Seth Udinski, FISM News
This past week, a federal court defended the rights to the freedom of religion for Roncalli Catholic High School in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Lynn Starkey, a lesbian and former teacher at the institution, had filed a lawsuit against Roncalli High School because of her recent termination from employment due to her marriage to another woman. The US District Court of Indianapolis ruled against Starkey and protected the rights of Roncalli High School to obey its religious teaching and exercise their right to hire staff who align with their doctrine.
This is not only an important victory for the Roman Catholic Church; it is also a victory for anyone who values the freedom of religion in the United States. Vice president and senior counsel at Becket Law Firm, Luke Goodrich, accurately summed up the outcome of the case, despite many who are claiming the courts violated Starkey’s protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation:
Today’s ruling is common sense: religious groups have a constitutional right to hire people who agree with their religious beliefs and practices….At all levels of the judiciary, courts have made clear that the government has no place interfering with a religious organization’s decision about who can pass on the faith to the next generation.
According to some sources, the school is waiting the outcome of another case almost identical to this one of a former guidance counselor at Roncalli named Shelley Fitzgerald. Fiztgerald was also relieved of her duties for partaking in a homosexual relationship.