Additional info on the Roncalli counselor. My guess is they got their license in Hamilton county to make it a little more difficult to find out. She's went on the attack since this hit the news. She's given quite a few interviews and it appears she has the support of some students and parents. Some are trying to blame the Archdiocese instead of Roncalli, but what hasn't been mentioned is who drew up the employment contract, Roncalli or the Archdiocese?
https://www.indystar.com/story/news...ase-what-we-know-shelly-fitzgerald/985436002/
What we know about the Roncalli same-sex marriage case
Justin L. Mack,Holly V. Hays and Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star Published 12:24 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018 | Updated 4:16 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018
Shelly Fitzgerald's 15-year career at Roncalli High School hangs in the balance because she married the woman she has shared her life with for the past two decades.
On Sunday, the Catholic school confirmed via Facebook that Fitzgerald, a guidance counselor at the high school, has been placed on paid administrative leave after officials learned that she married a woman in 2014.
According to Fitzgerald, her options are now to dissolve her marriage or lose her job. Here's everything we know about the situation now.
Why is Fitzgerald facing termination?
In a statement posted to the Roncalli High School Facebook page, officials say that all employees must support the teachings of the Catholic church both in and out of school. That includes the belief that marriage is “between a man and a woman.”
The school said that expectation is defined in employee contracts and job descriptions so every employee can make an informed decision before the start of each year.
"When the expectations of a contract are not being met, the employee and the school will attempt to reach a resolution so that the contractual requirements are fulfilled," said the statement.
How did the school find out?
In a Facebook post shared with some parents, Fitzgerald said that someone tracked down her 2014 marriage license in Hamilton County.
That license was eventually given to school officials at Roncalli, and Fitzgerald was brought in to discuss the matter.
Is that legal?
According to one legal expert, yes.
Attorney Jim Bopp told IndyStar that Indiana law does not specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but an Indianapolis ordinance does.
He then explained that Roncalli has a defense against that ordinance because it fits the definition of a religious institution, granting it a “ministerial exception” to the anti-discrimination clause.
The ordinance does not apply to school, education, charitable or religious institutions run by or affiliated with a church. Bopp added that Fitzgerald violated the terms of her contract and lied to her employer about her personal life.
However, Kevin Betz, a local employment attorney, said Fitzgerald's role as a guidance counselor may not fall under the ministerial exception.
“It will depend on what kind of duties she was performing and what her job actually was,” Betz said.
How can the school receive public funds and potentially punish a counselor for her marriage?
A legal expert told IndyStar that the fact a school receives state tax dollars does not necessarily force it to follow the same rules as public institutions.
"The U.S. Supreme Court has long been clear that just because an organization, whether it's a school or any other kind of private organization, gets a certain percentage of its budget from government sources doesn't automatically mean that it then comes under the coverage of the Constitution," said Steve Sanders, an associate professor of law at Indiana University's Maurer School of Law. Sanders specializes in constitutional law and LGBT legal issues.
But Sanders said the state can distribute money in the form of vouchers, to which it can decide to attach certain rules that an entity must abide by in order to earn the funds.
"It hasn't done so in this case," Sanders said.
And Indiana lacks a statewide anti-discrimination law under which characteristics like sexual orientation could be protected.
What is the policy at other area Catholic high schools?
IndyStar reached out to the other 11 high schools under the direction of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis to see what their same-sex marriage policy is, and if there are also policies relating to openly gay staff members.
Of the schools contacted via email, IndyStar received responses from officials at Seton Catholic High School in Richmond and Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis. In each case, questions were referred to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, which governs the schools, declined to comment, saying the issue is a confidential personnel matter.
Has this happened anywhere else?
Two other cases similar to Fitzgerald’s have gone public this year in the United States, according to New Ways Ministry, an LGBT+ Catholic advocacy organization.
In February, Jocelyn Morffi, then a first-grade teacher at a private Catholic school in Florida, was fired just days after her same-sex wedding. Later that month, Kristen Nelson, a softball coach at a Catholic high school in Michigan, resigned after a parent raised concerns about her relationship with her girlfriend.
Since 2007, more than 70 U.S. church workers, including heterosexual LGBT allies, have seen their employment affected by LGBT-related disputes, according to New Ways Ministry.
How are students and parents responding?
Once the situation became public, students began rallying around Fitzgerald and criticizing the decision.
“We can’t bash Roncalli in this situation. Roncalli is not to be blamed for this decision. It’s the Archdiocese,” Junior Madison Aldrich said. “Unfortunately, Roncalli is taking the blame for it. And the name is being trashed and slandered. And that’s not what we want. Roncalli is a special place, and Fitzgerald is a special woman.”
“Roncalli is a special place,” Shawn Aldrich, Madison’s father, added. “What makes it so special is the people. They don’t do it for a huge paycheck. Shelly Fitzgerald was instrumental in changing so many lives.”
Erica Garrity, whose 17-year-old son, Elijah Mahan, attends the school, said the school’s response has been “disheartening.”
“I think the Roncalli family is very powerful and very strong. I’m proud that he is a Rebel,” she said. “But I do want to make sure that when I send him to school every day he’s being led by people who lead with love and grace.”
What happens next?
Fitzgerald declined to comment when reached by IndyStar Monday but said she has hired an attorney and will fight the threat of termination.
