Anyone who has followed this blog for some time will know that I am a freedom of speech and freedom of religion kind of guy. I believe that the United States Constitution is the second most important document ever written. The first being the Bible. Because of this I believe everyone has the right to work where they want. But…

I also believe that an employer has the right to require their employees to uphold the doctrines of their employers. The latest case in point is the case of a Catholic school teacher in Miami being fired (or so she claims) for being gay.The problem is she wasn’t fired for being gay, but rather for marrying her same-sex partner. Isn’t that the same thing you ask? No it isn’t. An article in Catholic Stand, “3 Distinctions When Catholics are Accused of ‘Discrimination‘” explains why much better than I can.

From the NBC News story comes this:

“This weekend I married the love of my life and unfortunately I was terminated from my job as a result,” Morffi said in a post on social media. “In their eyes I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner.”

Isn’t there only one kind of Catholic? Sure there are all kinds of labels for Catholics: Cafeteria, Reverts, Converts, Falling Away, are just a few. But there really is only one kind of “right” Catholic – Devout. You either believe in what the Catholic church teaches or you don’t. You can’t pick and choose the pieces you want to believe and follow, you need to practice it all.

I am the first to admit I was one of those who used to do just that. I would pick what I wanted to believe and what I wanted to ignore. Eventually I ignored it all. I used to say that I personally was pro-life but believed in a woman’s right to choose. I wasn’t a true Catholic. I used to think there was nothing wrong with contraception. I wasn’t a true Catholic. For the sake of brevity I won’t go on. It wasn’t until I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church that I realized I was wrong and why. I may not agree with the teachings of the Church, but I understand and follow them.

When I fell off that truck all those years ago I began to examine all the different religious denominations  out there. There are thousands of them. I wondered why. Why so many and on;y one Catholic church? Okay, technically there are two, but I am referring to the Roman Catholic Church. I realized the reason was because Catholics have had the same belief systems for 2000 years. They haven’t changed their teachings on marriage, abortion, contraception, who can be priests, anything just because of the way the political winds are blowing. They have held true, and will continue to hold true to their beliefs.

If you don’t want to follow the rules of the Catholic Church, then leave and start your own. Why do you think there are so many different denominations? If you don’t want to follow the Catholic way of life then don’t apply to be a teacher at a Catholic school. It really is that simple. Catholic schools are private institutions, supported by private funds. They can set the rules for who can work for them. The one rule is you must follow the teachings of the church, including their sacraments to work for them.

I’m sure there will be a lawsuit, or at the very least this school will lose some pupils, and the parish some families. And that is sad, but perhaps those who lose aren’t the “right” kind of Catholics.

It isn’t easy to be a practicing, devout Catholic. But if you believe, then you will sacrifice what needs to be sacrificed and do what needs to be done..

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