A Missouri court has ruled in favour of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in dismissing a woman from her job after she was found to be "married" to another woman.
Judge Kenneth Garrett of the Jackson County Circuit Court ruled that the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph is protected by the First Amendment and as such the court could not decide on the fraud claim filed by Colleen Simon. The Catholic diocese dismissed Simon as social ministries director of St. Francis Xavier Parish in May 2014 after the Kansas City Star published an article that revealed she was married to a woman pastor.
"Lest we dash our foot against the obdurate edifice of reversible error in stumbling to address what are here essentially religious questions, this Court shall instead rely on the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to deprive it of subject-matter jurisdiction," the judge ruled.
According to the diocese, Simon's same-sex marriage "contradicts church laws, discipline, and teaching and the diocesan Policy on Ethics and Integrity in Ministry," the WND reported.
"At the very heart of these ... allegations is the diocese's determination of plaintiff's fitness to be its representative," the court ruled, adding that "such allegations take on the hue of theological propriety, and as outsider, the court cannot but see through a glass darkly the inherent truth and falsity."
The court, however, upheld the two other claims by Simon against the church.
Following the decision, the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese settled with Simon, but the terms were not disclosed.
Jack Smith, a spokesman for the diocese, said the church "just decided to settle" on the two issues, reported KCUR 89.3. "We agreed not to discuss the terms of the settlement."
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the diocese in the case, lauded the favourable ruling of the court.
"A church isn't obligated to employ those who act contrary to the church's teachings. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this as recently as four years ago," said ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley.
"If churches are forced to employ people who do not follow the religious teachings of those churches, the church will no longer be able to minister consistently or freely in accordance with its faith," added ADF Legal Counsel Jeremiah Galus.
