An Ohio high school math teacher is suing to get his job back after being fired by the Catholic high school he worked for. Archdiocese officials said that Sy Goldberg, who is Jewish, was observed eating a corned beef sandwich for lunch on a Friday during Lent. According to Roman Catholic Church teachings, the eating of meat on Fridays is not allowed during the season of lent. A spokesman for Our Bleeding Heart of the Baby Jesus High School, confirmed that Goldberg was let go after an anonymous email with attached photo of Goldberg eating the sandwich, was sent to the Archbishop.
"We cannot have employees who do not follow the teachings of the Catholic Church influencing our students."
Mr. Goldberg confirmed that he did indeed eat a delicious corned beef on rye, with mustard, on the Friday in question, in full view of some students.
Sounds stupid, doesn't it? It is stupid, and wholly made up by me. However, it isn't any more stupid than the real news story as reported here by the Journal Star.Com.
A gay teacher who said she was fired by an Ohio Catholic school after her mother's published obituary included the name of her partner, is fighting to get her job back.
Carla Hale, 57, said she was told she was being let go because her relationship is against teachings of the church. Hale said she was fired during Holy Week in March after an anonymous letter sent to school administrators drew attention to the obituary published in The Columbus Dispatch.
A copy of the letter provided by her attorney was signed "a concerned parent."
"My daughter came home and told me that one of the gym teacher's mother had died," the letter said. "She asked me to pray for her. When we looked in the obituaries, I was shocked by what I saw. It had her teacher's name and that of her `spouse' listed. It was two females!"
Hale, who is Methodist, was informed about two weeks after her mother's death that the school was investigating. Hale had been teaching at the school for 19 years... Read more here
I'm gay, but I actually side with the school on this one. If this religious school is independent and receiving no state aid, they should be able to hire under the precepts of the faith they practice. That pesky Constitution also protects the freedom of religion.
ReplyDeleteWell. Where to begin? The Catholic Church is pretty busy hushing up child-molestation rings and paying off out of court settlements to victims. I don't know why anyone -- anyone -- would go within 5 miles of a Catholic church or school.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the bigotry and hypocrisy...I just have no energy to even vent about it (at the moment). I'm also having my first cup of coffee so am not quite awake yet.
So anonymous number one, that means you agree with my first story also, that a church run school can fire somebody who doesn't follow their religion scrupulously,like eating meat. What about Warren Jeffs and his Mormon cult (religion)? Does he have the right to force young girls into marriage with old farts? I believe the Supremes have established that you have freedom to practice your religion as long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others. If that school was so worried that somebody wasn't practicing Catholic precepts they should have never hired a Methodist. The fact that they pick and choose just what rules employees should follow proves it was done out of prejudice, and not because they want their employees to be good practicing Catholics. BTW, I know of a whole lot of Catholic priests, and nuns who couldn't pass that gay smell test.
ReplyDeleteAlso anonymous number one, Bishop Watterson High School is not listed as a %100 non public school. Meaning they are eligible to receive tax reimbursement for transportation and vouchers. They also use tax funded fire protection, and tax funded police protection. Do I need to go on further?
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget, they are also exempt from paying taxes.
ReplyDeleteJust another reason that I will not ever be a catholic again. I suppose if I were to ever find a religion that didn't house a slew of moralistic hippocrites I might re-consider. But they are all exclusive "clubs" that I would never want to join. I never did get any "comfort" from practicing catholicism so I think I was on to them years ago. And since they have so much money to throw at the abuse victims, it's time to tax them. Too many religions don't do enough for the underprivileged and then I see all the gold in the Vatican...that's where the money goes.
ReplyDeleteYes, if those are their religious practices. I'm not Catholic, either, and I may consider the meat issue completely ridiculous, but it's not my place to judge the sincerity of another religion's principles.
ReplyDeleteI also think the fact that muslim women have to be cloaked in black, with only their eyes visible, is ridiculous, but that is the choice of the people who practice that faith, and it's their right to do so.
And as I said, they should be allowed their discriminatory practices ONLY is they are truly private and receive no state or federal aid (excluding emergency services.)
Nobody is judging the another religion's practices. I think the gym teacher simply doesn't want the Catholic Church, which knew she wasn't Catholic when they hired her, to force their religion upon her. If she never mentioned the word lesbian at work, if she never discussed her family life at work, what business is it of her employer.
ReplyDeleteIf it's an independent religious school, then 'forcing their religion' is the definition of what they organized to do. And they have a Constitutional right to do so. Whether you or I any non-Catholic believes it to be stupid.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with the teacher, but why seek employment in a religious organization where she knew her sexuality was not accepted within that religion? It's not as if she didn't know it would be a problem. The code of conduct for the school was clearly spelled out and she hid her orientation, so she clearly knew she was in violation of their dogma. She should seek a position at a state school, where there is clear separation of church and state and discriminating against her for her orientation would be illegal.