The Catholic Church is Being Hypocritical

By GABRIELLE SAMBOY

Angela Luis/The Observer
Angela Luis/The Observer

As I read through a Huffington Post article titled “Catholic School Fires Gay Teacher, Drawing Protest,” about Holy Ghost Preparatory High School teacher Michael Griffin being fired for marrying his same-sex partner, I was reminded of Frank Ocean’s song “We All Try,” in which he sings, “I believe that marriage isn’t between man and woman but between love and love.”

I agree with Frank Ocean—marriage, in my eyes, should be “between love and love.” I don’t believe that the institution of marriage should be restricted to the union between a man and a woman. Marriage between a man and a woman or between two members of the same sex ultimately only concerns the two individuals involved and those whom they invite to witness it.

Sadly, Griffin did not expect to lose his job over marrying his same-sex partner. Although there was a statement in his contract that stated that “[s]ame-sex unions are not sanctioned under Church teachings,” this only means that Griffin could not preach or have open discussions about same-sex marriages, not that faculty members could not, in their personal lives, do whatever it is that they want, with whomever they want—whether that person is of the same sex or not. There is a definite sense of hypocrisy when these school administrators take jobs away from men and women like Griffin. Pope Francis has been quoted as saying, “Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?” which raises the question that if the Pope, the head of Catholic Church, is not passing judgment on homosexual men and women, how can these Catholic schools possibly justify firing teachers who have married their same-sex partners? Furthermore, who are they to put such a stipulation, one condemning same-sex unions, into contracts?

The answer to this is simple: the Catholic men and women who are taking it upon themselves to fire hard-working and respected teachers for simply being gay are betraying the faith that they claim to adhere to.

The Huffington Post then goes on to say that Griffin attended school events with his partner; if his nuptials posed such a huge problem, then it seems as if he would have been prevented from attending these events. These were public events where Griffin’s colleagues, students and most likely the students’ parents were in attendance and would have seen Griffin with his now husband. Griffin does not speak of colleagues, students or parents disapproving of his sexual orientation, however, the fact that he was very public with his partner means that there should have been something said or mentioned to Griffin from the very first time he attended an event with him.

Unfortunately, the Church’s hypocrisy is not just limited to Griffin’s case. Al Fischer, a gay music teacher, was fired from St. Ann Catholic School in North St. Louis County after he revealed his plans to marry his partner, Charlie Robin. Like Griffin, Fischer didn’t keep his sexual orientation or his relationship with Robin under wraps.

Incidents like these are what the Catholic Church has constantly come under fire for—and it’s what Pope Francis is trying to fix. If the Church wants to be viewed as tolerant and loving, then it’s time they stop acting like hypocrites and accept that love should not be allowed only between a man and a woman. Love is love, regardless of skin color, height, weight or sex. No one should have to lose their job over the person they choose to spend the rest of their life with.