Posted on 02/16/2016 9:46:38 AM PST by marshmallow
Boston, Mass., Feb 15, 2016 / 04:45 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Massachusetts court ruling against a Catholic school may have set a dangerous precedent that interferes with religious schools' ability to hire staff consistent with their mission, critics said.
"This court decision makes it impossible for faith-based institutions to survive," Andrew Beckwith, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, told CNA.
Beckwith was responding to a court ruling that Fontbonne Academy, an all-girls Catholic school in Milton, Mass., violated state anti-discrimination laws. The ruling suggested that religious freedom exemptions do not apply to the school because it accepts non-Catholic students.
"If this decision stands, it will either force faith-based schools to close their doors to anyone who is not of the same religion or they will have to give up their beliefs and hire without any regard to faith which will ultimately cease to make them faith-based institutions," Beckwith said.
In June 2013, Matthew Barrett was hired as a food services director at Fontbonne Academy. But the school rescinded the job offer a few days later after discovering that Barrett was in a civil same-sex marriage.
Fontbonne Academy's CEO, Mary Ellen Barnes, told Barrett that he could not be hired because his lifestyle is inconsistent with the Catholic Church's teaching on marriage. She explained that every employee is expected to be a minister of the school's Catholic mission.
The school is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. The college preparatory high school says it offers students of all faith an "education that opens them to the Catholic heritage of the search for God and the expression of faith through concern for the dear neighbor."
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...
Welcome to the future.
They could still require that non-Catholic teachers teach Catholic doctrine, on pain of being fired. The boss still is able to tell the employees what they have to do.
” it will either force faith-based schools to close their doors to anyone who is not of the same religion”
This is the best path anyway, regardless of this ruling.
This is why the left is pushing “freedom of worship” and not “freedom of religion” and not “freedom of speech” and not “freedom of conscience.” The left wants to narrow down what freedom you have. So maybe a priest or pastor would still be free to preach (even here, “hate speech” laws will intrude more and more), but outside of the church walls you have absolutely no freedom of conscience and no freedom of choice or freedom to say anything the ruling class does not want you to say. Under the left’s “freedom of worship,” once you are outside of the church building you will not be allowed to speak or live your life according to your conscience. So a doctor would be required to perform abortions. A secular bookstore might be required to sell pornography even if the bookstore owners think that is wrong. A Christian artist would be required to produce propaganda against his religion, etc. Probably the next big thing will be that churches that do not follow the party line will lose their tax exemption, so there will be de-facto “official” churches and “unofficial” churches.
Goodness! Catholic schools for Catholics, Black schools for Blacks, Protestant schools for Protestants; it’s the 1940’s all over again. All the progress toward a unified society that has been made in the last three quarters of a century is being eradicated.
“Fundamentally changing America!”
What is the next stop up in the appeals process?
Bookmark for later
With Scalia’s demise, Catholic institutions will be exposed to assaults on multiple fronts. The Little Sisters of the poor will be a 4 to 4 vote, remanding the case down the last highest circuit’s ruling which was against the Order. A BHO appointment will make it 5-4. That result, coupled with the article below, make it likely that Catholic institutions will have to either acquiesce to government mandates regarding abortion, marriage etc. or face daily fines that will put them out of business. I suspect many Catholic institutions, such as Georgetown, Holy Cross etc. will give in, may be even embrace the government mandates. This will leave you and I with a choice to either accept compromised Catholic schools or find another alternative. Frankly, I would send my daughters to private secular schools before I would send her to a compromised Catholic school. The compromised schools will do more harm in the long run because they offer the veneer of Respect/Godliness without the integrity. The teaching will come across as if it’s from the Church but it’s not. We will have a Church like they have in China. One that is de facto and one that is de jure.
Sickening. A catholic school must hire a homo or an atheist for a teacher. And isn’t there a huge catholic population in Massachusetts? Will politicians pay a price for this?
Horace Mann was from Massachusetts, too, and considered the father of US compulsory public education.
Government education is Satan’s American masterpiece.
Some say Satan slowly crept into the US education system.
It is my position He was there all the time.
Fontbonne Academy makes it clear on their website that they accept students from any and all faiths. They also stated on their website that they make hiring decisions without regard to, among other things, sexual orientation. Having dropped the pretense of being a Catholic school they can’t now try to wrap themselves in the mantle of the Church. And having made it clear that homosexuality was not a barrier to employment they can’t suddenly change their mind and say it is. I don’t think this means the end of religious schools and I don’t thing Fontbonne has anyone but themselves to blame for their predicament.
I am in agreement. I will not pay for faux Catholicism.
Bake the cake!!!
We had a muslim in our childs Catholic school. She caused a 20 year teacher to be fired because she was “offended” at something he said defending the faith.
Get rid of football, get rid of the inner city scholarships that are need based but always go to needy 6-8” thugs. Stop selling tuition to rich non-Catholics. Cut tuition so large Catholic families can afford to send their kids again. We have friends with a family of 6 sons that have to homeschool because they got only a $200 “large family” break in the over 15,000 tuition this school charges but hey, the basketball team is ranked!
What is next is civil disobedience. Full on refusal to obey. Force them into ‘bad optics’. Make US marshals have to arrest a Priest or nun. Mass people at the school if they ever foreclose. That includes we Protestants too. We can debate whether the pope is Jesus representative or whether I’m an apostate some other day.
Right now there is someone who hates us both. We can have our spirited debates another day. This evil needs fighting.
Also, all Christians need to demand their politicians do the same or face consequences.
This happened some 10 minutes from my home.
Regional Catholic School Prohibits Christian Prayers Due to Outrage From Somali Refugee Community.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3373171/posts
And those stupid Massachusetts Irish Catholic Kennedy Democrats just keep right on voting for them.
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