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Seal of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A Catholic school in Macon, Ga. , is facing a federal discrimination lawsuit from a former teacher whose employment was terminated in 2014 after the school found that he would be legally marrying his same-sex partner. “The argument being made in this suit—that a Catholic school’s commitment to upholding Catholic teaching on marriage is discriminatory toward homosexual employees—is a grave threat to Catholic education,” said Patrick Reilly, president of The Cardinal Newman Society .  “A Catholic school exists for the very purpose of teaching the faith and forming young people for God,” he continued. “The implication is that our religion itself, rooted in love and true concern for the good of the person and the common good, is discriminatory because it upholds standards of morality and natural law.” The teacher, Flint Dollar, taught music at Mount de Sales Academy for three years b

May 9, 2014 ( The Cardinal Newman Society ) - Diocese of Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone expressed his gratitude that a local Catholic high school chose not to compromise its Catholic mission after the institution refused—albeit with apparent reluctance—to announce a same-sex marriage in its alumnae magazine, according to The Buffalo News . The School's decision was reportedly influenced by previous intervention from the diocese following the announcement of a different same-sex marriage. Former Sacred Heart Academy principal Sister Edith Wyss reportedly wrote in response to an alumna’s request, “I’m very sorry that we can’t publish your pictures and your good news in the Cordecho [the school’s student publication].” Sr. Wyss presently serves as the provincial minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity at Stella Niagara, which owns and operates the school. Sr. Wyss reportedly indicated that, several years ago, the Catholic school did publish a sa

March 19, 2014 ( The Cardinal Newman Society ) - A Catholic high school teacher who was dismissed after his same-sex marriage is suing his former employer for wrongful termination, according to the  San Gabriel Valley Tribune . According to   NY Daily News , Ken Bencomo’s lawyer, Patrick McGarrigle, said that Bencomo was told by a school administrator from St. Lucy’s Priory High School that he was losing his job because his same-sex marriage was “in public and violated the Church’s teaching.” According to  NY Daily News , the school released a statement to the media saying  that while St. Lucy's "does not discriminate against teachers or other school employees based on their private lifestyle choices, public displays of behavior that are directly contrary to church teachings are inconsistent with these values." Now, Bencomo has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against St. Lucy’s alleging the school violated California’s state Labor Code and committe

Eastside Catholic School Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) March 10, 2014 ( The Cardinal Newman Society ) - The former vice principal of Eastside Catholic High School announced yesterday that he plans to file a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Seattle and the School for his firing after it was learned he married his same-sex partner, according to The Houston Chronicle . Mark Zmuda was reportedly forced to resign in December. The school had stated that Zmuda had signed an employment agreement to act in accordance with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church . By legally marrying his same-sex partner, he broke that agreement, according to the School. Many students at the School almost immediately responded by creating an online petition and calling on the Catholic Church to end its opposition to same-sex marriage, as was  reported .  The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed in King County Superior Court today, claims that the Archdiocese and the School discrimina

Clio Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Robert George, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University and author of  Embryo: A Defense of Human Life,  recently mounted an interesting defense of Catholic schools ’ right to hire and fire for mission. That right has come into question in recent months, since same-sex marriage was legalized in several states and some teachers and administrators at Catholic schools were fired or asked to resign after their same-sex marriage came to light. The media in reporting these cases has often portrayed the schools in a bad light, students and alumni have created petitions and loudly protested, and questions about the legality of the schools’ decisions have been raised. Writing at the  Mirror of Justice  blog, George posited a hypothetical case of a Muslim school with a popular vice principal “Mr. Khalil” who rejected the faith’s prohibitions against alcohol, sexuality and modesty

