Just a few weeks before Christmas, an official from the Archdiocese of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada, placed a folder on a table in front of Mark Guevarra, a lay pastoral associate at a large parish just outside the city limits. Mr. Guevarra, who holds a master’s degree in religious education, says he was told that the archdiocese had been compiling bits of information on him for eight years, including filing away in the archbishop’s office complaints from clergy and lay people accusing him of being gay and of being in a relationship with another man. He says he was told that he could not look at the folder but that he was asked to confirm or deny the allegations. He refused, believing the inquiry to be unjust and overly intrusive.
Last Tuesday, he was fired from his post and told to clear out his office.
Meanwhile, a teacher at a Catholic school in Miami returned to work last week, fresh from marrying her partner in the Florida Keys. Jocelyn Morffi was a first-grade teacher at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic School, where she also coached basketball and ran a volunteer organization called #teachHope70x70 that takes students around downtown Miami on weekends to distribute meals to the homeless. But rather than greeting her students after her time off, she says she was told that she had broken her contract, and she, too, was fired. She was not given the chance to gather her belongings herself, a parent of one her students says.
At least 80 people have been fired from Catholic institutions in cases related to sexual orientation over the past decade.
The two are just the latest church workers to be fired over issues of sexuality and marriage, clashes that have heightened in recent years as same-sex marriage becomes more mainstream even as the church holds the line on L.G.B.T. issues. According to New Ways Ministry, at least 80 people have been fired from Catholic parishes, schools and other entities in cases related to sexual orientation over the past decade—though they note that this figure is based only on individual cases that go public.
“With each new firing, the injustice of these actions becomes clearer and clearer to Catholic people in the pews,” Francis DeBernardo, the group’s executive director, told America. Mr. DeBernardo adds that the “singling out of L.G.B.T. church employees as the only group whose lives must be in full accordance with the hierarchy’s sexual ethics is blatant discrimination.
“While these actions hurt those that are fired and the communities they serve, they also hurt the church as a whole because our credibility as voices of justice is weakened, and our image as a community of love and compassion is destroyed.”
The Catholic Church in the United States does not have a national policy about L.G.B.T. employees.
The Catholic Church in the United States does not have a national policy about L.G.B.T. employees, many of whom lack non-discrimination protections because of religious exemptions extended to their employers. Even church leaders who have made calls for the church to be more welcoming to L.G.B.T. Catholics have resisted the idea of a uniform policy, preferring instead a case-by-case approach.
Cathleen Kaveny, who teaches both law and theology at Boston College, said that legally, many Catholic institutions are often well within their rights when it comes to hiring and firing based on issues related to sexual orientation. “But there are lots of things you can do that are legal and not wise,” she told America.
“Is this a prudent and charitable way of communicating the Catholic message, or is it something that’s going to make it harder to hear Catholic teaching and receive the good news?” she asked of the firings.
“There are lots of things you can do that are legal and not wise,” Cathleen Kaveny told America.
Mr. Guevarra wrote about his experience in a lengthy Facebook post published on his personal page last Friday. He said the investigation by the archdiocese began after he started a prayer group for L.G.B.T. Catholics.
“I was asked directly if I am in a relationship with a male and have a daughter. I refused to answer,” Mr. Guevarra wrote. He said he asked for a meeting with the archbishop of Edmonton, but the archdiocese decline the request. (Included in a packet of letters from his employer about his termination was a letter from an auxiliary bishop that extended an invitation to meet to discuss L.G.B.T. ministry, which Mr. Guevarra said he planned to accept.)
He said he would not answer questions about his personal life because the inquiry was too intrusive. Plus, he said other church workers do not face the same level of scrutiny when it comes to their personal lives, which he said is due to homophobia in the church.
Mr. Guevarra said the investigation by the archdiocese began after he started a prayer group for L.G.B.T. Catholics.
Ms. Kaveny echoed that sentiment, saying, “If you’re taking the church’s sexual ethic seriously, are you going to interview heterosexual couples to find out if they’re sleeping together before marriage or if they’re using birth control? Questions tend to fall unfairly on one group of people who may not be accepting Catholic sexual teaching in all its fullness.”
