A state judge in Massachusetts ruled that an all-girls Catholic school discriminated against a man in a same-sex marriage by rescinding a job offer extended to him.
The decision of Fontbonne Academy in Milton to withdraw a job offer to Matthew Barrett over his relationship with Ed Suplee violates the state's discrimination laws, the court said.
Barrett was to serve as the academy's food services director in 2013, but days later, he was notified that the he would not be given the job, after he listed his husband as an emergency contact.
The judge rejected the school's argument that hiring Barrett would be against their constitutional right to religious freedom because his views on marriage did not fit their mission.
The court said that Barrett's role in food services would not include participating in proclaiming teachings of Catholic Church. According to Judge Wilkins, the academy cannot justify rescinding the offer based on religious exclusion accommodation because the Catholic school does employ non-Catholics in teaching jobs, with the exception of positions as administrators and theology teachers. The school is also open to enrolling non-Catholics as students.
The court based its decision on the rule that religious exemption to the anti-discriminatory law is applicable only if the concerned organization is exclusive to a particular religion or sect.
"As an educational institution, Fontbonne retains control over its mission and message. It is not forced to allow Barrett to dilute that message, where he will not be a teacher, minister or spokesman for Fontbonne and has not engaged in public advocacy of same-sex marriage," said Norfolk Court Judge Douglas Wilkins.
The school is also liable for lost wages and compensatory damages for not hiring Barret, which is expected to be taken up in the subsequent hearings. It is not known if the academy will challenge the ruling.
"Marriage equality has been the law of Massachusetts for over a decade and is now the law of the land," argued Ben Klein of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Barrett's attorney. "But you can't have equality if you can get married on Saturday and fired on Monday."
However, writing for the National Catholic Register, Matthew Archbold said that it was not up to the government to dismiss the school's claim to a "ministerial exception," in hiring Barrett as food director. He expressed his objection with court's ruling which declared that Barrett's job as food director had nothing to do with the Catholic school's religious mission.
He said that the judge "took it upon himself to decide what was and wasn't a part of the Catholic school's religious mission."
Archbold continued, "In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Hosanna-Tabor v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, severely restricted the right of the government to decide for a religious school who is and who is not considered a minister. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously, specifically saying that it is 'impermissible for the government to contradict a church's determination of who can act as its ministers.'"
Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, said that since rights asserted by various groups are increasingly coming in legal conflicts with religious freedom, these issues are likely to take the center stage in the national discussions leading up to the next presidential election.
"America's security and prosperity will elude us as a nation unless the religious liberty of America's citizens are fully restored and protected," Perkins told the Christian Post. "The question we must ask the presidential candidates, and expect them to answer, is: 'Will you restore religious freedom, the freedom to believe, and live according to those beliefs in America?'"