January 24, 2014 ( Cardinal Newman Society ) - A Jesuit parish priest who marched in a homosexual parade is now citing Pope Francis to protest the dismissal of an Eastside Catholic High School vice principal following his same-sex marriage, according to the priest’s  Facebook site . In December, The Cardinal Newman Society  reported  on the  forced resignation  of Vice Principal Mark Zmuda at a Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Seattle . Students at Eastside Catholic High School subsequently created a petition at  Change.org , calling on the Catholic Church to end its opposition to same-sex marriage.  The students are also reportedly planning a “Z day” nationwide protest on January 31 to support Zmuda and urge a change in Church teaching. In light of the burgeoning protests, Father John Whitney, S.J., wrote in his piece entitled “ The Acts of the Orange and Blue Apostles ” that he believes Pope Francis would approve of the students’ protests and that they are

HARRISBURG, PA, December 17, 2013 – A Pennsylvania lawmaker has proposed a bill that would forbid Catholic schools from enforcing the Catholic church's teachings on homosexuality in parochial schools, a measure its critics are calling “ludicrous” and “dangerous to basic human freedoms.” The bill gained new life after  Holy Ghost Preparatory School in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem fired Michael Griffin , who taught French and Italian. Griffin lives in  New Jersey, where a county superior court judge legalized same-sex “marriage”  in September, a decision that stood after Republican Governor  Chris Christie dropped his appeal . After the ruling, Griffin and his homosexual partner contracted a same-sex “marriage.” State Sen. Daylin Leach , D-Montgomery Headmaster and school President Father James McCloskey noted that Griffin's contract “requires all faculty and staff to follow the teachings of the Church as a condition of their employment.” The Catholic Churc

December 4, 2013 ( The Cardinal Newman Society ) - The Rev. John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame , explained in a recent  article in  The Observer  that he created an Oversight Committee on Diversity and Inclusion to create a welcoming atmosphere on campus that “go[es] across all areas” of campus for students, faculty, and staff.  He said that the committee “seeks to implement concrete changes on campus, but noticeable progress will not occur overnight.” In the article, Fr. Jenkins is quoted lauding the steps already taken towards this goal: I think that we have made progress. The creation of the GLBTQ group [Prism-ND] is a big step forward, and I hope that’s successful… But there are other areas of the University where maybe we need to think about, for instance, how to incorporate international students. … They bring great gifts, but perhaps we need to make sure that they’re fully included. … Sometimes individuals from underrepresented minorities … feel that Notre Dame cou

SANTA CLARA, CA , December 7, 2012, ( Cardinal Newman Society )—The University of Santa Clara , a Jesuit University, hosts a blog called “Same Sex Tax Law ” that not only offers analysis of the tax ramifications of the changing institution of marriage for the gay, lesbian, and transgendered but it’s written by a law professor who publicly roots for same-sex “marriage” right on the university’s website. Professor Patricia Cain, whose areas of expertise include federal taxation, feminist legal theory , and gay and lesbian issues, recently thanked Minnesota voters on the Jesuit university’s website for their vote against upholding traditional marriage and called repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) ”a step in the right direction.” Immediately following the election, Cain wrote a  blog post  which included a word of thanks to Minnesota voters: It would be sweet justice of a sort if Minnesota were now to reject the constitutional denial of marriage equality. And they

SAN DIEGO, October 25, 2012, ( Cardinal Newman Society )—The University of San Diego (USD) will host a lecture series by a radical theologian from England who not only supports abortion but has used just war theory and the imagery of the Trinity to support killing the unborn, advocated sacramental same-sex marriage, and even compared the sacrifice of the Mass to homosexual intercourse . USD’s  stated mission  includes being “committed to the dignity and fullest development of the whole person.” Just last month, Bishop Declan Lang of the English Diocese of Clifton   cancelled  a lecture by theology professor Tina Beattie , the Director of the Digby Stuart Research Centre for Religion, Society and Human Flourishing at the University of Roehampton in London, because of her radical views. But that isn’t stopping USD’s Center for Catholic Thought and Culture (CCTC) from proudly hosting her as a visiting fellow for the fall semester. Ironically, the University uses the CCTC a