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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Supreme Court sided with two Catholic schools in a ruling Wednesday underscoring that certain employees of religious schools, hospitals and social service centers can’t sue for employment discrimination.
The high court’s ruling was 7-2, with two liberal justices joining the conservative majority for the schools. The justices had previously said in a unanimous 2012 decision that the Constitution prevents ministers from suing their churches for employment discrimination. The court said then that the required separation of church and state means that religious groups must be allowed to hire and fire individuals who serve as teachers or messengers of their faith, without court interference. But the court didn’t rigidly define who counts as a minister.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion Tuesday that allowing courts to consider workplace discrimination claims against the schools would interfere with the schools’ çonstitutionally guaranteed religious independence.
“The religious education and formation of students is the very reason for the existence of most private religious schools, and therefore the selection and supervision of the teachers upon whom the schools rely to do this work lie at the core of their mission,” Alito wrote.
In dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that as many as 100,000 employees could lose the right to contest job discrimination as a result of the ruling.
“The Court reaches this result even though the teachers taught primarily secular subjects, lacked substantial religious titles and training, and were not even required to be Catholic,” Sotomayor wrote in an opinion that was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
At least three Indianapolis schools—Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School, Roncalli High School and Cathedral High School—have been caught up in high-profile situations in recent years involving employment decisions about workers in same-sex relationships. Roncalli and Cathedral both were sued after dismissing employees. Brebeuf had a falling out with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis after it refused to fire a gay teacher.
In a statement, Eric Rassbach, the lawyer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who argued the case for the schools, called the decision a “huge win for religious schools of all faith traditions.”
“The last thing government officials should do is decide who is authorized to teach Catholicism to Catholics or Judaism to Jews. We are glad the Court has resoundingly reaffirmed that churches and synagogues, not government, control who teaches kids about God,” he said.
The case was one of 10 the high court heard arguments in by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It involved two schools in Southern California that were sued by former teachers. In one case, Kristen Biel sued St. James Catholic School in Torrance for disability discrimination after she disclosed she had breast cancer and her teaching contract wasn’t renewed.
In the other case, Agnes Morrissey-Berru sued Our Lady of Guadalupe school in Hermosa Beach for age discrimination after her teaching contract wasn’t renewed when she was in her 60s. The lawsuits were both initially dismissed, but an appeals court revived them. The Trump administration had backed the schools.
Biel died last year at age 54 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. Her husband has represented her side in her place.
Lawyers for Biel and Morrissey-Berru did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Huge win for bigots and sexual predators!
This is troubling in a state where religious schools receive state aid.
““The Court reaches this result even though the teachers taught primarily secular subjects, lacked substantial religious titles and training, and were not even required to be Catholic,” Sotomayor wrote in an opinion that was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.”
But they did sign a “contract” that was very explicit. It has nothing to do with secular subject matter, substantial religious titles or training, it is contract law. If you don’t like the contract either negotiate to amend or refuse to sign.
BINGO, Steve; spot-on.
Signed a contract.
Amen to that ruling.
Great ruling!
The Church sounds so welcoming…..
The Church has doctrine, direction from God, join if you wish…if not, God Bless you and do your own thing.
This is definitely troubling in a state where religious schools receive state aide. I’m certainly not in favor of my tax money going to bigots and predatory, child-molesting priests.
I pay my taxes, pay to send my children to Catholic Schools, am not a bigot and understand that men/women are flawed and while awful things have happened, this does not turn my attention from Jesus Christ. Good on you if you have it figured out, I am still working on it and put my faith in the Lord our God, Jesus.
Catholics pay taxes (20% of the population), so regarding receipt of “state aid” a ridiculous argument. And regarding the claim of bigotry, it’s actually the anti-Catholics who are bigots and discriminate. Catholics are still the ONLY group where it is fine to make bigoted comments, jokes, etc. This has been true since the founding of our country. If the same were done regarding Muslims, Jews, Black, Gay, etc. people would lose their jobs today. But no problem when it comes to ‘Catholic’ bigotry, jokes, etc. A simple sampling of nightly “entertainment” shows reveals this. And lastly, there are FAR more sexual predators in public schools and public groups than Catholics. Simply google sexual abuse in public schools and read all about it.
I think you need to correct your story. Your story makes it sound as if Brebeuf was involved in a lawsuit with a former employee over discrimination. That is not the case as Brebeuf chose not to fire the teacher as directed by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. When you click the link to Brebeuf it is discussing the lawsuit that involved Cathedral High School and the firing of the employee over same-sex marriage.
Catholics pay tax, not the Church. No public aid for church operated schools.
Vouchers?
So, let me see if I’ve got this straight (no pun intended). Religious schools and institutions can blatantly hide and cover-up multiple acts of pedophilia, but will not condone a committed monogamous relationship. Yep, that makes sense…
Let me get this straight, you are better than who?…The Church has issues and I weep for the sins of the Church but do not feel that it needs to apologize for the teachings of Jesus Christ.
At first I was clearly on the side of Churches as that constitutional argument made sense, but when I heard the stores of the two individuals who brought the case I felt very sorry for them. A church should not have cancelled either of their contracts for age or health if that is in fact what happened. Having experience ageism in the tech industry over the past 10 years and with no way to prove it I think the individuals rights should be protected even if it’s a “religious business”. As a conservative I must say I side with the minority on this one..