Should a Roman Catholic institution be punished for refusing to hire homosexual employees?
A Catholic school in northern Italy was asked by a local court to pay thousands of dollars to a lesbian teacher whose contract was not renewed by the educational institution's management, who are mostly nuns.
The Daughters of the Sacred Heart Institute in Trento was ordered to pay 25,000 euros ($28,500) to its homosexual former employee, on top of the 1,500 euros each to a labor union and civil rights association, according to a report from Religion News.
The lesbian teacher, whose identity was not revealed, went to court after she was supposedly called into a meeting with the Catholic school's mother superior in July 2014.
During the meeting, the school administrator supposedly asked the teacher to clarify rumors that she was cohabitating with a female partner. The teacher, however, refused to reveal her sexual orientation.
After the meeting, the teacher's contract with the school was reportedly not renewed on the grounds of the lesbian employee's improper conduct, and the welfare of the students. This issue ultimately led the teacher to sue the Catholic school.
The Rovereto labor court sided with the lesbian teacher, saying that the school cannot deny her of employment only on the assumption that she is a homosexual.
The court further ruled that what happened with the teacher was a case of collective discrimination, which may have a damaging effect on others who would want to apply for work in the Catholic school.
Alexander Schuster, the teacher's lawyer welcomed the outcome.
"The use of contraceptives, choices such as cohabitation, divorce, abortion, are among the most intimate decisions a person can make and must not concern an employer," Schuster said, as quoted by Religion News.
