Philly archdiocese denies it blocked petitions backing fired gay teacher
PHILADELPHIA, PA, August 5, 2015 (LifeSiteNews)
-- Media reports stating that the woman fired from a Philadelphia-area Catholic
school eight years after entering
into a homosexual “marriage” was barred
Monday from delivering a box of petitions to Philadelphia’s archbishop are
“entirely false,” the Archdiocese of Philadelphia tells LifeSiteNews.
A security guard reportedly refused Margie Winters entry to the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia offices, according to a Philly.com report, because
the building was supposedly on lock-down.
"Because I'm so threatening," Winters is reported to
have kidded with the guard, handing him the box with a request to deliver it to
Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
The story was also published by the Huffington Post, with the headline Fired
Lesbian Catholic School Teacher Locked Out Of Archdiocese While Trying To
Deliver Petitions, and
picked up by numerous other outlets as well.
Archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin told LifeSiteNews the building
was not on lock-down, and that one locked door is the source of the erroneous
report. Of the three entrance doors on the front of the building, two standard
and one an automatic sliding door, Gavin said, the sliding door was locked,
apparently generating the false lock-down reports.
Gavin said as well the security guard went out front because he
saw the group of 50 people accompanying Winters in front of the building. The
guard politely greeted Winters, he said, and accepted the box with the
petition.
Winters was dismissed from Mercy Waldron Catholic School in Merion
Station, PA, on June 22 after declining a request to resign. She had been the
school’s director of religious education for eight years, and for the entire
time of her employment, with the school administration's knowledge, she was
legally “married” to another woman.
Her termination occurred after some parents learned of Winters’
"marriage" and complained, one to the school and another to the
Philadelphia archdiocese.
While the archdiocese had released a statement clarifying it was not involved in the school's
personnel decision, the Mercy Waldron’s statement appeared to conflict with
this, saying that the school “recognizes the authority of the Archbishop of
Philadelphia,” fueling assumptions the archdiocese was behind the firing.
Archbishop Chaput later issued a statement on
the matter, commending the school and the Mercy Sisters for maintaining
Catholic identity:
Schools describing themselves as
Catholic take on the responsibility of teaching and witnessing the Catholic
faith in a manner true to Catholic belief. There's nothing complicated or
controversial in this. It's a simple matter of honesty.
I'm very grateful to the Religious Sisters of Mercy
and to the principal and board members of Waldron Mercy for taking the steps to
ensure that the Catholic faith is presented in a way fully in accord with the
teaching of the Church. They've shown character and common sense at a moment
when both seem to be uncommon.
A group of parents and others upset over Winters’ firing started
Facebook and GoFundMe pages, some still
holding the
archdiocese responsible, and vowing they would not accept the dismissal.
Winters’ partner also wrote to
Pope Francis asking him
to intervene.
In the Philly.com report, Winters questioned the archdiocese's
contention that it had no hand in her firing, saying it was an anonymous
complaint to the archdiocese in June that "very quickly" set her
termination in motion.
"It wasn't until the archdiocese was notified that
something changed," Winters said. "You can draw your own
conclusions."
The petition she delivered on Monday was organized by a
group called Faithful America, which bills itself as “the largest and
fastest-growing online community of Christians putting faith into action for
social justice.” The online group has organized against Hobby Lobby for
objecting to the ObamaCare HHS contraception mandate and several other
organizations not in line with its agenda.
The petition is addressed to Archbishop Chaput and states:
"Margie Winters' firing was unjust and contrary to Catholic values, and
she should be reinstated immediately. Please inform the school's leadership
that you will not interfere with their staffing or threaten their status as a
Catholic school."
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia disputed the petition’s premise
of its involvement in Winters’ firing, and maintained support for the school’s
action to uphold Catholic identity. They provided the following statement to
LifeSiteNews:
The basis of the petition itself
is problematic. As has been noted several times, Waldron Mercy is a private
Catholic school and does not fall under the administrative purview of the
Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It’s wrong for any individual or group to
perpetuate the falsehood that the Archbishop interfered with the school’s
personnel decisions.
That being said, Archbishop Chaput continues to fully
support the decision made by the leadership of Waldron Mercy. He remains
grateful to the Religious Sisters of Mercy and to the principal and board
members of Waldron Mercy for taking the steps to ensure that the Catholic faith
is presented in a way fully in accord with the teaching of the Church. Schools
describing themselves as Catholic take on the responsibility of teaching and
witnessing the Catholic faith in a manner true to Catholic belief. The petition
being presented does not change that stance.
