Court rules private Catholic school cannot be forced to hire staff member who is in same-sex union

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A federal court ruled Wednesday that the government cannot force a private Catholic school in Indiana to renew the contract of a staff member who entered into a same-sex union against the teachings of the Catholic Church, CBN reports.

Guidance counselor Lynn Starkey first launched the lawsuit against Roncalli High School and Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 2019, CBN said. Having been told her contract with the school would not be renewed because she had entered a same-sex union in violation of Catholic teaching, Starkey filed suit, accusing the school of “discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment.”

Attorneys for the school and Archdiocese argued the government cannot force a private Catholic school to hire staff who live in violation of church teachings, CBN reports. Every administrator, teacher, and guidance counselor at the school is expected to uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church privately and professionally: the plaintiff breached her employment contract by entering a same-sex marriage, the school argued.

Ruling in favor of the school, the Southern Indiana District Court, Indianapolis division, determined that “the decision to not renew Starkey’s employment contract goes to the heart of the church’s right to ‘select and control who will minister to the faithful.'”

In a statement about the ruling, the school’s attorney Luke Goodrich said: “Religious groups have a constitutional right to hire people who agree with their religious beliefs and practices. At all levels of the judiciary, courts have made clear that the government has no place interfering with a religious organization’s decision about who can pass on the faith to the next generation.”

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