Michael Griffin a teacher in a Philadelphia Catholic High School was fired on Friday Dec. 6. He says it was just after he applied for a New Jersey marriage license. Michael Griffin says Holy Ghost Preparatory School administrators said his obtaining a marriage license to marry his same- sex partner was a violation of his teaching contract.
Father James McCloskey, the school’s headmaster, said in a statement to NBC-10 TV in Philadelphia that faculty at the school are required to follow church teachings.
McCloskey said that Griffin’s decision “contradicts the terms of his teaching contract at our school, which requires all faculty and staff to follow the teachings of the Church as a condition of their employment. In discussion with Mr. Griffin, he acknowledged that he was aware of this provision, yet he said that he intended to go ahead with the ceremony.”
Regretfully, we informed Mr. Griffin that we have no choice but to terminate his contract effective immediately,” said McCloskey to Philadelphia’s NBC-10 TV.
Griffin, graduated from the school and taught French and Spanish there for 12 years. He said that his relationship with his partner of 12 years wasn’t a secret from the school and that his partner had even been to McCloskey’s house.
Griffin lives in New Jersey, which became the 14th state to recognize marriage equality.
