Teacher left jobless after school finds out they support LGBT community
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Madison, Wisconsin is under fire (Facebook)
A Wisconsin teacher has been left without a job, after a Catholic school allegedly withdrew an offer of employment over their support for LGBT+ rights.
The teacher told WISC-TV that they had accepted an offer and signed a contract for a job at at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Madison, Wisconsin.
However, the school decided to withdrew its job offer after finding an old Pride banner on the new teacher’s Facebook page.
The teacher, referred to by the news outlet as Sam, does not wish to be named publicly as it may jeopardise their search for further employment.
Job offer allegedly withdrawn over Pride banner on Facebook
Sam alleges that they were confronted by a senior staff members over the Facebook banner, explaining: “They asked me about [the Facebook banner], and I was like: ‘I will be honest. I do support the LGBT community.’
“And what she said then: ‘That’s fine. You’ll have to take it down. We all have our own personal values.'”
Sam agreed to remove the post and keep their views on LGBT+ issues private.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Madison, Wisconsin is under fire (File photo)
However, after objections were also raised to a “nasty women” bumper sticker, the school ultimately opted to revoke the job offer.
Sam explained: “[A staff member] said, ‘We’re rescinding your contract. The priest wasn’t very happy with the LGBT post.'”
The teacher, who was raised Catholic, is now jobless.
They said: “You can still hold certain values and be part of the Catholic faith and the Catholic community. So I’m still kind of shocked that it’s 2019 and this is still happening.”
Catholic school says there were ‘multiple indications’ that teacher held ‘contrary’ views
In a statement to the outlet, the school said: “All teachers in a Catholic school are expected to comport themselves publicly in a way that is consistent with Church moral teachings.
“Multiple clear indications emerged and were brought to the school’s attention, that the teacher publicly held positions contrary to Church teachings.
“After consulting with the pastor, the decision was made to rescind/terminate the contract.”
