Catholic school in Italy fined for firing gay teacher

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ROME (RNS) A Catholic school in northern Italy has been found guilty of discriminating against a gay teacher in a case sparked when a nun quizzed the employee on her sexual orientation.
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The Daughters of the Sacred Heart Institute in Trento was ordered to pay 25,000 euros ($28,500) to the female teacher, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported on Thursday (June 23).
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In addition, the school was told to pay 1,500 euros each to a labor union and civil rights association.
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religionnews.com/2016/06/23/catholic-school-in-italy-fined-for-firing-gay-teacher/
 
from article said:
“The use of contraceptives, choices such as cohabitation, divorce, abortion, are among the most intimate decisions a person can make and must not concern an employer…"
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The world is going to hell in a handbasket, as the expression goes.
 
meltzerboy said:
Religious schools must be free to set their own criteria for hiring and firing faculty, administrators, and staff.
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I agree, as should all schools. I used to be in favour of these sorts of government interventions, but now I prefer a free-choice approach. If a school is known to selectively fire homosexuals,and if you are morally disgusted by this, then move to a school that is indifferent. If enough people follow suit - that school that rejects gays will be defunded and cut off. (Obviously, the converse is also true). Involving identity politics in government is a sure fire way to divide a community.
 
I think the opening post quote missed the most important lines:
The teacher — whose name was withheld — told the court that in July 2014 she was called into a meeting with the mother superior, who asked her to clarify rumors that she was living with a female partner.
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The mother superior reportedly justified her questions by reminding the teacher she worked in a religious institution where there were children who needed to be protected.
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In response to the mother superior’s questioning, the teacher refused to discuss her sexual orientation and subsequently her job contract was not renewed. The school said its hiring decision was taken to protect its educational project, while also claiming the teacher was guilty of improper conduct.
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They fired her because there were rumours that and they assumed she was gay after she refused to answer the question perhaps because that is an extremely prying question.
 
Joie_de_Vivre said:
They fired her because there were rumours that and they assumed she was gay after she refused to answer the question perhaps because that is an extremely prying question.
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Yes, and it may be related to why the court ruled in her favor. Here is the relevant passage from the Italian newspaper which Religion News Service summarized:
Corriere della Sera:
La libertà religiosa non giustifica discriminazioni

Tra i passaggi più importanti dell’ordinanza c’è quello in cui il magistrato esclude che si possa applicare alla vicenda in esame la «clausola di salvaguardia» prevista «per le cosiddette organizzazioni di tendenza».

La legge italiana infatti prevede che «non costituiscono atti di discriminazione ai sensi dell’articolo 2 le differenze di trattamento basate sulla professione di una determinata religione o di determinate convinzioni personali che siano praticate nell’ambito di enti religiosi o altre organizzazioni pubbliche o private, qualora tale religione o tali convinzioni personali, per la natura delle attività professionali svolte da detti enti o organizzazioni o per il contesto in cui esse sono espletate, costituiscano requisito essenziale, legittimo e giustificato ai fini dello svolgimento delle medesime attività».

Ma, afferma il Tribunale di Rovereto «nel caso qui in esame è stata perpetrata una discriminazione per orientamento sessuale e non per motivi religiosi» e quindi non vale l’eccezione garantita dalla legge dalla legge «atteso che l’orientamento sessuale di un’insegnante» è «certamente estraneo alla tendenza ideologica dell’Istituto».
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corriere.it/cronache/16_giugno_23/trento-condannata-scuola-cattolica-discrimino-insegnante-ritenuta-gay-bb7efb34-3906-11e6-8ed6-effe53090867.shtml

I can not read Italian, but the Google translation seems to say that private life of the teacher doesn’t interfere with the essential service of teaching children, notwithstand the Church’s teachings on homosexuality:
Google Translate:
Freedom of religion does not justify discrimination

Among the most important steps of the order is one in which the magistrate rule that can be applied to the case at hand the ‘safeguard clause’ provided 'for so-called ideological organization. "

The Italian law provides that "do not constitute acts of discrimination under Article 2 of the differences of treatment based on the profession of a particular religion or certain beliefs that are practiced as part of religious bodies or other public or private organizations, if this religion or such belief, the nature of the professional activities of such institutions or organizations or of the context in which they are carried out, constitute essential requirement, legitimate and justified for the purpose of carrying out the same activities. "

But, says the Court of Rovereto 'in the case at issue here has been discrimination based on sexual orientation and not for religious reasons, “and so not worth the exception guaranteed by law by law” since the sexual orientation of a teacher “it is” certainly no stranger to the ideological tendency of the Institute. "
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In the opionion of alot of people out there, this is one of the cases where the Church is guilty of marginalizing homosexuals.
 
Many years ago the principal of my elementary school was gay (according to persistent rumor.) It certainly didn’t hurt his job performance, he was a very good principal. As long as a homosexual teacher keeps her private life separate from her job, as all teachers should, no harm can be done. Pedophile priests can’t and don’t, and so cause untold harm, yet have been shielded by the Church for many years. This is one reason why being so ready to fire gay teachers makes the Church look so bad.
 
billsannie said:
Many years ago the principal of my elementary school was gay (according to persistent rumor.) It certainly didn’t hurt his job performance, he was a very good principal. As long as a homosexual teacher keeps her private life separate from her job, as all teachers should, no harm can be done. Pedophile priests can’t and don’t, and so cause untold harm, yet have been shielded by the Church for many years. This is one reason why being so ready to fire gay teachers makes the Church look so bad.
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I agree that as long as it doesn’t affect performance, it’s ok. Buuuut, whereas pedophilia isn’t socially normative, people are quickly branded haters for upholding Biblical anthropology. I think it would be a difficult demand to expect someone to teach or set an example openly contrary to what one is living. At school functions, or whatever, spouses sometimes attend. I see all kinds of quandaries, like cognitive dissonance for starters. It would be like expecting a married person to act single in public, or being told to not let your religion influence your life. The potential problems in a teaching atmosphere seem pretty straightforward to me. Much more so if one is an actual theology teacher.
 
zz912 said:
Because it is disordered and someone living such a lifestyle contradicts Church teaching.
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Perhaps they’re not a member of the church and therefore do not consider themselves “disordered.” :rolleyes:
 
Strydersroom said:
Perhaps they’re not a member of the church and therefore do not consider themselves “disordered.” :rolleyes:
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Then perhaps they shouldn’t try to work for a Catholic school. Every job has rules; if one can’t abide by them, perhaps they shouldn’t work there.
 
LRThunder said:
Then perhaps they shouldn’t try to work for a Catholic school. Every job has rules; if one can’t abide by them, perhaps they shouldn’t work there.
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They fired her because they thought she might be gay and she didn’t deny it when they asked her, not because she was in a “gay marriage” or anything.
 
Strydersroom said:
Perhaps they’re not a member of the church and therefore do not consider themselves “disordered.” :rolleyes:
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The orientation is objectively disordered according to Catholic teaching and it doesn’t matter at all whether or not the person considers herself to be disordered.

Home schooling is a great option!
 
_Abyssinia said:
This article provides more information: corriere.it/english/16_giugno_23/catholic-school-to-pay-damages-to-lesbian-teacher-5d5776a8-3960-11e6-8ed6-effe53090867.shtml
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I agree with the decision. There is actually no evidence whatsoever that she was living a homosexual lifestyle and no inference that her alleged behavior impacted her teaching or that her students had even an inkling of the circumstances of her private life . The school compounded the problem by coming up with a series of excuses as to why she was fired before admitting they fired her because she refused to answer questions about her sexual behavior .
 
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