Thursday, February 9, 2023 – A Gay teacher at a Catholic school in Colorado has been fired from her job after officials found out she was in a relationship with a woman and saw a picture of her kissing her girlfriend.
The teacher identified as Maggie Barton taught technology and media – and also coached basketball at All Souls Catholic School in Englewood, Denver, for six years before she was sacked for breaking her contract and her ‘promise to parents’ on January 25.
The decision to fire her came about following an investigation by the Archdiocese of Denver, who found an image of her kissing another woman online.
The religious leaders – headed by Bishop Samuel J. Aquila – justified their actions, saying that all teachers are required to sign a contract ensuring that they will live their lives adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Before her dismissal, Barton taught kids from kindergarten through to eighth grade. She has now spoken about the outpouring of support that she has received from the All Souls community telling Colorado Public Radio that it has been ‘incredible’ and ‘overwhelming.’
The educator said in that interview that she would regularly play guitar with the school choir during mass. She said: ‘It’s hard for me right now to figure out how to navigate what my faith looks like because of all this.’
Desires, without actually acting on them, are not in themselves sinful.
However, the church would argue that they have ‘proof’ that homosexual, sinful acts have occurred after viewing the image of Barton kissing her girlfriend.
Barton told the Post that she had been mindful not to post photos of herself with her partner on social media, even though she had been living openly as an LGBTQ+ person.
During her freshman year at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Barton said that she came out to her family.
Barton accepted a teaching position at All Souls in 2017. Discussing her love of teaching in an interview with Fox31, Barton said: ‘I just absolutely fell in love with it. I was like, “This is what I’m supposed to be doing.”‘
She added: ‘It’s discrimination. There’s no other word for it. To be terminated from a position because of my sexual orientation. That’s discrimination.’
Barton said that she grew up attending Catholic schools in her home state of Texas. According to her Facebook page, she attended Bishop Lynch High School.
Speaking to CBS Denver, Barton said: ‘It is the faith I was raised in, and I wanted to teach in a catholic school because I wanted to share those values that I learned and the experience that I had with future students.’
In that interview, Barton stressed how happy she was in her job at All Saints and added that she felt as though she would never leave the school.
She also said: ‘I have a hard time understanding how being in a same-sex relationship or someone’s sexual orientation hinders your ability to do that.’
The day before she found out that the was being fired, Barton said that she received a call from someone at the archdiocese who asked her questions about her understanding about the Catholic church’s position on homosexuality.
The archdiocese statement read in part: ‘Many families do send their children to our schools expecting their children to receive an education that conforms to Catholic beliefs.’
It continued: ‘This written disclosure of the expectations, and teachers signing and committing to those requirements at the outset of each school year, is intended to protect the Catholic identity of our schools.
‘It is a promise to our parents that their children will receive an authentic and fully Catholic education. It would be unjust for a school to present itself as a Catholic school and not offer a Catholic education.’
The statement continued: ‘We recognize the current popular culture and some in our society may not hold the same views as we do, but as Catholic institutions our schools retain their right to ensure that its ministers, which includes our teachers, carry out a faithful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
‘Catholic teaching on sexual identity, marriage, family, and parenting are inseparable from the way we choose to live and interact. These teachings allow us to fully comprehend how to love God and neighbor.
‘We believe that sexual expression contributes to human flourishing as it is integrated with a view toward its natural ends: faithful, covenantal love between a man and a woman, and a self-gift ordered toward procreation and joyful unity between spouses.
‘Someone persisting in a lifestyle contrary to these views will find it difficult to teach them to our students.’
.jpg)
0 Comments