An article from a Seattle newspaper discusses a topic familiar here — the collision of church and employment as same-sex marriage becomes increasingly legal. Those who avail themselves of legal rights sometimes  — but not always — lose jobs with Catholic institutions on account of church opposition to such unions.

The article includes a reference to Tippi McCullough, who was forced to resign from her teaching job of 14 years at Mount St. Mary Academy after she married Barbara Mariani.

Advertisement

How such violations are handled by schools and parishes, where most of the terminations across the country tracked by New Ways [an advocacy group for gay Catholics] have occurred, differs from one employer to another and from diocese to diocese.

The teacher from the Philadelphia suburb, for example, said his sexual orientation was never a secret and that he and his partner used to attend faculty parties together.

In Columbus, Ohio, a teacher was fired after listing her female partner’s name in her mother’s obituary, and in Minnesota, a teacher said she was fired after she indicated on a school evaluation her personal conviction favoring same-sex marriage.

Still, employees and experts say policies are seldom equally enforced — the teacher who uses birth control, the organist cohabiting or the divorced principal who remarried without having the first marriage annulled.

“Imagine if we couldn’t hire sinners,” quipped one local church official, noting that sin can be forgiven

.

50 years of fearless reporting and still going strong

Be a part of something bigger and join the fight for truth by subscribing or donating to the Arkansas Times. For 50 years, our progressive, alternative newspaper in Little Rock has been tackling powerful forces through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 email subscribers, it's clear that our readers value our commitment to great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing or donating – as little as $1 –, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be supporting our efforts to hire more writers and expand our coverage. Take a stand with the Arkansas Times and make a difference with your subscription or donation today.

Previous article French Hill, Republican congressional candidate, touts money effort Next article Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson!) to perform comedy show at UCA