The Vatican has stopped an Indianapolis Archdiocese from stripping Jesuit high school of ‘Catholic’ label because it refused to sack a gay teacher.
The teacher’s husband then lost his teaching job at another school when it followed the archdiocese’s directive. He is currently suing the archdiocese.
The standoff between the Jesuit school and the archdiocese hit the news-stands in June.
It was then that Archbishop Charles Thompson said the school, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, “can no longer use the name Catholic and will no longer be identified or recognized as a Catholic institution.
“Whether they teach religion or not, all ministers in their professional and private lives must convey and be supportive of Catholic Church teaching.
“The Archdiocese of Indianapolis recognizes all teachers, guidance counselors and administrators as ministers,” Thompson said.
However, the Vatican’s intervention means the school has won a reprieve from the archbishop’s ruling while it appeals its status as a Catholic school.
“We have just learned that the Congregation for Catholic Education has decided to suspend the archbishop’s decree on an interim basis, pending its final resolution of our appeal,” the school president, Father Bill Verbryke, wrote in a letter posted to the school’s website.
“The archbishop very kindly informed me that, as a result of this temporary suspension of his decree, Brebeuf is free to resume our normal sacramental celebrations of the Eucharist.
“Most happily, this means that we will be able to celebrate the Mass for the Feast Day of St. Jean de Brebeuf on Oct. 24.”
The archdiocese says the temporary suspension is common practice and does not affect the outcome of the appeal.
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