|
|
WINDY CITY TIMES
|
|---|
|
|
|
Catholic HS fires gay teacher seeking marriage license
HRC to school: Heed Pope Francis, end unjust discrimination
2013-12-09
|
|
This article shared 3863 times since Mon Dec 9, 2013
|
|
From a press release
Washington — The Human Rights Campaign is calling on Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, PA to immediately cease discriminatory employment practices targeting their LGBT teachers. Last week, Michael Griffin, a teacher at Holy Ghost Prep, emailed the principal of the school telling him he might be late on Friday because he was applying for a marriage license to marry his partner Vincent Giannetto. After an in-service day, Griffin was called into the office of School President Father James McCloskey with Principal Jeffrey Danilak, where Father McCloskey told him if he went through with getting married to Giannetto he would be terminated. Griffin and Giannetto continued with their plans and applied for a marriage license. Griffin was terminated the same day. Griffin's firing is part of a disturbing trend. Fifteen LGBT teachers have been fired from Catholic schools in the past two years alone.
"Michael Griffin served his school, and more importantly his students well for 12 years as a French and Spanish teacher, only to be fired for making a commitment to the person he loves," said Dr. Sharon Groves, director of the HRC Religion and Faith Program. "Even as Pope Francis is sending a hopeful message to LGBT Catholics around the world, it's shameful that these discriminatory terminations are happening more and more frequently every day."
Recent polling found that 86 percent of Christians believed the very tenets of their faith compelled them to support protections for LGBT people under the law—and American Catholics are leading the way in their support for equality.
According to news reports, school administration was aware that Griffin was gay, but never before threatened him with termination until he applied for a marriage license.
Holy Ghost Preparatory School is a Catholic, all-boys high school. Under federal statutory and constitutional provisions, religious institutions are able to make employment decisions based on their faith traditions. That doesn't mean this kind of discrimination has to happen. HRC calls on Holy Ghost Prep officials to end these unjust practices.
|
|
|
|
This article shared 3863 times since Mon Dec 9, 2013
|
| ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE |
|---|
| 
|  | Chicago Pride Parade downsizing: Politicians, corporations most affected, but private schools could still be in
2024-04-16
Nearly 100 groups are on the waitlist to be in this year's Chicago Pride Parade after city officials mandated the annual event be cut by almost 40 percent. The waitlist for the June 30 parade includes ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools
2024-04-12
Twenty-four-year-old Latina trans woman and makeup artist Meraxes Medina was fatally shot in Los Angeles, according to the website them, citing The Los Angeles Times. Authorities told the Times they found Medina's broken fingernail and a ...
| 
| | WORLD Lesbian sniper, HIV research, marriage items, Chinese singer, Korean festival
2024-04-05
A lesbian Ukrainian sniper and her machine-gun-toting girlfriend are taking the fight to Russia President Vladimir Putin, according to a Daily Beast article. Olga—a veterinarian-turned-soldier—said her comrades don't care about ...
| 
| | Nex Benedict's autopsy report released
2024-03-27
The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)—a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fight—has been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...
| 
| | Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
2024-03-27
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...
| 
| | An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...
| 
| | No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal
2024-03-22
In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist
2024-03-21
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...
| 
| | NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...
| 
| | PASSAGES Bryan Dean Wilson
2024-03-14
Bryan Dean Wilson, 64, of Chicago, passed away March 11. Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bryan graduated from Washington High school in Cedar Rapids before earning his B.S. in Biology from Mount Mercy University, also in ...
| 
| | UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds
2024-03-13
A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...
| 
| | Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...
| 
| | Federal investigation initiated in Nex Benedict case
2024-03-02
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has started an investigation into the Oklahoma school district where Nex Benedict, a transgender 16-year-old sophomore, went to school and was bullied before his death, The Advocate ...
| 
| | NATIONAL School items, HIV/AIDS activist dies, Nex Benedict, inclusive parade
2024-03-01
In a new survey, the Pew Research Center asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the U.S. public about the ongoing scrutiny placed on classroom curricula, mainly regarding race and LGBTQ+ identities, ABC News noted. Among other ...
| 
| | Activists and others urge removal of Oklahoma schools superintendent after Nex Benedict death
2024-02-28
TULSA, OKLAHOMA—Today more than 350 national, state, and local organizations advocating for equality across the U.S., alongside notable public figures, issued an open letter to Oklahoma legislative leadership urging justice ...
| | |
|
|
|
|