A spokeswoman for the archdiocese wrote in an email to America: “The Archdiocese does not surveil its employees or check on their personal lives. Unless we are advised otherwise, we assume that most people who come to work for the Church in any kind of leadership or teaching role are willing to live in accord with its teachings. However, if an issue is raised, the Archdiocese has a responsibility to look into it and deal with it.”
Mr. Guevarra said his firing “sends a damaging message to all L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics that they have no place in the church.”
According to a termination letter from the pastor of the parish, a copy of which Mr. Guevarra shared with America, he was let go because his relationship is considered “fundamentally inconsistent with the teachings of the Church insofar as it is not a marriage recognized by the church.” That relationship, the letter continued, made it “impossible” for him to carry out his job.
Mr. Guevarra said his firing “sends a damaging message to all L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics that they have no place in the church.”
In an interview with America, Mr. Guevarra said he worked well with the pastor of the parish, planning community events, hosting prayer groups and coordinating the R.C.I.A. program. He said he had tried to separate his private life from his parish work—he and his partner had even decided to forego marriage in part because of the church’s rules. But it eventually became too difficult for him to compartmentalize his life.
“So about a year ago, I started to disclose a little more that I was in a relationship. I felt it was the right thing to do, felt I needed to be a little more authentic in my life,” he said. That is when the pastor asked him to be more discreet, so he stepped back a bit.
Regardless, the investigation rolled on. At one point, he says he was asked by a church official about his “agenda.”
“Well, it’s the agenda of every baptized Christian,” he recalls telling the official. “It’s to go forth and make disciples of all nations.”
A spokeswoman for the archdiocese said in a statement, “Anyone who comes to work at the Archdiocese or one of its parishes agrees to live in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church and its sacramental theology.”
“Anyone who comes to work at the Archdiocese or one of its parishes agrees to live in accord with the teachings of the Catholic Church.”
It continues: “It is particularly important, and understandable, that someone who serves in a leadership or teaching role in the church be a practising Catholic who lives in accord with its teachings. In human rights legislation, this is referred to as a ‘bona fide occupational requirement’ for a particular position.”
In the Florida incident, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese said in a statement that the teacher had broken her contract.
“As a teacher in a Catholic school their responsibility is partly for the spiritual growth of the children,” Mary Ross Agosta said. “One has to understand that in any corporation, institution or organization there are policies and procedures and teachings and traditions that are adhered to. If something along the way does not continue to stay within that contract, then we have no other choice.”
But several parents say they were surprised and upset at Ms. Morffi’s firing, which they learned of in a letter from the school released on Feb. 8. About 20 parents went to the school the next morning to demand an explanation.
“I’m always going to be a Catholic,” Mr. Guevarra said.
“We were extremely livid. They treated her like a criminal, and they didn’t even let her get her things out of her classroom,” said Cintia Cini, the parent of one of the children in Ms. Morffi’s class. Ms. Cini told the newspaper the parents did not know Ms. Morffi was gay, but they did not care about her sexual orientation.
“Our only concern was the way she was with our children, the way she taught our children, and this woman by far was one of the best teachers out there,” Ms. Cini said.
She said the principal spoke to each of the parents but did not give a reason for the firing. According to The Washington Post, Ms. Morffi posted about her wedding on social media, which the archdiocese warned its employees against in 2015 after same-sex marriage was legalized in Florida.
Ms. Morffi could not be reached for comment, but on Friday she posted a statement on Instagram.
“This weekend I married the love of my life and unfortunately I was terminated from my job as a result,” it reads. “In their eyes, I’m not the right kind of Catholic for my choice in partner.”
As for Mr. Guevarra, now that he is no longer employed by the church, he said he is considering further theological studies, including a deeper exploration of L.G.B.T. ministry and perhaps even marrying his partner. He is also exploring legal options.
He said he has been heartened by words of encouragement from Catholics all around the world, and he made clear he is not leaving the church.
“I came to hear a subset in our Catholic family crying out for acceptance, and I decided to reach out to them. And as a result, I got fired,” he said. “But I’m always going to be a Catholic.”
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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