescinded after Barrett had listed another man as his “husband” and emergency contact on his employee new hire form.
Wilkins said in his December 16 ruling Barrett's responsibilities directing food service for the school did not include presenting the teachings of the Catholic Church, according to the Star Tribune.
“As an educational institution, Fontbonne retains control over its mission and message,” Wilkins wrote. “It is not forced to allow Barrett to dilute that message, where he will not be a teacher, minister or spokesman for Fontbonne and has not engaged in public advocacy of same-sex marriage.”
Wilkins also rejected Fontbonne's claim that hiring Barrett would infringe on its constitutional rights because his “marriage” to a man is incompatible with its religious mission. He ruled that a religious exemption to the state anti-discrimination law applies only when a religious entity limits admission to people of a certain religion.
Fontbonne Academy is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston, and is open to students and employees of all faiths, except in the case of its administration and theology faculty.
LifeSiteNews inquired with Fontbonne Academy and its attorney John Bagley for comment, asking whether there were plans for an appeal, and did not hear back by press time.
The decision is the first time a judge has rejected a religious organization’s claim that it has a constitutional right not to hire employees in same-sex “marriages,” Barrett’s lawyer, Ben Klein of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), said in a report from the Boston Globe.
American for Truth About Homosexuality President Peter LaBarbera said in a statement that Fontbonne Academy hurt its own case with its published policy of “sexual orientation” nondiscrimination concerning employment.
“That made it easier for the judge, who cites it twice, to diminish the school’s religious mission,” LaBarbera said.
“The judge probably would have ruled against Fontbonne anyway,” he continued. “Regardless, no religious or moral institution should ever have a pro-homosexual hiring code, as it grants the premise that homosexuality (a moral issue) is akin neutral nondiscrimination criteria that are unchangeable, such as race and ethnicity.”
Catholic groups decried the judge’s ruling.
Wilkins’ decision “dealt a significant blow” to the freedom Catholic schools have to hire according to their mission and ask their teachers and staff to serve as models of the faith, The Cardinal Newman Society said in a statement. Further, the ruling asserts Fontbonne Academy’s Catholic mission cannot be extended to encompass non-teaching positions.
The decision was also criticized by the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, which called it “a frontal assault on religious freedom, an appalling subordination of the First Amendment to the Massachusetts gay rights law, and a victory by homosexual activists in their campaign to coerce Christians into compliance with same sex marriage.”
“Judge Wilkins's decision would compel Catholic institutions to hire those who reject and despise Catholic teaching, fatally impairing the constitutionally protected right of those institutions to carry on their mission,” League Executive Director C. J. Doyle said in a statement.
Barrett said in his complaint he was told he could not be hired because he was in a same-sex “marriage” and this was inconsistent with the Catholic faith after indicated he had a “husband” in his paperwork.
Barrett’s complaint also states he was advised by Fontbonne’s then Head of School, Mary Ellen Barnes, that every employee is regarded as a “minister of the mission,” and that he would be expected to model Catholic teaching and values. After being asked if he could “buy into that,” his complaint states, he “responded affirmatively.”
Barrett filed the complaint with the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination in 2014, saying at the time, “I had all the qualifications. That was the job for me. It just ate me up.”
"Marriage equality has been the law of Massachusetts for over a decade and it is now the law of the land. But you can't have equality if you can get married on Saturday and fired on Monday," Barrett's attorney, Ben Klein of GLAD, stated after Wilkins’ ruling.
Klein also said Wilkins found that Fontbonne is liable to pay damages to Barrett for lost wages and compensatory damages for discrimination.
Numerous Catholic schools and parishes have come under fire in recent years for upholding the Catholic Church’s teaching with regard to marriage and sexuality, and the long-established expectation that their employees not openly defy Church teaching by contracting homosexual “marriages.”
Traditional Judeo-Christian morality will be outlawed if the left gets its way.
Freepmail wagglebee to subscribe or unsubscribe from the homosexual agenda or moral absolutes ping list.
FreeRepublic homosexual agenda keyword search
[ Add keyword homosexual agenda to flag FR articles to this ping list ]
FreeRepublic moral absolutes keyword search
[ Add keyword moral absolutes to flag FR articles to this ping list ]
Definitely time for some “civil disobedience”. Dictating what a church (or church run organization) is tyranny. This is getting closer to blood-shed every day.
Nope.
You got it judge; right after you tell a mosque it has to hire a gay janitor.
Yes you are right. Anyone trying to uphold any sort of moral standard will be charged with discrimination. That’s where this is headed. This case may be appealed, but if I had to guess I would guess a higher court will uphold this ruling.
Ten bucks says that Judge Wilkins would have ruled differently if it was a mosque being sued.
The idiocy of schools whig try to fudge on the issue of sexuality. This is because the bishops came down with such a feeble statement about the Court decision. I cannot help feeling it is because the hierarchy has been compromised by the large number of homosexuals they have admitted to the priesthood since Vatican 2. Talk about an uncertain sound from the trumpet.
The judge kept on the ambivalence of the school’s policy.
Anything other than heteosexuality (living it) is a mortal sin AND horribly abnormal.
It is entirely within their religion to deny any position to anyone who violates the religion they are trying to inculcate in their students.
Besides, the school is not separate from the church. The school IS the church.
You beat me to it! It’s time to prove these dopey judges and their leftist ideas can’t enforce crap just like Thomas Jefferson did. .
To the school administrators: do your homework. 1) make sure you have several applicants 2) check them out carefully, 3) Do not make an offer until you know exactly whom you are getting.
Absolutely right. Fontbonne should tell Hizzoner to pack it up his ass and completely ignore any fines or sanctions.
Lexington and Concord all over again.
If Ted Cruz is our next president, this sort of bullshit will cease because it’ a clear violation of the Constitution and Cruz is a great defender of the Constitution.
What “gay” would be foolish enough to apply for a job at a Mosque? It’s a long way to be thrown to the ground from the top of a minaret.
hire the queer then transfer to the new mission in Antartica
The school kind of shot itself in its own foot when it said on its website that job candidates were selected without regard to, among other things, sexual orientation. Had they not stated that then I think they would have had a much stronger position justifying their terminating the man.
I still think Fontbonne burned themselves with their nondiscrimination statement which is on their own webpage. They set themselves up for this court’s turkey shoot.
Why don’t you guys stick to telling your unconstitutional government school people what to do and leave the real Americans alone?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.